SKOPJE, 06.03.2020 – The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia (CMEM) inform that the web site www.promedia.mk which contains data for the professional online media is now available and accessible to the public. The Register is currently comprised of 101 online media that publish content in multiple languages.

We remind that the main criteria that online media must meet to become part of the Registry are: transparent ownership, published impression (editor, editorial office), respect the standards of the Code of Journalists, the Charter of Ethical Reporting during Elections and the Statute of CMEM. Also, published texts should be signed by the author and if are taken over by other media, should be stated in accordance with the Copyright Law.

The main purpose of creating this Registry is to contribute to the process of professionalization in the operation of online media, thereby enhancing their credibility as well as recognizing those who uphold standards in compare to unethical media that cause damage to the reputation of professional online media.

The process of creating the Registry was conducted following the criteria agreed between CMEM and AJM following examples from the practice of developed democratic societies and the Council of Europe, while consulting the media and business community in the country as well. In addition, the process of self-regulation was supported by the Economic Chamber of Macedonia, which urged its members to advertise only in online media that are part of the Registry. The process was welcomed by the EU Delegation to Skopje, the OSCE Office in Vienna, the US Embassy in Skopje, and the European Federation of Journalists.

Media self-regulation continues to be a common commitment of our organizations to voluntarily establish criteria and adhere to them within a process that is open to the public. Therefore, we remind that the membership in the Online Media Register is changeable and is a process which is constantly evolving. This means that media outlets that are not currently part of the Registry and comply with the membership requirements will be able to join in, while those that are already part of the Registry and fail to comply with the membership criteria and do not respect ethical rules will lose their status of active members.

Sarajevo, 06.03.2020. – United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Simonovic, announced that the issue of violence against female journalists will be the subject of her next thematic report, which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2020.

The purpose of this report is to incorporate a more holistic approach into existing human rights standards with the specific challenges faced by female journalists, as well as their causes, and to provide recommendations on how to address these issues.

The report calls on states to establish an appropriate human rights framework, including developing strategies to ensure the protection of female journalists.

Over the last decade, gender-based violence has become increasingly part of the work of female journalists and media workers, who are exposed to intimidation, threats and sexual harassment in newsrooms and in the field. They are also threatened because of the stories they treat.

While the digital age has created new opportunities for women journalists, it has at the same time created a platform for new forms of cyberbullying, including cyberstalking, defamation and trolling, as well as the distribution of intimate content without permission.

In September 2016, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) unanimously adopted Resolution 33/2 on journalists’ security. The adoption of UN General Assembly resolution 72/175 on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity followed.

Although the UN has highlighted the rights of journalists through various mechanisms, the focus has not yet been placed on the specific threats faced by female journalists.

Democracy has been under assault around the world and the effects are visible not only in authoritarian states such as China, Russia and Iran, but also in countries with a long track record of upholding fundamental rights and freedoms, according to a 2020 Freedom House report.

Although protest movements in all regions have illustrated the widespread desire of the people for better governance, they have not yet reversed the overall pattern of declining freedom, the report said.

Countries that have suffered a stalemate in 2019 outperformed those that have made progress by almost two to one, marking the 14th consecutive year of deterioration in global freedoms. During this period, 25 of the 41 world democracies experienced a decline in freedoms.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is rated as a “partly free” country, and its rank is at the level of last year – it ranks behind Armenia and ahead of Malaysia.

The freest countries with an absolute result are the Scandinavian countries.

Of the 195 countries evaluated, 83 (43 percent) were rated free, 63 (32 percent) were partially free, and 49 (25 percent) were not free. The share of free countries has decreased by three points in the last decade, while the percentage of partly free and non-free countries has increased by two and one point respectively.

The Freedom House report states, among other things, that the gap between progress and decline in the world has widened. People in 64 countries experienced worsening of their political rights and civil liberties in 2019, while in only 37 countries they experienced improvements. The difference was smaller in 2018, when 68 countries went backward and 50 advanced.

As democratic states show unsuccessful support for freedom on the international scene, authoritarian forces have expanded their global influence through proxy wars, meddling in elections and censorship beyond their borders, the report concluded.

PODGORICA, 05.03.2020. – According to the latest Freedom House report for 2020, Montenegro has been rated as a partly free country and ranked 62nd.

The report states that democracy in the world is declining, and compared to last year, Montenegro has fallen three places from 65th position.

Of the 195 countries in the world, 83 countries are designated as free, 63 are partially free, and for 49 countries and territories around the world, Friedom House concludes that they are not free. Syria, South Sudan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Libya and others are among the worst.

The Western Balkan countries are still on the list of those with partial freedom. Only Croatia (85th) is characterized as a free country.

