BELGRADE, 16.08.2019. – The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) has accepted an invitation to take part in the next meeting between the authorities and opposition, a statement said on Thursday adding that NUNS representatives will only be present at the part of the meeting which is open to the public.

The third meeting between the authorities and opposition will be held on Monday, August 19 at the Belgrade University Faculty of Political Science and will be devoted to the media.

“The NUNS executive board decided to accept the invitation so that it could reiterate the NUNS views about dangers to freedom of information and expression, the security of journalists and other media staff, the unequal position of the media and other issues and problems directly jeopardizing the rights of the citizens to complete, objective nad comprehensive information,” the statement said.

It added that the executive board feels that NUNS representatives should not take part in the segment of the meeting behind closed doors because media freedom should be discussed in public. The NUNS will make its views of the stands of the authorities and opposition public after the meeting, it said.

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia condemns the post of the President of VMRO-DPMNE, Kristijan Mickoski in which he inappropriately described the journalists and editors of 1TV and their work. On his Facebook profile, he accused journalists of being biased and being paid suspiciously.

“We remind Mickoski that the work of the media and journalists can be evaluated only by the public and professional journalistic associations, and such lump-sum evaluations, especially by political officials, only contribute to reducing public’s trust in the media. In addition, Mickoski violates the principle of presumption of innocence given that the case is under investigation, and media reports have no indication that the journalists of this TV station were involved in it”, said AJM in the reaction.

AJM appealed the leaders of the two main political parties SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE and other politicians as well, to stop spreading qualifications for journalists as this is not in the spirit of European values and in the long run can only have negative consequences for freedom of expression.

“AJM will alert the international community about this trend of politically motivated smear campaigns against journalists, since if any of our colleagues were to be attacked more seriously, it would be our politician’s responsibility.”

PODGORICA, 14.08.2019 – Montenegro has serious problems in the area of freedom of media. International reports of relevant organizations have come to an almost identical conclusion. European Commission, whose rating is the most important to us, thus sublimates these views: there is no progress and we are extremely concerned about the political impact on the Public Broadcaster Service.

The ethics in Montenegrin journalism and the Code are more than reprimanded. The media community is divided and strongly opposed to one another. But not because of the Code and ethics.

Political affiliation and bias is dividing the media in the country that is expected to become the first next member of the Union. For the last decade, two media branches are getting far away from each other, with no indication as to when and how they could begin to approach.

Ethics and responsible journalism cannot be returned by the state. This must not be state’s job because it would allow a flagrant interference of power and politics with the internal organization of the media community. We must do this ourselves if we want complete freedom. Regardless of differences, ethics and self-regulation must be a gathering point. The collapse of attempts to individually revive two self-regulatory bodies and, finally, to unite, has forced some media to move into self-regulation, establishing the ombudsman institution for their media. How successful or unsuccessful, it’s not very well known to the public because, ultimately, they are internal matters about which the media do not speak publicly.

However, the central place in every story of media freedom and journalistic independence occupies, rightfully, the Public Broadcaster Service – Radio Television of Montenegro.

Media paid by all citizens must justify this. The Public Broadcaster Service must be the head of the media community around which it will gather as a model of ethical and professional journalism. The self-regulation of RTCG is under review within the amendments to the Law on Public Broadcaster Services, Radio and Television of Montenegro. Instead of the previous model of Commission for applications and complaints of listeners and viewers, the Ombudsman Institute will be introduced.

That change did not occur randomly. The Commission’s practice, for more than a decade, has no scope and effects that it should have and which would justify its existence. The three-member body, composed of Council members, considered the complaints in the order of arrival. Whatever their decision was, it had to be checked by the Council. Communication with journalists and editorial staff was at the level required by law, not intensive and not regular for several objective but also non-objective reasons. There are no reliable statistical information about the implementation of recommendations to the editorial offices and journalists because such records have not been conducted. However, the Commission is certainly not the obvious state of affairs in which the Public Broadcaster Service is located. Low level of ratings, even lower confidence in the news program, sharp criticism of editorial politics from the civil sector, media employees, international organizations, political fractures in the RTCG’s center, are found and they will be found again, the alarm is showing that the situation evades control and this media must be as soon as possible on the path of recovery.

A Public Broadcaster Service urgently need a powerful self-regulation model that would trigger the mechanism from within. The future ombudsman will have the opportunity guaranteed by the Law and internal acts of the RTCG. The very fact that he will be elected at a public competition and that he / she will be appointed by the RTCG Council will raise the ombudsman in the rank of general director, because only he is appointed in that way. Domestic and international attention could be a kind of guarantee that political structures will have a reduced opportunity to influence the Council’s choice.

We came, as a country, to a situation in which the “head of state” seriously hangs the Damocles sword of the negotiation stopping, and if we want at least one good signal to be sent, the choice of ombudsman for RTCG could be the same.

The Public Broadcaster Service of Slovenia served as one of the models for the Draft Law on RTCG. Talking with ombudsman Ilinko Todorovski convinced me that a well-established model, with a person of professional and personal integrity, could be an opportunity.

Self-regulation in Montenegro financially proved unsustainable because the media themselves did not show that they were ready to finance it. The lack of awareness of its importance to “not feeding the hand that will hold them” is the reason why the key is locked into the lock of self-regulatory bodies. Now the state is ready to separate money for a unique self-regulatory body. The offer to which media does not know how to respond. Money is necessary, self-regulation is a duty to the public and to themselves, but, what if they are having to choose between a stick or a carrot? One risk will have to bear!

