CJA on lawsuit against Nik Titanik: A society where a cartoonist is criminally prosecuted has a serious problem!

03/11/2023

This is not a joke, even though Nik Titanik has managed to make us all laugh well over the years! Because of three cartoons published in the sports section of the newspaper 24sata in late March 2020, Krešimir Antolić, former executive of GNK “Dinamo”, filed a private criminal lawsuit against Nikola Plečko, also known as Nik Titanik!

Criminally prosecuting a cartoonist is not only a serious problem for the plaintiff but also for the entire society. If Nik Titanik is found guilty of his artistic work, any citizen of this country who tells a joke about Krešimir Antolić or any similarly offended figure of the same caliber can end up in court, facing criminal prosecution and conviction! This case could set a legal precedent for all future cases involving criticism of public figures, significantly endangering media and democratic freedoms in Croatia and limiting the free work of all cartoonists, humorists, satirists, stand-up comedians, photo manipulators, and other similar artists, as well as all journalists who write critically about public figures and topics important to the public.

Therefore, the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) takes extremely seriously the criminal prosecution of Nik Titanik, which is happening at a time when media freedoms are dwindling, journalists are increasingly persecuted, and instead of working to make journalism a public good, the government is preparing even more stringent laws that will criminalize journalists for every attempt they make to uncover the truth. Every free and truly democratic society needs a concise and intelligent sum of daily events in a context that gives them meaning, as well as satire, humor, and cartoons, which are an integral and indispensable part of journalistic discourse.

Unfortunately, the case of Nik Titanik is neither a precedent nor an isolated example of such journalists being criminally prosecuted. The Croatian Journalists’ Association expresses its concern also about many previous cases in which our colleagues have been convicted. Just remember the judgments against Viktor Ivančić for the article “Two Little Pigs,” the repeated, serial harassment of Boris Dežulović by Željka Markić, or when, after a final judgment, Velimir Bujanec seized the satirical portal NewsBar. “If I say something serious now, someone will sue me. If I say something unserious, I’ll still be sued. It’s best for a man to keep silent, although silence could soon be litigated,” said Domagoj Zovak, the author of the “incriminated” satirical text, bitterly speaking on that occasion.

We refuse to remain silent, we refuse to see journalists criminally prosecuted for written words, spoken or drawn satire and jokes, and we will follow the legal process of our colleague Nik Titanik and inform the international community about the criminal prosecution of a cartoonist. Let them laugh too.

For the Executive Board of the CJA,

Hrvoje Zovko, President of the CJA

HND-ovi komentari na prijedlog nacionalnog plana razvoja kulture i medija

CJA

31/10/2023

2hnd-glavno-stubiste-foto-nikola-solic — Nikola Šolić

Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo sudjelovalo je u javnom savjetovanju o Nacrtu prijedloga Nacionalnog plana razvoja kulture i medija za razdoblje od 2023. do 2027. godine i Nacrtu prijedloga Akcijskog plana razvoja kulture i medija za razdoblje od 2023. do 2024. godine iznijevši na predloženi tekst niz primjedbi i prijedloga. Savjetovanje je provedeno od 18. rujna do 18. listopada i detaljni komentari dostupni su ovdje.

Načelna primjedba HND-a išla je ponajprije na proceduru i temelje koji bi trebali prethoditi predlaganju, a potom i donošenju nacionalnog plana razvoja kulture i medija. HND smatra da je prije izrade srednjoročnog Nacionalnog plana, Ministarstvo kulture i medija trebalo predložiti dugoročni dokument više razine, odnosno nacionalnu strategiju kulturnog razvoja koji, kao neodvojiv dio, uključuje medije i novinarstvo, ključne za informiranje građana u demokratskim društvima. Izradu takvog dokumenta, u skladu s procedurom iz Zakona o sustavu strateškog planiranja i upravljanja razvojem Republike Hrvatske, predlaže nadležno tijelo državne uprave, odnosno Ministarstvo kulture i medija. Za razliku od nacionalnih planova koje predlaže i usvaja Vlada, sektorske i međusektorske strategije usvaja Hrvatski sabor, što bi bilo znatno prikladnije s obzirom na to da se strateškim dokumentima određuje medijska politika te se anticipira sadržaj zakona o medijima, koje je Ustavni sud 2004. godine uvrstio među “organske zakone”, kojima se razrađuju Ustavom utvrđena ljudska prava i temeljne slobode, koje uključuju slobodu govora i javnog nastupa i slobodno osnivanje svih ustanova javnog priopćavanja.

