About the Book
A Reporter’s Guide to the EU addresses a pressing need for an effective, in-depth guide to reporting on this major governing body, offering practical advice on writing and reporting on the EU and a clear, concise breakdown of its complex inner-workings.
Sigrid Melchior, an experienced Brussels-based journalist, gives a detailed overview of the main EU institutions and explains the procedures for passing EU law. Interviews with professionals working for the EU, from areas including lobbying, public relations, diplomacy and journalism, are featured throughout the book.
Building on this, the second half of the book provides useful journalistic tools and tips on how to approach EU reporting. It identifies common mistakes in reporting on the EU and how to avoid them, as well as offering guidance on investigative reporting. Melchior also details how to work with information gathered and maintained by EU institutions, including their audiovisual archives, the Eurostat and Eurobarometer, which are invaluable resources for journalists and journalism students.
With few aspects of political life that remain untouched by EU decision-making the book demystifies the EU system and its sources, enabling professional journalists and students of journalism to approach EU reporting with clarity and confidence.
For additional resources related to A Reporter’s Guide to the EU, please visit www.areportersguidetotheeu.com
Table of Contents:
Preface, Acknowledgements, Part I Introduction, Chapter 1: Introduction to EU reporting Chapter 2: A few tips and tricks to get started Chapter 3: What, really, is the EU?, Part II The three main EU institutions, Chapter 4: The European Commission, The commissioners and their portfolios, The European Commission as a source, What the European Commission does Chapter 5: The European Parliament, The MEPs, Party groups, Committees, Plenary sessions, MEPs' performances, What the European Parliament does Chapter 6: The Council of Ministers and the European Council, The council formations, The permanent representation: the national governments in Brussels, The rotating presidency of the council, Council of Ministers press office and website, The decision-making process in the Council of Ministers, The European Council, Part III Decision-making in the EU, Chapter 7: The legislative process part I: The European Commission proposes a new law Chapter 8: The legislative process part II: The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers amend and adopt the law, Special legislative procedures, The ordinary legislative procedure Chapter 9: Tools for following the legislative process Chapter 10: Delegated decision-making, Part IV Other EU sources, Chapter 11: Other EU institutions, European External Action Service, EEAS, Court of Justice of the European Union, The European Central Bank, Court of Auditors, OLAF: the EU’s counter-corruption agency, The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Decentralized EU agencies Chapter 12: Statistics, opinion polls, sound, photo and video, Eurostat, Eurobarometer, Photo, audio and video from the EU institutions Chapter 13: Lobbying Chapter 14: Think tanks and research Chapter 15: Media, Part V Practical EU reporting, Chapter 16: Bringing the EU home, Making the connection between Brussels and home, Holding your politicians accountable, Specialist journalist? Integrate the EU into your reporting, Consumer journalism, Men and women – who are your sources? Chapter 17: Common mistakes in EU reporting and how to avoid them Chapter 18: Investigative EU reporting, The state of investigative EU reporting, Investigating EU spending, Investigating lobbying, conflicts of interests and corruption in the EU, Access to documents in the EU, Whistleblowers Chapter 19: Practical help in Brussels, Accreditation to the EU institutions, When in Brussels, Journalist organizations Chapter 20: Writing about the EU Glossary Index
