PODGORICA, 22.06.2020. – Trust in the news media increased significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, but global concerns about the spread of misinformation remain high, it is published in the latest  Digital News Report 2020 by The British based Reuters Institute in cooperation with Oxford University.

The coronavirus pandemic seems to have offered a temporary reprieve to a downward trend in how much news organisations are trusted. Data showed that only 38% of people said they trusted the news most of the time. Less than half – 46% – said they trusted their favoured news source.  A slightly differently worded question in April – about the level of trust in information about the coronavirus – saw news organisations surge to a 59% trust rating, on a par with national governments.

„As of April 2020, trust in the media’s coverage of COVID-19 was relatively high in all countries, at a similar level to national governments and significantly higher than for individual politicians. Media trust was more than twice the level for social networks, video platforms, or messaging services when it came to information about COVID-19“, it’s stated by the authors.

Global concerns about misinformation remain high. Even before the coronavirus crisis hit, more than half of the global sample said they were concerned about what is true or false on the internet when it comes to news. Facebook is seen as the main channel for spreading false information almost everywhere.

In most countries, local newspapers and their websites remain the top source of news about a particular town or region. The future of local news is uncertain; without more (public) support further closures and cost are inevitable.

“The crisis in local media will become more acute with more calls for support from government and technology companies – with all the problems that this entails in terms of media independence”, says the report.

The chance for local news to survive depends also on the innovative ways of connecting with (young) audiences online.

According to the findings, the long-term survival of local news will depend on finding new sustainable business models, attracting the next generation of users, and moving faster towards online content and engagement. Local news organisations will have to prove themselves creative and courageous in order to quickly react to an ever-changing technological environment. Without any support, further closures and drastic cuts of journalists’ job are inevitable.

“The Covid-19 crisis has clearly demonstrated the value of reliable trusted news to the public but also to policymakers, technology companies, and others who could potentially act to support independent news media. The creativity of journalists has also come to the fore in finding flexible ways to produce the news under extremely difficult circumstances. Fact-checking has become even more central to newsroom operations, boosting digital literacy more widely and helping to counter the many conspiracy theories swirling on social media and elsewhere. The next 12 months will be critical in shaping the future of the news industry. Many news organisations go into this period clearer than ever about the value of their product even if the immediate outlook looks uncertain“, says the report.

The Embassy of the United States of America in Bosnia and Herzegovina published an annual report for 2019 on the human rights situation in BiH.  One part of the report is devoted to freedom of expression and freedom of the media, stating that these rights are guaranteed by law, however, the level of respect for these rights and freedoms by the authorities remained low.

Throughout the year, intimidation, harassment, and threats to journalists and the media continued, including an increasing number of death threats, while media headlines were dominated by nationalist rhetoric and ethnic and political bias, often inciting intolerance and sometimes hatred. The lack of transparency in the media ownership was also mentioned as a problem in the report.

The laws of the country provide for a high level of freedom of expression, but the irregular and, in some cases, incorrect implementation and application of the law greatly undermined press freedoms. The law prohibits expressions of racial, ethnic or other intolerance, as well as “hate speech”, but the authorities did not ensure the application of such prohibitions.

Data from the Free Media Help Line (FMHL) indicated that courts continued to fail to differentiate between different media genres (in particular, between news and commentary), while long court procedures and legal and financial battles were financially exhausting to journalists and outlets.

The FMHL concluded that years of incorrectly implementing the law had caused direct pressure against journalists and media and that such pressure jeopardized journalists’ right to freedom of expression.

Independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction, but sometimes this resulted in pressure or threats against journalists. The law prohibiting expression that provokes racial, ethnic, or other forms of intolerance applies to print and broadcast media, the publication of books, and online newspapers and journals but was not enforced, the report warned.

Also, it is stated that the political and financial pressure on the media has continued. Some media outlets noted that allegations of tax evasion and elaborate financial controls continued to be powerful tools in attempts to intimidate and control outlets.

The number of physical attacks on journalists has increased. Attacks on the professional integrity of journalists and freedom of the press continued to grow. Public officials have repeatedly obstructed the work of journalists.

The practice of pressuring journalists to censor their reporting continued. Investigative stories on corruption in the country’s judicial sector focusing on high-level officials resulted in additional pressure on journalists.

Authorities continued exerting pressure on media outlets to discourage some forms of expression, while party and governmental control over a number of information outlets narrowed the range of opinions represented in both entities.