Osim toga, donošenje nacionalnog plana bez prethodne strategije je kao da se sada raspravlja samo o nacrtu kratkoročnog akcijskog, bez prethodno utvrđenog srednjoročnog nacionalnog plana.

HND se, među ostalim, osvrnuo i na namjeru predlagača da unaprijedi ulogu medija i status novinara smatrajući kako je predlagač propustio dodati aktivnosti koje će unaprjeđenju položaja novinara dodati i dimenzije materijalne sigurnosti (povećanje plaća i honorara) te povećanje statutarne autonomije unutar redakcije i zaštitu freelancera. HND je u savjetovanju zatražio da se u mjeru “osiguravanja stabilne potpore statusu umjetnika, uključujući uplate zdravstvenog i mirovinskog osiguranja samostalnim umjetnicima, uz odgovarajuću i pravno utemeljenu korekciju koeficijenata” uključi novinarke i novinare, u smislu poreznih olakšica na ugovore o autorskom djelu te da se omogući mirovinsko i zdravstveno osiguranje za slobodne novinarke i novinare, članice i članice HND-a.

HND je posebno naglasio nužnost uspostave dostatnog fonda za medije ili fonda za profesionalno novinarstvo s jasnim ciljevima i kriterijima prema kojima će se taj fond raspodjeljivati. Glavna namjena fonda treba biti transparentno i od političkog utjecaja slobodno javno financiranje profesionalnog novinarstva. Mogući izvori financiranja su sljedeći: udjel u bruto prihodima digitalnih platformi, zatim dio prihoda od igara na sreću, dio koncesijskih naknada medija, simboličan porez na oglašavanje (uz uvođenje amortizacije za oglašavanje robnih marki), elektroničke uređaje široke potrošnje, prihode od naplate pristupa internetu te korištenja i aukcija radiofrekvencijskog spektra i državni proračun. HND smatra kako će za raspodjelu tako prikupljenih sredstva novog medijskog fonda biti potrebno osmisliti i nove mehanizme raspodjele da bi se pravedno javno financiranje medija osiguralo od sukoba interesa i političkog pritiska.

HND je podsjetio predlagača kako je u svibnju ove godine objavio Modele financiranja lokalnih medija s analizom i preporukama te ih priložio na razmatranje.

The Second Edition of the Information Integrity Academy began

AJK

28/10/2023

“Media Literacy for Journalists” – is the module that opened this year’s edition of the Information Integrity Academy, and was lectured by Besa Luci – editor-in-chief at Kosovo2.0.

Before the start of the module, the Chairman of the Board of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Xhemajl Rexha, addressed journalism students and journalists.

Rexha talked about the importance of this Academy for young journalists, and thanked the National Democratic Institute – NDI and USAID in Kosovo, for the opportunity given to students and journalists to learn the best practices for verifying information.

In the first module of this edition, journalistic principles, media culture, content creation, use of digital tools, professional standards, and the role of the media in society were discussed. Also, journalists had the opportunity to analyze local and international media content.

The Academy for Information Integrity will continue with five more modules in the following months.

Zagrebački općinski sud oslobodio Dežulovića

CJA

27/10/2023

Zagrebački Općinski kazneni sud oslobodio je kolumnistu Novosti Borisa Dežulovića po privatnoj tužbi Željke Markić podnesenoj povodom teksta “Željka Markić: glupa ili plavuša” objavljenog 2018. godine. Odlučio je tako nakon održane zadnje rasprave u ponedjeljak sudac Domagoj Kurobasa koji je isti dan donio presudu, javlja portalnovosti.com.

