Regionalna platforma Zapadnog Balkana za zagovaranje medijskih sloboda i bezbednosti novinara, koja zastupa više od 8.000 članova, najoštrije osuđuje napad na novinarku Slobodne Dalmacije, Andreu Topić, dok je obavljala posao istraživačkog novinara.

Kako izveštava Slobodna Dalmacija, nju su u ponedeljak, 23. januara 2020. godine napala četiri muškarca dok je istraživala o imovini hrvatskog ministra zdravstva Milana Kujundžića, u Ivanbegovini.

„Rekli su mi da se sklonim i da tu nema ništa što bih mogla da snimim. Prvi čovek je rekao da je rođak ministra Kujundžića. Prepoznao me je – znao je da sam novinarka. Prepoznala sam i ja njega zato što sam i ranije snimala na ovom prostoru”, rekla je Topić i dodala da se sklonila u svoj automobil kada su muškarci počeli da joj prete.

Kako kaže, muškarci su brzo opkolili automobil i nastavili su sa zastrašivanjem tako što su vikali, snimali je, sedali na njen automobil i na taj način ga ljuljali. Topić je rekla da je ovo zastrašivanje trajalo pola sata. Njen urednik je pozvao policiju, a kad je policija stigla, muškarci su sve demantovali uprkos tome što je Topić napravila snimak incidenta.

“Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo snažno osuđuje ovaj gadni napad na koleginicu Andreu Topić koja je samo radila svoj posao, a koji je od javnog interesa. Napad je posledica neprijateljske atmosfere u Hrvatskoj, a u kojoj se za sve krivica prebacuje na novinare. U bilo kojoj zemlji takvo okruženje je neprihvatljivo, a posebno ne u državi koja je članica EU i koja predsedava Većem EU“, rekao je predsednik HND-a Hrvoje Zovko nakon brutalnog napada na novinarku Topić dok je ona radila na svom novinarskom zadataku u gradu u blizini Imotskog.

Regionalna platforma Zapadnog Balkana za zagovaranje medijskih sloboda i bezbednosti novinara podržava HND u naporima da zaštiti novinare koji samo rade svoj posao. Tražimo da počinioci napada na novinarku Topić budu kažnjeni i da se novinarima obezbede sigurni uslovi za rad. Platforma će obavestiti sve evropske institucije o ovom incidentu i zatražiti njihovu intervenciju u oblasti medijske slobode i sigurnosti novinara na području Zapadnog Balkana.

Svaki napad na novinare je napad na javni interes, demokratiju i ljudska prava.

Skoplje – Beograd – Podgorica– Priština – Sarajevo – Zagreb, 28.01.2020.

Udruženje/udruga BiH novinari

Sindikat medija Crne Gore

Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo

Udruženje novinara Kosova

Udruženje novinara Makedonije

Nezavisno udruženje novinara Srbije

Sarajevo, 28.01.2020. – The Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH (HJPC) filed a complaint against the state prosecutor Oleg Cavka for his conduct in the “Diploma” case, confirmed the Office of the Disciplinary Prosecutor of the HJPC.

Prosecutor Cavka is charged, among other things, for the unlawful interrogation of journalist Azra Omerovic, from whom he tried to find out who provided her with information on the unlawful graduation.

The “Diploma” case was formed after portal Zurnal published a story in which their journalist, without being present at the classes, received her high school diploma in seventeen days. Journalist Azra Omerovic submitted the documents on December 20, 2018. She received a certified diploma on her name and certificates for all four high school grades on January 3 last year.

She received her diploma in front of the cameras from Senad Pehlivan from Fojnica, who in turn asked her for 2.500 BAM.

After the Zurnal published a story about the purchase of diplomas, prosecutor Cavka interrogated the journalist who did this research. According to her testimony, the prosecutor told her that the summons from the Prosecutor’s Office did not specify what circumstances she would be questioned on, so he could ask her “about anything he wants.”

Cavka allegedly filed the case under the code “KTA” that describes cases where there is no reasonable doubt that a crime has been committed.

The disciplinary complaint was submitted to the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, which in the coming days should set up a disciplinary commission to review the case.

In April last year, the Steering Committee of the BH Journalists Association strongly condemned the illicit interference of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH in the work of journalists and the media. You can read the statement HERE.

