{{short description|Soviet-era press organisation}} {{Distinguish|International Federation of Journalists}} [[file:Organisation internationale des journalistes logo.svg|thumb|Logotype of the IOJ]] The '''International Organization of Journalists''' ('''IOJ''', {{langx|fr|Organisation internationale des journalistes}}) was an international press workers' organization based in [[Prague]], [[Czechoslovakia]], during the [[Cold War]]. It was one of dozens of [[front organization]]s launched by the Soviet Union in the late 1940s and early 1950s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jeffrey T. Richelson|title=A century of spies: intelligence in the twentieth century|date=1997|page=252}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ralph And Brown Fred R. Sanders|title=National Security Management: Global Psychological Conflict|date=2008|page=31}}</ref> It was controlled in Prague by the Central Committee of the [[Czechoslovak Communist Party]], with the assistance of [[KGB]] agents.<ref>Political posters in Central and Eastern Europe, 1945-95: signs of the times. James Aulich, Marta Sylvestrová. p. 66</ref> It was described by the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]] as "an instrumentality of Soviet propaganda".<ref name=TNR/>
== History ==
The International Organization of Journalists was formed at a congress held in [[Copenhagen]] in June 1946. At this meeting, the [[International Federation of Journalists]] and the International Federation of Journalists of the Allied and Free Countries merged into the new organization and for a time the new organization was broadly representative of the journalists of the world. However, by 1950 the IOJ had become dominated by communists and the non-communist member organizations had withdrawn. These would re-launch the International Federation of Journalists in 1952.<ref>''[https://archive.org/details/frontorgs Facts about international Communist front organisations]'' p. 73</ref>
A declassified Central Intelligence Agency document from 1955, described the IOJ as "an instrumentality of Soviet propaganda".<ref name=TNR>{{Cite magazine|last=Hettena|first=Seth|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/156788/zero-hedge-russian-trojan-horse|title=Is Zero Hedge a Russian Trojan Horse?|date=2020-03-09|magazine=The New Republic|access-date=2020-03-09|issn=0028-6583 | quote=Ivandjiiski also proudly informed me of his membership, since 1974, in the International Organization of Journalists, a front organization that a declassified CIA study described as 'an instrumentality of Soviet propaganda.' }}</ref> In a 2009 interview with the newspaper ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'', the Finnish professor [[Kaarle Nordenstreng]] who was the chairman of the IOJ 1976–1990, acknowledged that they took orders from the [[Moscow Kremlin|Kremlin]] but maintained that their operations were far from straightforwardly following their directives.<ref>{{cite news |last=Räikkä |first=Jyri |date=27 May 2009 |title=Myötäjuoksija vaihtaa vapaalle |url=http://www.hs.fi/paivanlehti/arkisto/My%C3%B6t%C3%A4juoksija+vaihtaa+vapaalle/aaHS20090527SI1KU01tzx?src=haku&ref=arkisto%2F |newspaper=[[Helsingin Sanomat]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 June 2015 |language=fi }}</ref>
== Organization ==
The decision-making body of the IOJ was Congress, which met every four years. Members of the IOJ, and delegations representing groups that had less than 20 members, had a voice, but no vote in the deliberation. Congress elected the Executive Committee, whose members could be nominated either by member federations or by the Congress itself. The Executive Committee met once a year. The IOJ Bureau was also elected by the Congress and consisted of the President, Secretary-General and a number of Vice-Presidents and met as required. Members of the Bureau were ex-officio members of the Executive Committee. The General Secretariat handled day-to-day administration of the IOJ and was headed by the General Secretary under the direction of the Bureau.<ref>[[Hoover Institution]] ''[[Yearbook on International Communist Affairs]] 1966'' Stanford, Calif., Hoover Institution Press. pp.503-4</ref> Originally headquartered in London, in June 1947, the IOJ moved to Opletalova 5, [[Prague]] [[Prague 2|II]],<ref>''Facts about international Communist front organisations'' p. 73</ref> and in 1966, to Vinohradska 3, [[Prague 1]],<ref>[[Hoover Institution]] ''[[Yearbook on International Communist Affairs]] 1966'' Stanford, Calif., Hoover Institution Press. p.503</ref> and by 1978, to Parizska 9, 11001 Prague 1.<ref>[[A. Percy Coldrick|Coldrick, A. Percy]] and [[Philip James Jones|Jones, Philip]]. ''The international directory of the trade union movement'' New York : Facts on File, [1978] p.189</ref>
