The TV channel Euronews reaches way more countries than the EU member states. During the ongoing war in Ukraine and women's protests on the streets in Iran, it has continuously been reporting on the conflicts in both Russian and Persian. “They took it down in Russia, but people always find ways to watch it,” says Jorge Liboreiro at Euronews during the European Week of Regions and Cities.
Even if you are not familiar with it, chances are you have seen it in a hotel lobby. Euronews is a TV channel that covers the world from a European perspective. It is available in twelve cross-platform language editions. Apart from the languages typically found within the European Union, such as English, French, German or Italian, Euronews is also available in Arabic, Persian, Russian and Turkish. The channel’s impact outside of Europe is not to neglect. “The Spanish version is for example more popular in South America than in Spain,” says Grégoire Lory, who is working as a journalist at Euronews Brussels.
During a meeting with aspiring journalists from the European Commission programme Youth4Regions, a part of the annual European Week of Regions and Cities, Grégoire Lory and two of his colleagues answered the young audience’s questions. Ali Mahfoud, 26, from Libya was one of the participants. He is a loyal Euronews viewer. “It started in high school. I was impressed by the ability to cover all worldwide news in different languages by the same channel in one rhythm,” says Ali. “Eventually I started following up with all the events in the Euro-Mediterranean region. It encouraged me to learn more about this field and led me to study languages and work in the media sector in Libya,” continues the young man who today lives in Marseille, France.
A voice in countries without freedom of the press
“Euronews is a big thing in countries that lack free media, like Iran. However, they switch it on and off - sometimes the channel is not available”, explained Jorge Liboreiro, another journalist at the Brussels bureau who was present during the same study visit. The Russian TV providers blocked Euronews two days before the invasion of Ukraine.
The channel, which usually reaches millions of Russians, was accused of posting “information containing calls for people to participate in mass (public) events held in violation of the regulations established in the Russian Federation”, according to the state communications regulator Roskomnadzor. “They took it down in Russia, but people always find ways to watch it with VPNs,” commented Jorge Liboreiro in front of the Youth4Regions journalists.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been classified not only as a war in classic terms but also as a war of disinformation. In the context of the covid-19 pandemic and this ongoing conflict on European territory, the Euronews journalists stressed the importance of fact-checking. When the invasion started in Ukraine, the international media outlet reached the highest number of unique visitors on their website ever. “Our reach has increased significantly throughout this year,” said Jorge Liboreiro. His colleagues agreed. “The recent crises have proven how important our work is,” concluded Grégoire Lory.
During the ongoing war in Ukraine and women's protests on the streets in Iran, access to reliable news is essential for understanding what is actually happening. The European TV channel continues to reach outside of its continent and doesn’t seem to cease reporting in twelve different languages, Russian and Persian included.
By Johanna Sahlberg
Edited by Irene Barahona