VALJEVO, 26.01.2020. – Kako izgleda projektno sufinansiranje medija na lokalu? Tema broj jedan ovih dana među valjevskim novinarima, koji su radi da se jave na konkurs grada za sufinansiranje projekata iz oblasti javnog informisanja, svakako je moguća raspodela sredstava. Ne čudi, jer činjenica da je po konkursu za jedan projekat opredeljeno od 10.000 dinara do čak pet miliona, ne sluti na dobro, uz to ako se zna da je na prošlogodišnjem konkursu pola valjevskih para po nejasnim kriterijumima otišlo beogradskim medijima.

“Dobila sam informaciju da, kada je bilo pitanje raspodele sredstava, da su medijskim kućama koje nisu bliske vlasti, tačnije, izveštavale su i kritički su imali osvrt na rad lokalne samouprave, gradonačelnik nije hteo da da ništa od tih sredstava i onda je rekao “dajte im po deset hiljada dinara”. I onda su ga obavestili da ne postoji cifra, jer je tada bio minimalan iznos pedeset hiljada po projektu. Evo, ove godine, on je verovatno zbog toga i smanjio na deset hiljada dinara, koliko najmanje može da dobije jedan projekat, što je apsolutno ponižavajuće za bilo koji medij”, navodi novinarka Danijela Dovever.

“S druge strane, ako bi vlast dodelila deset hiljada dinara nekome ko podnese projekat u trajanju od pet, šest meseci i ko ima određeno novinarsko ime u Valjevu, za koga se zna da može da iznese taj projekat, onda to u najmanju ruku nije fer i ne bi bilo pošteno”, dodaje novinar MIjo Stojkanović.

Dobri poznavaoci prilika u valjevskim medijima znaju da na ovim konkursima prolaze novinari koji podržavaju aktuelnu vlast, a ta podrška ide dotle da se javno obračunavaju sa svojim kolegama koji imaju kritički odnos prema nekim pojavama u gradu, pre svega, kada su u pitanju raspodela budžetskih sredstava i koruptivne radnje.

“Moja pretpostavka jeste da mi nismo dobili sredstva zbog toga što na našoj televiziji se emituje emisija “Govornica”, to je emisija koja ima kritički stav prema svemu što se dešava u celoj državi, a ne samo u gradu. Ona iako je autobiografska emisija, ljudi su imali pravo da iznesu svoje mišljenje, što se očigledno lokalnoj, pa ni nacionalnoj vlasti nije dopalo”, navodi Dovever.

Prema informacijama koje do novinara nezvanično dolaze iz Gradske kuće, koliko će koji iznos dobiti koji medij u Valjevu, donosi sam gradonačelnik, uz dodatne pritiske i sugestije iz centrale.

Pokušaj N1 da dobije nekakva pojašnjenja ovakve odluke, naišao je na ćutanje od strane nadležnih.

Kako u ovakvim uslovima i situaciji, kada se valjevskim novcem finansiraju beogradski mediji, opstaju novinari u Valjevu?

“To je mukotrpno, više nego mukotrpno i ja žalim za time što ne postoji osetljivost kod takozvanog realnog sektora”, ističe Stojkanović.

Dosadašnja iskustva na konkursima govore da nije bitan kvalitet projekta, ni iskustvo novinara, već da prolaz na konkursu i visina sredstava zavise pre svega od toga u kojoj meri podržavate aktuelnu gradsku vlast.

N1, Milena Kuzmanović, Beograd, 26/01/2020.

PRISTINA, 24.01.2020 Association of Journalists of Kosovo still has not receive any response from the Independent Media Commission (IMC) on questions and concerns raised days ago, along with media lawyer Flutura Kusari on the proposal of IMC to amend the Draft Code of Ethics for Audio and Audiovisual Media Service Providers in the Republic of Kosovo (Draft Code of Ethics) and Draft Regulation on the Protection of Children and Minors in Audio and Audiovisual Media Services (Draft Regulation).

Association of Journalists of Kosovo together with Ms. Kusari, has reviewed the Draft Code of Ethics and the Draft Regulation, and we consider that both documents contain sections that would violate the freedom of expression of journalists and media freedom.

In particular, we are concerned with the Draft Code of Ethics which reinstates the prohibition on reporting by the courts, as it existed with the old Code of Ethics of 2010. The 2016 Code of Ethics, which is still in force and drafted by international experts, had eliminated sections that prevented court reporting. The IMC has reinstated the prohibition on reporting by the courts. We also have concerns about some of the sections proposed in the Draft Regulation.