=== Congresses ===
The IOJ held the following Congresses:<ref>[[Hoover Institution]] ''[[Yearbook on International Communist Affairs]] 1966'' Stanford, Calif., Hoover Institution Press. p.503</ref>
*Copenhagen, June 1946 *Prague, June 1947 *[[Helsinki]], September 1950 *[[Bucharest]], May 1956 *[[Budapest]], August 1962 *[[East Berlin]], October 1966
== Members == In October 1955 the International Organization of Journalists claimed to have 60,000 members in 51 countries: "national organizations" in 14 countries - [[People's Republic of Albania|Albania]], [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[People's Republic of China]], [[Communist Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]], [[Finland]], [[Fourth French Republic|France]], [[German Democratic Republic]], [[People's Republic of Hungary|Hungary]], [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]], [[Mongolian People's Republic|Mongolia]], [[People's Republic of Poland|Poland]], [[People's Republic of Romania|Romania]], [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] and [[Democratic Republic of Vietnam|North Vietnam]]; "national groups" in [[Mexico]] and [[Dominion of Ceylon|Ceylon]]. It apparently had individual members in 33 further countries.<ref>''Facts about international Communist front organisations'' p. 74</ref>
In 1957, representatives of the [[French Journalists Union]] (an affiliated of the [[Confédération générale du travail|CGT]]), the [[Association of Polish Journalists]], the [[All-China Journalists Association]] were mentioned as officers of the IOJ.<ref>''Facts about international Communist front organisations'' pp. 73-4</ref>
In 1970 it declared that it had 150,000 members.<ref>{{cite book|title=Soviet propaganda: a case study of the Middle East conflict|last=Hazan|first=Barukh|date=1976|url=https://archive.org/details/sovietpropaganda0000haza|publisher=Wiley|location=New York|via=Internet Archive|page=112}}</ref>
In 1978 the following organizations were affiliated with IOJ:<ref>Coldrick and Jones pp.190-1</ref>
*{{flag|Algeria}} - [[Union of Algerian Journalists]] *{{flag|Argentina}} - [[Press Syndicate of Cordoba]] *{{flag|Argentina}} - [[Association of Journalists of Buenos Aires]] *{{flag|Bolivia}} - [[Democratic Union of Workers of the Bolivian Press]] *{{flag|Cameroon}} - [[National Union of Journalists (Cameroon)]] *{{flag|Colombia}} - [[National Collegium of Journalists]] *{{flag|Congo|1970}} - [[National Union of Congolese Journalists]] *{{flag|Czechoslovakia}} - [[Czechoslovak Union of Journalists]] *{{flag|Dominican Republic}} - [[National Syndicate of Professional Journalists]] *{{flag|El Salvador}} - [[National Union of Journalists (El Salvador)]] *{{flag|Gambia}} - [[Gambia Journalists' Association]] *{{flag|Guyana}} - [[Union of Guyanese Journalists]] *{{flag|Japan}} - [[Japan Congress of Journalists]] *{{flag|Japan}} - [[Association of Japanese Journalists]] *{{flag|North Korea}}, {{flag|Japan}} - [[Association of Korean Journalists and Publishers in Japan]] *{{flag|Madagascar}} - [[Press Syndicate of Madagascar]] *{{flag|Namibia}} - [[SWAPO]], Journalists Branch *{{flag|Nicaragua}} - [[National Union of Journalists (Nicaragua)]] *{{flag|Palestine}} - [[General Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists]] *{{flag|Peru}} - [[Federation of Journalists of Peru]] *{{flag|Romania|1965}} - [[Council of Romanian Journalists]] *{{flag|South Africa}} - [[South African Journalists Union]], [[African National Congress]] *{{flag|Syria}} - [[Syrian Journalists' Union]] *{{flag|Uruguay}} - [[Association of the Uruguayan Press]] *{{flag|South Yemen}} - [[Democratic Yemeni Journalists Organization]] *{{flag|Zimbabwe}} - [[Association of Journalists of Zimbabwe]]