Odgovarajući na pitanja suda Željka Markić kazala je da se osjetila uvrijeđenom jer je se u tekstu nazivalo suborkinjom Velimira Bujaneca kojeg se povezuje s drogom i da smatra da je jedini motiv za pisanje kolumnist mogao pronaći u neslaganju s vrijednostima za koje se ona zalaže. Dežulović je rekao da ga je pisao povodom ishoda tužbe Mime Simić za klevetu protiv Željke Markić koja je proglašena krivom, nakon čega je Dada Batinić napisala satirični tekst o tome da je Željka Markić time izgubila nevinost.

“Unatoč tome Željka Markić i njezin odvjetnik su podnijeli zahtjev za demantij Indexu tvrdeći da ona nije izgubila nevinost pa sam se ja u svom članku referirao na to nerazumijevanje ili pravljenje da se ne razumije. Ujedno sam govorio o mogućnosti da Željka Markić i mene tuži, što se i dogodilo. Referirao sam se i na satirični tekst kršćanskog teologa od prije 300 godina koji je govorio o tome da se problem gladi u Irskoj rješava tako da se jedu djeca. Taj autor je također bio progonjen budući da nisu shvatili njegovu satiru. U tom smislu sam se referirao na pojam nevinosti u kontekstu privatne tužiteljice. U kontekstu Velimira Bujanca spominjao sam je u smislu da dijele neke iste vrijednosti, no tužiteljica to nije razumjela ili se pravila da je tako pa je podnosila tužbe s ciljem da utječe na novinare da ne pišu nove tekstova. Dakle, radi se o cilju da se postigne cenzura”, kazao je Dežulović, naglasivši da je tužiteljica javna osoba i da je zbog toga postojao javni interes da piše o ovoj temi, kao i da se radi o autorskom tekstu u kojem je izrazio svoj vrijednosni sud.

Zastupnik tužiteljice Krešimir Mateković doveo je u pitanje vjerodostojnost Borisa Dežulovića kao novinara, s obzirom da nije završio Fakultet političkih znanosti (smjer novinarstvo), da je tekst izrazito uvredljiv, da zadire u intimu osobe koja je žena te supruga i majka sve kako bi je se javno ponizilo i osramotilo.

“Valja naglasiti da optuženik nije novinar, nije se školovao za to, a uslijed neznanja ne zna da ovo nisu novinarski standardi. Ako se smatra satiričarem, onda može pisati knjige, a ne da vrijeđa tužiteljicu pod krinkom novinarstva. Tekst je prizeman, uvredljiv i neduhovit”, kazao je Mateković, na što se nadovezala Željka Markić i kazala da simpatizira satiru, ali da bi ona trebala biti profinjena kritika koja nije usmjerena na pojedinca.

Objašnjavajući poziciju Dežulovića kao kolumniste, njegova odvjetnica Lina Budak podsjetila je da je on jedan od osnivača i novinara Feral Tribunea, jednog od najnagrađivanijih tjednika na svijetu, kao i da je sam dobitnik cijelog niza novinarskih nagrada. “Valja istaknuti i da je tužiteljica netočno definirala satiru budući da ona izruguje i kritički ismijava pojedinca ili grupu, a u ovom tekstu se radi o satiričnom duhovitom tekstu u kojem se iznosi vrijednosni sud o tužiteljici. Treba istaknuti da se istinitost vrijednosnog suda ne dokazuje”, rekla je Lina Budak.

Dežulović je na kraju nepravomoćno oslobođen, a Željki Markić naloženo da je plati troškove kaznenog postupka u iznosu od 350 eura, kao i troškove optuženik i braniteljice.