In order to understand these proposals, we sought clarification from the representatives of the Independent Media Commission on the following issues:

– What are the reasons that have driven the amendment of the Draft Code of Ethics and Draft Regulation?

– Has there been any legal analysis of the shortcomings of the Code of Ethics and Regulation in force which the IMC claims to address in the process of amendment? If so, share it with us.

– On what international standards was the IMC based when it proposed the prohibition of reporting by the courts?

– During the amendment, have they sought the expertise and support of any of the international institutions present in Kosovo and active in the field of media freedom?

Representatives of AJK and Ms. Kusari also requested to attend today’s IMC meeting, but through an electronic response, IMC representatives rejected the request. According to them, the planned meeting is a consultative meeting and given that the consultation meeting is not a regular meeting of the Commission, it is therefore not public.

We ask the IMC representatives not to approve the Draft Code of Ethics and the Draft Regulation because these legal changes will severely violate the freedom of expression of journalists and media freedom in Kosovo.

Sarajevo, 24.01.2020. – U Bosni i Hercegovini danas je počela javna kampanja “Mediji za građane – građani za medije” koju provodi Mediacentar Sarajevo. Kampanja ukazuje na važnost profesionalnog novinarstva koje služi javnom interesu svih građana i građanki. Učesnici kampanje, istaknuti novinari i novinarke, upozoravaju na prijetnje profesionalnom novinarstvu, objašnjavaju bitne aspekte novinarskog rada, te pojave koje doprinose stvaranju zabluda o medijima i gubitku povjerenja u njihov rad.

Oni podsjećaju, između ostalog, na principe profesionalnog novinarstva i ulogu novinara u društvu; objašnjavaju karakteristike istraživačkog novinarstva i fact-checkinga; odgovaraju na pitanja šta je dobar intervju; šta bi trebala biti prava uloga javnog servisa; zašto je važno znati kako se mediji finansiraju i u čijem su vlasništvu; kako društvene mreže utiču na novinarstvo. Ukazuju, takođe, na učestale prijetnje i fizičke napade na novinare, kao i izostanak adekvatnih reakcija policije, pravosuđa i javnosti, te posebno upozoravaju na položaj žena u medijima.

Učesnici i učesnice kampanje su: Aladin Abdagić, Borka Rudić, Dalibor Tanić, Dragan Bursać, Duška Jurišić, Emela Burdžović Slipičević, Katarina Panić, Maja Nikolić, Marina Riđić, Medina Šehić, Mubarek Asani, Semir Mujkić, Štefica Galić, Tomislav Đurić i Vildana Selimbegović.

Kampanja daje doprinos medijskoj i informacijskoj pismenosti u BiH edukacijom o vrijednostima na kojima se zasniva profesionalno novinarstvo, podizanjem svijesti o važnosti slobode medija i ulozi koju građani mogu imati u zalaganju za nju, te podsjećanjem na potrebu kritičkog pristupa medijskim sadrżajima.

Novinari su glas javnosti. Oni postavljaju pitanja u ime građana i građanki i istražuju teme od javnog interesa kako bi društvu osigurali tačne, potpune, nepristrasne i pravovremene informacije.

Kampanja je dio regionalnog projekta “Mediji za građane – građani za medije“ i istovremeno se odvija u pet zemalja regije (Albanija, BiH, Crna Gora, Sjeverna Makedonija i Srbija).

By: Brankica Rudan

Sarajevo, 24.01.2020. – Many believe that the state and face of any country is best reflected through media. I personally reckon that if you go to fruits and veggies market in any town and watch the TV of that town; you will surely have the whole picture of that town.

If you do that in Sarajevo, you will meet its very sad side.

Media are frayed and worn out and the market is poor. If we make further analysis why things are just like that, we shall, once again, encounter mostly common and consumed public views claiming that everything bad is “government’s fault”. The state of public consciousness is based on the following premises: no individual can do anything and the general and public responsibility is thus shifted and transferred from one party to another, all based on the “it is their fault” principle!

Television media in BiH not only lack in creativity process; moreover, program contents of TV shows are almost identical on all TV channels in BiH. We therefore have morning programs, daily news, brief news, but also “the most expensive” journalists’ varieties where analysts are invited as TV show guests, including miscellaneous experts, professors, doctors and other which depend on the subject and topic. Journalists are thus provided with filled TV scheme and program and their guests get free media promotion. We have pretty much everything except educational, useful, relaxing, encouraging and motivating program contents.

