On the first day of Defend Media Freedom Conference co-organised by the UK and Canada governments in London on 10th and 11th of July, The Frontline Club Charitable Trust announced the launch of the Frontline Club Press Card. This initiative will provide safety and protection for freelance journalists across the world, especially those working in difficult or hostile environments.
JFJ Foundation endorses the initiative that provides additional safety for freelance journalists.
Press cards are an essential part of a professional journalist’s kit. They provide proof of a journalist’s legitimacy and credibility, enabling access to essential news stories and events. They also play a key safety role. Carrying a press card can prevent detention or arrest and alleviate suspicion over a journalist’s presence at an event, location or situation. They can make it safer to negotiate difficult checkpoints and can help protect a journalist’s equipment from confiscation. Without a press card, journalists can be exposed to greater risk, especially in critical situations.
But for many freelance journalists, press cards are difficult to obtain.
Freelancers who are not a member of a national union, who work internationally and who are not based in the country of their nationality can often struggle to obtain press cards, especially those who work for multiple clients. The Frontline Club Press Card will ensure that these freelance journalists are better able to secure professional accreditation.
The cards are currently available to registrants of the Frontline Freelance Register (FFR), a representative body for freelance journalists created and run by freelancers.
All FFR registrants are professional and active journalists who abide by a recognised industry code of conduct. By doing so, they support an increasingly important but vulnerable international reporting community.
Freelancers who are not members of FFR can register their interest at presscards@frontlineclub.com
Frontline Club Press Cards will only be issued to verified professional journalists. They are not part of the UK Press Authority scheme.