Radi se o jednoj od ukupno pet tužbi koje je zbog ovog teksta Željka Markić podnijela protiv Dežulovića i Srpskog narodnog vijeća kao izdavača Novosti. Dvije tužbe protiv SNV-a sud je spojio u jedan postupak. U dva postupka Dežulović je nepravomoćno oslobođen (u jednom kaznenom i jednom civilnom), SNV je pravomoćno dobio po jednoj građanskoj, dok u drugoj odluka još nije donesena.

Albanian Journalist Receives Death Threats After Reporting Alleged Rape

Tirana

26/10/2023

Afrovita Hysaj said she was sent death threats after she reported an alleged rape in her city – after the TV station Channel 6+1 posted a Facebook message attacking her.

Police in Vlora on Tuesday said they had started investigating threats made to a journalist for reporting an alleged rape case.

“The citizen A.H., 34 years old, resident in Vlora, journalist by profession, reported that she was verbally threatened by this citizen (media owner), due to a news she published regarding the case of the 26-year-old from the city of Vlora suspected to have been encouraged to use narcotics by some citizens, three of whom are then suspected of having violent sexual relations with her,” the police said.

The journalist, Afrovita Hysaj, told BIRN that she had received death threats just for doing her job.

“Immediately after the publication of the event and the names of the perpetrators, the phone calls and threats from the family members of the accused began. The situation degraded with the ‘news’ (the television published) with derogatory vocabulary and street language,” she told BIRN.

“I have received life-threatening messages and this is intolerable. I have been threatened because I am just doing my duty,” she added.

The police said they have referred investigating materials to the Prosecutor’s Office over three people accused of “encouraging the use of drugs”.

Safe Journalists Albania – an organization that advocates for journalists’ rights – called it an “unprecedented attack” and asked the television station to issue a public apology.

“On October 24, 2023, Channel 6+1 Vlora posted a status on their Facebook account that directly targeted journalist Afrovita Hysaj. The content of this status is highly unethical and undermines the journalist’s reputation and professionalism,” it said.

“The language and vocabulary used in this status flagrantly violate the ethical standards of journalism. It publicly defames and targets a media professional, damaging public discourse and contravening the responsibilities of public communication. This incident represents an unprecedented attack on a local journalist by a media outlet,” it added.

Local media reported that the victim withdrew her testimony about sexual violence under pressure from relatives of the attackers.

Albanian journalists are regularly threatened because of their professional work.

In January, journalist Elvis Hila was attacked and threatened over his article reporting a court ruling. Hila was called on the phone by two different people, threatening him related to the news story that he had published. He and his wife were then attacked while they were in his car.

In March, a journalist and camera operator from Top Channel, Albania’s leading television channel, was manhandled and threatened by unidentified employees at a poultry farm owned by a suspected crime gang member, Top Channel said.

In 2022, Albania fell 20 places in the press freedom index compiled by international watchdog Reporters Without Borders, from 83rd to 103rd place.

Reporters Without Borders said that journalists in Albania are targeted by organized crime groups and even by police violence and that the state is failing to protect them, while private media outlets are owned by businessmen who have links with politicians.

Coalition for media freedom and CRTA: The government to guarantee that media laws will not be abused

IJAS

26/10/2023

The Coalition for Media Freedom and the CRTA organization would like to thank all the citizens who supported the petition “Signature against state control over the media”. The goal of the petition was to improve the environment in which journalists and the media work, and to provide citizens with information in accordance with the Code of journalists of Serbia. By the time the two media laws were passed in Parliament, more than 7,000 citizens had signed the petition in just 17 hours.