Albania is 67, Serbia is 66th and Montenegro is 62, Kosovo is 56th and Bosnia and Herzegovina is 53rd and is characterized as partially free.

In Montenegro and Serbia, journalists, opposition politicians, as well as others who are considered enemies of the government, face constant harassment, intimidation, and even violence. Public frustration with entrenched ruling parties has grown into major protests in both countries but, as Freedom House reports, they have failed to bring any significant change.

Sarajevo, 05.03.2020. – The Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CRA) last year imposed 39 penalties for media outlets that violated the Agency’s rules and codes, the Law on Communications, the BiH Election Law, and the Rulebook on media representation of political subjects activities from the day of the announcement of elections to the election day.

According to the report on processed cases of breach of rules in 2019 in the broadcasting area, the CRA imposed 39 fines, totaling 114,500 BAM, seven written and six verbal warnings, and three licenses were revoked. Two licenses were revoked for violating the rules on the distribution of audiovisual media services and radio media services, and one for the under-representation of certain program segments and program structure.

Five media outlets were suspended for defaulting on their financial obligations to the Agency, and in three cases the measure was taken down because there was a debt settlement.

Some of the breaches of program standards represented a serious form of departure from professional standards, and one of the most commonly violated provisions in 2019 concerns compliance with the principles of fairness and impartiality in the programs of audiovisual media service providers, the report said.

The provision of the Code on Audiovisual Media Services and Radio Media Services regarding the fairness and impartiality obligation in 2019 has been breached five times by FTV, Al Jazeera Balkans and RTRS, with RTRS violating the provision three times.

In addition, a case of hate speech directed at a migrant population has been reported.

BEOGRAD, 04.03.2020. – Fridom Haus je objavio izveštaj “Sloboda u svetu 2020”, a Srbija se sa još tridesetak država nalazi u grupi sa najvećim padom sloboda u poslednjih deset godina.

U izveštaju je objavljena tabela od 29 država, uključujući i Srbiju, sa najvećim padom u prethodnoj deceniji.

Na prvom mestu se nalazi istočnoafrička država Burundi, a slede je Turska, Mali, Centralnoafrička republika, Venecuela itd. Srbija je na ovoj tabeli na 20. mestu.

“U Crnoj Gori i Srbiji nezavisni novinari, opozicioni lideri i ostali na koje vlast gleda kao na neprijatelje su se suočavali sa maltretiranjem, pretnjama, a ponekad i nasiljem. Frustracija javnosti vladajućim partijama je prerasla u velike proteste u obe države, ali nisu uspeli da izazovu značajne promene”, navodi se u izveštaju Fridom Hausa.

Celokupan izveštaj možete pronaći na ovom LINKU.

LESKOVAC, 03.03.2020. – Pripadnici Ministarstva unutrašnjih poslova u Leskovcu uhapsili su D. S. (25) iz Leskovca, zbog postojanja osnova sumnje da je napao novinara portala “Jugmedia”, saopštio je MUP. Udruženje novinara Srbije (UNS) osuđuje fizički napad i vređanje novinara tog portala i dopisnica novinskih agencija “Beta” i “Foneta” dok su izveštavali sa protesta srednjoškolaca protiv Parade ponosa u tom gradu.

Kako se navodi u saopštenju MUP-a, sumnja se da je D.S. u centru Leskovca, fizički napao novinara portala Jugmedia Dragana Marinkovića, koji je tom prilikom lakše povređen.

Osumnjičeni je sproveden nadležnom tužilaštvu.

Udruženje novinara Srbije (UNS) osuđuje fizički napad i vređanje novinara tog portala i dopisnica agencija Beta i Fonet na zadatku u centru Leskovca tokom izveštavanja sa protesta srednjoškolaca protiv Parade ponosa u tom gradu.

Zamenik glavnog urednika portala Jugmedia Dragan Marinković potvrdio je za UNS da su srednjoškolci na skupu vikali na kolege, vređali ih, psovali, a da je njega jedan od demonstranata odgurnuo kada je pokušao da ih fotografiše.

“Nasrnuli su na dopisnicu Bete, a koleginicu iz Foneta su psovali. Osetio sam udarac u levu potkolenicu, a zatim sam pao. U urgentnom centru su konstatovane lakše povrede. Policiji sam dao izjavu”, rekao je UNS-u Marinković.

UNS je, kako se navodi u saopštenju, istovremeno iznenađen i zabrinut zbog ponašanja maloletnika na protestu koji nije prijavljen i očekuje da njihovi roditelji i profesori otvoreno razgovaraju sa svojom decom i učenicima o tom nemilom incidentu.