I remember that my friend (a journalist as well) decided once to watch Central Daily News with mute sound and after having news watched with no sound at all he concluded that TV hosts (people that run the TV news program) seemed very “frowned, angry and appeared as if they had been constantly quarrelling and fighting someone”.

Radio stations, along with dynamics and hosts’ talent, have been competing with each other (depending on taste of their listening audience) on who had better music songs. Radio is also similar to TV in these terms. One could, once in a while, hear some original jingles that would make us laugh and then radio station would keep playing this jingle until it became very boring, so every single being may learn it by heart.

There are no more serious TV talk show programs in BiH media, including humor and funny programs, featuring programs, entertaining shows, educational and school programs as well. What happened to all quizzes that made vast contribution to our common knowledge and skills? All of that is somehow reserved to our neighbors from both, East and West.

Can one say that sitting in the car, turning his camera on and claiming that he had a show is serious media program? Does anyone know to what direction media houses in BiH are heading to and what happened to serious productions? All of these issues left me with no answers expect that some new times have certainly emerged; the times of new declining values.

There is still another side of the coin that can, to some extent and at least tend and attempt to “justify” why journalists work like they do. Budgets are insufficient, working conditions are more or less poor and inadequate, and enthusiasm has decreased due to low wages and salaries and working conditions as well. Hyper productions and quantity therefore appear as a consequence and have their prices. The fight for survival has become more and more apparent and evident, and it is obvious that most of journalists’ professional work is done according to previously received and strict orders, including either political orders or according to the demand of the market, where marketing piece of action that we had been fighting for and that has been provided by our sponsors or friends of the media show that have been feeding us by their investing is crucial for media sustainability and survival.

As a result of all of the above listed issues, interpersonal relationships in most media houses have worsen as well. The other party is always considered as “someone biased or a controlled puppet” and editing offices often have so called “clans. It has become noted and rather common that a male or female colleague (workmate) would often refuse to help or “give a hand” to her/his colleague, justifying her/his actions by claiming that “it is not part of their job description”, which clearly displays a complete absence of team work.

Frequent spinning need for fast and quick information, combined with cheap production, have resulted in electronic and printed media being in a very awkward position with often posting / releasing of faulty, wrong, incorrect and inaccurate information and quotes emerging as final outcomes. This is where we also encounter nonsense because we live in times where every information, provided through modern technology sources, can easily be checked and confirmed, though we must not forget the fact that much information are deliberately and intentionally posted wrong and incorrect, in their quest of attaining media sensationalism. The number of media houses in all fields (printed, electronic or other) that seek sensationalism is on an increase on almost daily basis. Whenever we turn our attention to, people talk about moral and ethics, despite the fact that these two have almost vanished in our reality. Although frankly speaking, there are very few honored exceptions which can still be found in this, rather dark media environment.

The latter does indeed represent the beacons of often victims in terms of assaults and attacks on journalists. General public almost never finds out what happens with assaulters and attackers, since they are not arrested and even if they are, they are set free within very short period of time.

Politicians are often main stars in local media and news are often addressed by one party only, which is followed by reply from the other party, again followed by denial from the first party and then again response from the second party etc. In two or three days, all these quarrels and fights enter the brain area reserved for distant past, because new and new information burst every minute and every second. Generally media is, as a result of professional principle which requires the addressing of the other side, somehow less and less interested in the genuine truth; instead, it is more notably interested in taking care of both sides (preferably in sequels and for as long period of time as possible), leaving thus their listening or viewing audience to make conclusions regarding certain person or venue.

Biggest critics whether one would admit it or not, can be noted on social media sources. Like (click) in our environment is very cheap. This is where we express our opinions, views, stances, stands, share and disperse our emotions, analyze, reply, respond, answer, make comments, like, demonstrate, bring and post filthy stuff in public, share humor and funny photos, make fun, laugh; simply we master the area of social media.

Where is the key that unlocks media and lead them to liberty direction? Actually, we have this key and its name is freedom and courage. We are free only as much as our courage is good enough to fight for media liberties and freedoms.

Let’s hope that 2020 would bring us more courage and better working conditions for the independent media and journalists.

(Author is a journalist at Television Sarajevo; this article was published in bulletin E-journalist)