Unfortunately, the members of the National Assembly of Serbia, in the proposals of the Law on Public Information and Media and the Law on Electronic Media, did not accept to:

Delete the articles that allow state-owned enterprises like Telekom Srbija to own media
Introduce provisions that enable judicial and civil control of REM’s actions following complaints from citizens and organizations
Introduce provisions limiting officials’ campaigns and prescribing criteria and methodology based on which REM monitors media reporting during election campaigns

By adopting both media laws without accepting amendments that would regulate these three areas, Serbia continues to selectively accept European values and principles and thus does not show commitment when it comes to EU integration, because:

The new laws allow the state-owned Telekom of Serbia to establish and buy media, which enables even stronger state control over informing citizens and the media market
The new laws did not oblige REM to act on citizens’ complaints, so this body can continue to turn a blind eye to violations of all the rules of the profession and the spread of violence in the interest of the big media and not be held accountable to anyone
The new laws did not solve the problem of misuse of state institutions and functions in election campaigns, nor did they oblige REM to monitor to what extent and how the President of the State, ministers and other public officials appear in the most watched televisions during the election campaign and to inform citizens about this

We remind you that the principles that the EU insists on in its latest Draft of European Media Freedom Act: consistent approaches to media pluralism and media independence, and provide effective protection for users of media services from illegal and harmful content, reduced risk associated with inappropriate public and private interference in editorial freedom, ensuring transparent and fair distribution of economic resources in the domestic media market, what would increase the transparency and fairness in audience measuring and distribution of state advertising.

The company Telekom, which has now officially legalized its ownership in the media, is second on the list of more than 800 state institutions that did not carry out the Commissioner’s (for information of public importance and personal data protection) orders in 63 cases. For a company that is owned by citizens of Serbia, this represents a very questionable level of transparency.

We hope that some new/future Government and the Parliament would listen professionals and correct today’s mistake, and until then we call on the competent Ministry of Information and Telecommunications to establish additional legal guarantees. Guarantees that will ensure that the influence of state ownership through Telekom will not threaten the diversity of media content and the editorial freedom of the media. Also, the expression of different opinion must be enabled and equal conditions in the media market and the media advertising market have to be provided. The Coalition for Media Freedom will closely monitor the development of the situation on the Serbian media scene.

The Coalition for Media Freedom consists of the Association of Media, the Association of Online Media (AOM), the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Business Association of Local and Independent Media “Local Press” and the Slavko Curuvija Foundation.

Belgrade

October 26, 2023

The Municipality of Tirana “dictates” the propaganda news in the media, transparency and accountability is a problem

Tirana

23/10/2023

The media broadcast unchanged the ready-made news prepared by the “editorial” of 25 employees in the Municipality of Tirana. MediaLook has monitored 45 media, from which it has evidenced that the texts of the reports of the ten most “loyal” media of the institution, but not only, are the same as the press releases, on average 93-99.5%. Propaganda has undergone a drastic increase compared to 5 years ago, when the average compliance ranged from 47-93%. Meanwhile, beyond ready-made news, the reporters claim that it is impossible to follow the activities and ask Mayor Veliaj, since the “last minute” announcements are of an announcement nature, on the eve of the activities that are recorded and broadcast on Facebook. In the last five years, the Mayor of Tirana has not held any press conference with journalists, raising questions about his relationship with reporters and the institution’s transparency and accountability.

The municipality of Tirana has a great influence in the editorial offices of the national and local media, which publish without any filter the information sent by the PR office, allowing the bombardment of public opinion with political propaganda.

MediaLook has researched the relationship with the media, accountability as well as part of the public activities of the Municipality of Tirana for a period of 20 days, ten days before the start of the campaign and ten days after the holding of the local elections on May 14, 2023. Using the NewsLab platform, created from MediaLook, which is connected to search engines, links were generated and media news was verified in their online version, which used the same sentence structure as Tirana Municipality announcements. The platform calculates compatibility in number and percentage. The data also passed through a second manual filter. (access full database)

From this observation, it results that despite the fact that the journalists were not present at the activities of the public institution, the ready materials were published on the media pages, as they were sent by the press office near the Municipality of Tirana. The main focus in these pre-prepared reports is the mayor Erion Veliaj, whose materials and synchronicities, for the most part, are transmitted without editing.

In total, from 17 press releases conceived in the form of ready-made news and distributed by the institution in 20 monitored days, 294 news were produced by 45 media editorial offices, which use the same sentence structure and propagate the same news.