Public broadcasters remained under strong pressure from the authorities and political forces due a lack of long-term financial stability. Public broadcasters remained exposed to political influence, especially through politically controlled steering boards. These factors limited their independence and resulted in consistently subjective and politically biased news.

The law on the public broadcasting system is only partially implemented and entity laws are not in line with state level law. Public broadcasters continued to be in a difficult financial situation, primarily due to the lack of an efficient, unified, and stable system of financing

Intimidation and threats against journalists continued during the year. Cases of violence and death threats against journalists were recorded as well. Intimidation and politically motivated litigation against journalists for their unfavorable reporting on government leaders and authorities also continued.

As of August the FMHL recorded 37 cases involving violations of journalists’ rights and freedoms, five death threats, and six physical assaults. According to data from BH Journalists covering the period from 2006 to 2019, authorities prosecuted approximately 30 percent of criminal acts reported against journalists and investigated more than one-third of alleged violations of journalists’ rights.

The censorship section of the report noted that multiple political parties and entity-level institutions attempted to influence editorial policies and media content through legal and financial measures. As a result, some media outlets practiced selfcensorship.

In some cases, media sources reported that officials threatened outlets with loss of advertising or limited their access to official information.

– Prevailing practices reflected close connections between major advertisers and political circles and allowed for biased distribution of advertising time. Public companies, most of which were under the control of political parties, remained the key advertisers. – the report outlined.

Outlets critical of ruling parties claimed they faced difficulties in obtaining advertising.

Although defamation has been decriminalized in BiH, a large number of complaints continued to be brought against journalists, often resulting in extremely high monetary fines. Noteworthy court decisions against journalists included temporary bans on the posting or publication of certain information as well as very high compensatory payments for causing “mental anguish.”

The U.S. report states that the authorities did not restrict freedom of expression on the Internet, nor disrupt access to the internet or censor online content, and there were no credible reports that it monitored private online communications without appropriate legal authority.

The law prohibits expression of racial, ethnic, or other intolerance, including hate speech, but authorities did not enforce these prohibitions for online media

Reports on the human rights situation in the countries in 2019 were prepared by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor

Read full report: United States Embassy in BiH

KOTOR, 18.06.2020. – Novinarke Skala radija i Pobjede, Dubravka Jovanović i Ivana Komnenić podnijele su prijavu protiv Kotoranina Zorana Markovića zbog uznemiravanja i vrijeđenja dok su obavljale novinarski posao. 

Osnovno državno tužilaštvo u Kotoru, ocijenilo je, sa druge strane, da u takvom nastupu nema elemenata krivičnog djela, zbog čega je Marković procesuiran prekršajno.

Marković je, kako javlja Skala radio, ničim izazvan, u više navrata prilazio novinarkama koje su izvještavala sa protesta podrške Milanu Careviću ispred Osnovnog državnog tužilaštva, nazivajući ih pogrdim imenima.

“Govorio je u masi da pomenute novinarke i njihove medijske kuće Skala radio i Pobjeda podržavaju vlast koja je, kako je rekao, u Kotoru došla pajserima. Ignorišući Markovićeva dobacivanja novinarke su nastavile da obavljaju posao, a on im je, osokoljen reakcijama onih koji su slušali i podržavali njegove uvrede, govorio uporno da snimljeni materijal predaju policiji za koju rade”, prenosi Skala radio.

PODGORICA, 18.06.2020. – Journalists in Montenegro are subject of self-censorship to avoid threats, political pressure, expensive defamation lawsuits and job loss, Freedom House stated in its latest report.

In the part dedicated to the media, they state that reporters who cover corruption and organized crime risk violence. In that report, Montenegro was assessed as partially free with 62 points out of a possible 100. That is three points less than in 2019.

“In May 2018, investigative journalist Olivera Lakić, who reports on crime and corruption among government elites, was shot in the leg outside her apartment. In February 2019, nine suspects were arrested on suspicion of involvement, but the investigation into the shooting was still ongoing at the end of the year. Separately, in December, investigative journalist Vladimir Otašević was assaulted by a bodyguard of the controversial DPS-affiliated businessman Zoran Bećirović, who watched the attack in the presence of his friend, state prosecutor Miloš Šoškić”, it is said in the report.

They add that in January 2019, a court convicted investigative journalist Jovo Martinović of drug trafficking and being a member of a criminal group, and sentenced him to 18 months in prison, in a long-running case related to his investigation of such groups as a journalist. An appeals court revoked the decision in October, and at year’s end he was to be retried.

“Despite protests from civil society activists, the public broadcaster RTCG remains under tight control of the DPS”, the report states.