In addition to these, there were also "organizations, committees, groups or individuals" who were members in the following states: [[Afghanistan]], Albania, [[People's Republic of Angola|Angola]], [[Australia]], [[Austria]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Belgium]], [[People's Republic of Benin|Benin]], [[Brazil]], Bulgaria, [[Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma|Burma]], [[Democratic Kampuchea|Kampuchea]], [[Canada]], [[Chile under Pinochet|Chile]], [[Costa Rica]], [[Cuba]], [[Cyprus]], [[Denmark]], [[Ecuador]], [[Egypt]], [[Derg|Ethiopia]], Finland, France, [[Federal Republic of Germany|West Germany]], East Germany, [[Ghana]], [[Great Britain]], [[Guinea]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Honduras]], [[Hong Kong colony|Hong Kong]], Hungary, [[India]], [[Indonesia]], [[Empire of Iran|Iran]], [[Iraq]], [[Italy]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Jordan]], [[Kenya]], North Korea, [[Kuwait]], [[Laos]], [[Lebanon]], [[Libyan Arab Republic|Libya]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Malawi]], [[Malaysia]], [[Mali]], [[Mauritania]], [[Mauritius]], Mexico, Mongolia, [[Morocco]], [[People's Republic of Mozambique|Mozambique]], [[Kingdom of Nepal|Nepal]], [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Nigeria]], [[Norway]], [[Pakistan]], [[Panama]], [[Paraguay]], Poland, [[Puerto Rico]], [[Senegal]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Somali Democratic Republic|Somalia]], the USSR, [[Spain]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Democratic Republic of Sudan|Sudan]], [[Sweden]], [[Switzerland]], [[Tanzania]], [[Togo]], [[Trindiad and Tobago]], [[Tunisia]], [[Turkey]], [[Uganda]], the [[United States]], [[Republic of Venezuela|Venezuela]], [[Socialist Republic of Vietnam|Vietnam]] and [[Republic of Zaire|Zaire]].<ref>Coldrick and Jones p.191</ref>
== Publications ==
The IOJ published a monthly ''The Democratic Journalist'' in English, French, Spanish, German and Russian.<ref>''Facts about international Communist front organisations'' p. 74</ref> Other publications included ''Interpressgrafik'', ''Journalists' affairs'' and ''Afrique mass media.''<ref>Coldrick and Jones p.190</ref>
[[Kaarle Nordenstreng]] published 3 parts of ''Useful Recollections'' on the history of IOJ.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kubka |first1=Jiri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5NxuwEACAAJ |title=Useful Recollections Part I: Excursion Into the History of the International Movement of Journalists |last2=Nordenstreng |first2=Kaarle |date=1986-08-15 |publisher=International Organization of Journalists |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nordenstreng |first1=Kaarle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bq3SAwAAQBAJ |title=Useful Recollections Part II: Excursion Into the History of the International Movement of Journalists |last2=Kubka |first2=Jiri |date=1988-09-15 |publisher=International Organization of Journalists |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rise and Fall of the International Organization of Journalists Based in Prague 1946–2016 - Karolinum |url=https://karolinum.cz/en/books/nordenstreng-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-international-organization-of-journalists-based-in-prague-1946-2016-24056 |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=karolinum.cz}}</ref>
== Affiliated people == ===General Secretaries=== :1947: [[Jiří Hronek]] :1953: Jaroslav Knobloch :1959: Jiři Meisner :1966: Jiri Kubka :1988: Dusan Ulcak :1990: Gerard Gatinot :1995: Antonio Nieva
===Presidents=== :1947: Archibald Kenyon :1950: Jean-Maurice Hermann :1976: [[Kaarle Nordenstreng]] :1990: Armando Rollemberg :Manuel Tomé :1995: Suleiman Al-Qudah
===Other people=== *[[Krassimir Ivandjiiski]], Bulgarian journalist *[[Marimuthu Pragalathan Naicker]], South African journalist, communist and anti-apartheid activist * [[Don Rojas]], worked in the Prague office
== See also == {{Portal|Journalism}} *[[World Federation of Scientific Workers]] *[[Committee to Protect Journalists]] *[[Reporters Without Borders]] *[[The Coalition For Women In Journalism]]
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}} [[Category:1946 establishments in Denmark]] [[Category:Organizations established in 1946]] [[Category:Organizations based in Prague]] [[Category:Communist front organizations]] [[Category:International journalism organizations]] [[Category:Global union federations]]