In the ranks of the first ten media identified by MediaLook’s research, out of 45 media in total, the compatibility of the content between the Tirana Municipality announcement and the published news varies from 93-99.5%. Among the media classified in this top ten are online portals, newspapers, and televisions, including national ones. (access the news in the database)

The transmission of ready-made materials by the media at such levels marks a drastic increase in propaganda news compared to 5 years ago, when the same methodology was applied, and where the average compatibility between press releases from the Municipality of Tirana and media reports varied from 47-93%.

What was established by the last monitoring is related to the fact that the mass publication of this news unfiltered by newsrooms is not related to the public interest or to the utilitarian information for citizens. For the media, every news of the Municipality of Tirana is of public interest since the broadcast curve of ready-made chronicles is almost the same, regardless of topics of a social, political, cultural, sports, etc. character.

Also, from the total of these news published uniformly in the media, for the analyzed period, it is observed that in no case was there a second source, except that of the Municipality of Tirana.

Some of the leaders and editors-in-chief of the news who were contacted at Top Channel or Gazeta Dita did not give a comment, while other editors at ABC News, Lexo.al and Gazeta Fjala described these as normal reflections of the activities of the Municipality.

What impresses you is that a significant part of the reporters of the web newsrooms affirm “off record” that for the news that comes ready from the institution of the Municipality of Tirana “we have instructions from the leaders to publish them as they are, or with changes small”, this fact is confirmed by monitoring.

“This shows that the media has reached the situation of news production by public offices. Television chronicles and news are distributed as advertising spots where the media does not have the right to intervene”, – says Enton Abilekaj, the director of the “Dosja.al” portal. According to him, “the employee of the press office of the municipality is at the same time the journalist of the main media, which faithfully transmits his news, behind no filter of the truth”.

In fact, the apparatus of employees who deal with the media at Tirana Municipality is such that any newsroom, including national ones, would cover it. Officially, the institution claims that “next to the General Directorate of Media and Communication, 25 employees are engaged, of which eight deal directly with the media and the public, six of them monitor the media and ten others with digital communication”.

For researchers, the publication of ready-made news is problematic related to media capture by politics. “Such a high degree of similarity between the news and the content of press releases shows that we have media which are almost under the complete control of politics”, – says Erlis Çela, lecturer of Communication Sciences at Bedër University. According to him, the problem lies in “the relationships created in the trinomial media-politics-business, which are non-transparent and based on profit interests.

A similar attitude is shared by Blerjana Bino, researcher and author of the annual report Journalists’ Safety in Albania. According to her, the publication of pre-prepared materials shows “the weakness of the media in the face of power and the multiple connections of hidden interests between politics, business, and the media”. Bino adds that the compatibility of the news with the announcements of the Municipality of Tirana is “an indication of the fact that Albanian citizens are bombarded with propaganda and no longer quality, independent and verified information”.

Find the full article here:

Bashkia e Tiranës “dikton” lajmet propagandistike në media, problem transparenca e llogaridhënia

First Media Strategy in Montenegro: It will improve the position of journalists

TUMM

23/10/2023

PODGORICA, 23.10.2023. – In Montenegro, the first Media Strategy for the period from 2023 to 2027 was adopted, and with this, the state assesses the media environment for the first time and prescribes a list of goals that should lead to the improvement of various aspects of media freedom.

“According to the latest data from the Ministry of Culture and Media, there are 182 registered and active media in Montenegro, i.e. those registered in the Media Registry. This total number is not final because there are internet publications that publish certain content, permanently or occasionally, but were not registered in the media’s records because, according to the current law, registration is not mandatory,” the document says.

In addition to the problem of financial sustainability, the Strategy cites insufficiently developed self-regulation as a long-standing problem, which also affects compliance with ethical standards.

