The Union of Cyprus Journalists was established in 1960. The founding members were 27 and all worked as professional journalists in a number of daily and weekly newspapers. The Union had a nine-member committee: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and councillors.

The Union of Cyprus Journalists has now about 560 members. It practically embraces all the professional journalists of the country employed in newspapers, periodicals, the radio and the television and the news agencies of the island. Eligible to join the Union of Cyprus Journalists are professional journalists, regardless of ethnic origin, race and religion, provided they work in the local media, gain their means of live hood from journalism and have at least six months service in the profession. Foreign journalists working in Cyprus can become members of the Union as an autonomous entity with their own Association.

The aims and targets of UCJ are clear: To strengthen and safeguard the freedom of the press, to defend the right to free expression and opinion, to protect the independence, freedoms and rights of journalists, to improve their professional position and to regulate the conditions of their employment through a collective agreement, to raise the standard of journalism and to train journalists.

The Union of Cyprus Journalists is an active member of the International and European Federation of Journalists and has bilateral relations with the national Unions of Journalists of several countries.

It has created and runs a Journalists House with a Press Museum, a large public library, two big halls used for a lot of journalistic and public events and for the housing of a number of Media organisations.

The Union of Cyprus Journalists has created and runs also a Journalists Village on the beach at the south coast of the island used for the rest of Cypriot journalists and their families as well as for journalists from other countries.