BEOGRAD, 17.06.2020. – Fantomska Fejsbuk grupa „Zavisni novinari“ u protekla tri dana predstavlja produženu ruku vlasti jer radi upravo ono što i njeni predstavnici čine – targetira profesionalne, nezavisne novinare navodeći cifre koje su oni navodno dobili iz inostranstva. Na spisku su im Dragan Janjić, Milan Ćulibrk, Jugoslav Ćosić, Stevan Dojčinović…

„Zavisni novinari“ su registrovani kao medijska/novinska kompanija, mada nije moguće utvrditi ko stoji iza njih, jer ne postoji impresum niti kontakt. Jedino je izvesno da raspolažu velikom sumom novca jer objavljuju sponzorisane postove. Do sada ih je videlo i komentarisalo na desetine hiljada korisnika Fejsbuka, a među komentarima, sem uvreda na račun označenih novinara, ima i brojnih pretnji kojima bi trebalo da se pozabavi tužilaštvo.

Tako je za Milana Ćulibrka, glavnog urednika NIN-a, napisano da je primio strane donacije u iznosu od 197.000 evra.

– Kamo sreće da je to tačno. Možda je neko želeo, pa zaboravio da uplati. Proslediću mu račun. To bi nam prilično pomoglo jer nemamo dovoljno oglašivača. Javna i državna preduzeća beže od nas kao da imamo ne koronu nego kugu – kaže kroz šalu Ćulibrk. Međutim, napominje, ovakvo targetiranje može da bude opasno.

– Državni organi mogu i moraju da utvrde ko stoji iza ovih objava. Tada bi se utvrdilo i da je sve što je tamo objavljeno – laž. Ne znam ko bi mogao da stoji iza ove grupe, ali jasno je ko su mete, oni koji imaju kritički stav prema vlasti – ističe naš sagovornik.

Za Željka Bodrožića, predsednika NUNS-a, ne postoji sumnja ko stoji iza objava u kojima se kleveću novinari, ali i članovi njihovih porodica.

– Taj čovek je deo mreže režimskih botova (ime poznato redakciji Danasa). Ima para i viška vremena, ima i link prema službama bezbednosti, kao i mnogi slični korisni idioti koji im služe za prljave poslove kriminalizacije nezavisnih novinara a i drugih, za režim nepodobnih javnih ličnosti. Već duže vreme kreira lažne profile na društvenim mrežama i targetira novinare. To što radi je krivično delo i mi iz NUNS-a smo u okviru Radne grupe već ukazivali policiji i tužilaštvo da taj bandit sistemski i za račun vlasti ozbiljno narušava bezbednost novinara – ukazuje Bodrožić. Osoba za koju smatra da stoji iza lažnih i opasnih objava je blokirana na NUNS-ovim profilima, jer je konstantno vređala novinare, uključujući i pokojnog Dejana Anastasijevića.

Janjić: Ne obraćam pažnju

Urednik Bete Dragan Janjić takođe se našao na spisku „strani plaćenika“, ali, kako kaže za naš list, na ovakve objave više ne obraća pažnju.

– Ovakve stvari moguće su zbog atmosfere u društvu i strašnog „zagađenja“ javnog diskursa, za šta, po prirodi stvari, najveću odgovornost snosi vlast – zaključuje Janjić.

Pristina, 17.06.2020 – The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), welcomes the arrest of one of the suspects of cyber attacks on the Online newspaper “Insajderi”, Ardian Alaj.

Alaj’s arrest has been confirmed by the Kosovo Police. Alaj is suspected of criminal offenses, “Breaking into computer systems”, “Self-judgment” and “Misuse of trust” to the Online newspaper “Insajderi” and some other media.

“Regarding your interest, we would like to inform you that the police investigators have implemented the decision of the Basic Prosecution of Prishtina for arrest and detention of the suspect A.A (1985) on suspicion of committing criminal offenses: “Breaking into computer systems, Article 327 of the CCRK”, “Self-judgment, Article 410 of the CCRK” and “Misuse of trust, Article 330 of the CCRK”. The suspect, with the decision of the prosecutor, was sent to detention”, it is said in the response of the police.

In addition to these criminal offenses, in the portal insajderi.com, in recent weeks, lynching articles have been published against journalists Parim Olluri and Vehbi Kajtazi, who own the portal “Insajderi”.

AJK requests from the competent structures to urgently clarify the case of the Online Newspaper “Insajderi” and to inform the audience about the measures there will be taken.

Delays in this process risk 43 journalists losing their jobs and they might not be paid.