“Due to the obvious connection between the situation in the state and the media, there are frequent attempts of political influence, and the unstable political environment can slow down the adoption of relevant normative frameworks, which aim to improve the quality of the overall media scene. The next factor that greatly affects the work of broadcasters is the economic factors, and in particular, this refers to budget funds intended for the media, as well as various types of subsidies. In addition, low earnings coefficients, the use of various employment institutes for journalists and other workers with uncertain long-term engagement, are the basic social factors that affect this public policy. Limited technological-technical progress of broadcasters, especially public ones, represents another risk of non-competitiveness in the Montenegrin and regional markets. Also, the limited capacities of the institutions that create and implement this public policy hinder progress in this sector,” the document states.

Four strategic goals were identified: improved quality of citizens’ information and improved media literacy; strengthened editorial and financial independence, ethics and professionalism of public broadcasters; improved environment for fair market operation of the media and an improved framework for the work and position of employees in the media.

“The research of the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG) from 2021 showed that the economic and social position of journalists is still characterized by poor material status, pressures, overload and fear. As many as 38% of journalists earn less than
average, i.e. less than 500 euros, while 30% of respondents have more than 600 euros. The surveyed journalists assessed that journalists in Montenegro are not in solidarity (80.5%), and almost all journalists believe that journalists in Montenegro are not even free. The research showed that as many as 45% of journalists were in a situation where they had to censor content. Also, 37% of those surveyed feel some kind of political interference or pressure during their work,” the strategy cites.

With the adoption of the new Law on Media, according to the legislators, it is planned to achieve better protection of the rights of journalists in Montenegro.

“Also, it is planned to introduce the employer’s obligation that the number of employees in the media cannot be reduced for a period of at least six months before applying for the distribution of funds from the Fund for Encouraging Media Pluralism and Diversity. It is also planned to create an analysis of the current challenges in the work of the media, and with the adoption of the new Branch Collective Agreement for the field of media, the status and working rights of employees in the media will be improved,” the Strategy reads.

The average earnings in the media, from the initial value of 764 euros, will first be increased by 30 percent until 2025, and additionally by another 10 percent until 2027, i.e. to 1,069 euros.

Also, the issue of the safety of media workers was particularly emphasized: “In the last three years (2020-2022), the “Safejournalists” network registered 73 attacks of threats and pressures on journalists and media outlets, of which 31 threats and attacks occurred in online sphere, and 19 attacks took place during protests and demonstrations, of which 9 were aimed at female journalists, and 64 at male journalists”.

In order to raise the awareness of citizens and institutions in charge of investigating the attack on this topic, the document states, relevant media campaigns, round tables for the courts, the State Prosecutor’s Office and the media, as well as trainings for relevant institutions will be organized.

Representatives of the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (SMCG) participated in the work of the Working Group for the development of the Media Strategy, which was adopted with the Action Plan for 2023 and 2024.

North Macedonia: EFJ demands transparent justice in Kocho Angjushev case

IJAS

23/10/2023

The defamation lawsuit brought by North Macedonia’s former deputy PM Kocho Angjushev must be conducted with the utmost transparency. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM-ZNM) in condemning the decision by Judge Jovanka Spirovska Paneva on 13 October to close a hearing in the libel case. Journalists and members of the public had to leave the courtroom. The EFJ supports the legal action brought by AJM-ZNM to denounce this decision.

АЈM-ZNM has submitted an application to the Judicial Council to challenge the decision of Judge Jovanka Spirovska Paneva. The case is part of the legal proceedings for insult and defamation brought by Kocho Angjushev, the former deputy prime minister, against the Investigative Reporting Lab (IRL) and editor-in-chief Sashka Cvetkovska for the article published under the title “Conspiracy against the air” on 16 May 2021.

EFJ and AJM-ZNM believe that there is no legitimate legal basis for the judge’s decision. The exclusion of journalists and other witnesses shows a desire for censorship in a case that concerns freedom of expression and the right of Macedonian citizens to be informed about a serious threat to public health.

In December 2021, AJM-ZNM in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) awarded the prize for best journalistic investigation to IRL for its report on air pollution in North Macedonia.

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