Nevenka Cirovic, journalist

The text was created within the project “Monitoring for free media” implemented by the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro within the framework of a major project “Judicial Reform: Upgrading CSO’s capacities to contribute to the integrity of judiciary” financed by the European Union, and implemented by the Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMi) in partnership with the NGO Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) and the Network for the Affirmation of European Integration Processes (MAEIP).

SKOPJE, 14.08.2019 – The Association of Journalists of Macedonia strongly condemns yesterday’s statement of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, in which he said he would not allow any vanity journalist to delegitimize this government and he will fight against that. Such aggressive speech towards journalists can incite violence against our colleagues, and it can further jeopardize their security and restrict the freedom of expression.

We call on the Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to apologize to the journalists immediately, and above all to our colleague Branko Geroski if this statement was addressed to him, and to refrain from such discrediting of journalists in the future.

As President of the ruling party and the Government Zaev needs to show that he can deal with the criticism by the journalists, and thus set an example for other members of the Government, as well as the Macedonian public. Instead of dealing publicly with critical journalists, he needs to encourage them in their efforts to detect possible abuses of power and institutions must respond upon that.

At the same time, in his statement, the Prime Minister used inappropriate speech against members of the LGBTI community and this is unimaginable for a serious politician and holder of such a high post. As journalists and an association advocating for equality in all fields and non-discrimination, we also condemn this part of Prime Minister Zaev’s statement and demand that he apologizes publicly.

BEOGRAD, 13.08.2019. – Čekam poziv na sastanak sa predsednikom Aleksandrom Vučićem, ali se niko iz njegovog kabineta, kao ni iz kabineta premijerke, nije oglasio, tako da ne znam kada ću i da li ću biti primljena, kaže za Cenzolovku Maja Pavlović, direktorka Kanala 9, koja drugi dan štrajkuje glađu.

Direktorka novosadske televizije Kanal 9 Maja Pavlović počela je drugi dan štrajka glađu u Beogradu, ispred zgrade Regulatornog tela za elektronske medije (REM).

Ovo joj je treći štrajk glađu u poslednjih 15 meseci zbog dugih sudskih procesa u vezi sa naknadama koje lokalne televizije moraju da plaćaju.

Prvog dana štrajka nije bilo značajnih pomaka u ispunjenju zahteva Maje Pavlović. Organizacija proizvođača fonograma Srbije (OFPS) mejlom je pozvala direktorku Kanala 9 da odredi datum kada želi da se sastane sa njihovim predstavnicima, uz poruku da u narednih 30 dana neće podnositi tužbe protiv ovog lokalnog medija.

Međutim, onog najbitnijeg – poziva iz kabineta predsednika Republike Srbije Aleksandra Vučića – nije bilo.

„Meni je najvažnije da sam dobila podršku kolega iz medija, bili su mnogi mediji, oglasila su se novinarska udruženja i ja sam tu. Čekam poziv na sastanak sa predsednikom Aleksandrom Vučićem, ali se niko iz njegovog kabineta, kao ni iz kabineta premijerke, nije oglasio, tako da ne znam kada ću i da li ću biti primljena. Oglasio se i OFPS. U mejlu su naveli da u narednih 30 dana neće podnositi nikakve tužbe protiv Kanala 9, te da u tom roku odredim datum kada želim da se sastanem sa njima. Datum nisam još odredila, jer najpre čekam sastanak sa predsednikom i nakon toga ću razgovarati sa predstavnicima OFPS-a“, poručuje Maja Pavlović za Cenzolovku.

U popodnevnim časovima Maju Pavlović je posetio i državni sekretar u Ministarstvu kulture i informisanja Aleksandar Gajović kako bi proverio kako je. 

Maja Pavlović je ranije Udruženju novinara Srbije rekla da očekuje da je predsednik Vučić primi na razgovor, jer joj je Mladen Bašić iz kabineta premijerke nagovestio želju predsednika da razgovara s njom. 

Podsetimo, Maja Pavlović vodi sudske sporove sa OFPS-om, REM-om, Sokojem, zbog oduzimanja lokalne i dodeljivanja regionalne frekvencije, uvećanja tarifa, koje su porasle nekoliko puta, a za šta tvrdi da je učinjeno nezakonito, zbog čega joj je naredni korak tužba Evropskom sudu za ljudska prava u Strazburu.

Ona je nezadovoljna i načinom na koji se sprovode konkursi za sufinansiranje medijskih projekata, na kojima ovaj medij dobija sve manje novca, a žali se i na diskriminaciju u odnosu na druge novosadske medije kada je u pitanju saradnja sa javnim preduzećima.

Više o razlozima za štrajka, o tome šta očekuje od sastanka sa Vučićem, o sudskim procesima i strahu kolega da progovore o problemima možete da čitate u intervjuu koji je Maja Pavlović dala za Cenzolovku OVDE.

09.08.2019, Prishtina – Invitation to Parim Olluri, Executive Director of INSAJDER Portal, by Kosovo Police, specifically Police Station “QENDRA” in Prishtina, to appear or otherwise be arrested, is unacceptable for AJK.

According to a post made by Olluri on the social network Facebook, this is about an article he published about Gani Geci.

The articles that may be considered defamatory for certain individuals or institutions may not be treated differently, only under the Civil Law against Defamation and Insult (No. 02 / L-65).

The police order for journalist Parim Olluri is an extreme measure of the action of a public institution that goes beyond its legal powers and mandate.