2015-10-30
BRUSSELS - It is with deep sadness that Journalismfund.eu announces the passing of its board member Wim Criel.
Wim had been a board member of Journalismfund.eu since 2008, and was around when the Flemish non-profit Fonds Pascal Decroos voor Bijzondere Journalistiek decided to grow and turn European to become Journalismfund.eu.
A lawyer specialised in media law by profession, Wim had been a publisher at Belgian media group Roularta – the company behind Knack and Trends, among others – for 37 years. In this role he dealt with authors’ rights on a daily basis. He taught media law at the Thomas More Mechelen journalism school and, just a year ago, published a book about copyright in the press.
Wim had other board positions, for example at Medianetwerk Plus – a group of publishers – and not least the important role of chair of the Flemish Raad voor de Journalistiek (Council of Journalism), the guardian of the ethical code of journalism in Flanders.
His passing is a great loss for Journalismfund.eu and the Pascal Decroos Fund, but also for Flemish journalism in general. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.
