SKOPJE, 25.06.2018 – At a forum on dealing with misinformation held in Veles last week, Minister without Portfolio Robert Popovski, in charge of Communications, Accountability, and Transparency, said that fake news promotes nationalism, discord, conflict, and hatred, which makes it a severe problem that requires hard work and dedication to solve.

“We’ve seen over the years,” Minister Popovski said, “how damaging propaganda can be. It often promotes violence and brutality.”

All over social media, Popovski said, there have been rumors of police brutality during Sunday’s violent protests in Skopje, much like many other instances of disturbing fake news posted in the past.

Speaking about the Government’s commitment to tackling this challenge of digital disinformation, Popovski invited citizens to voice their own opinions without fear, especially regarding the upcoming name agreement referendum.

Minister of Information Society and Administration Damjan Mancevski said the goal of fake news was to spin facts and manipulate public opinion. He noted that the changes to the Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services would ensure that politicians stay out of media.

“Journalists hold the key,” Mancevski said. “They should self-regulate and stick to their standards of ethics, and the government and all other political subjects must respect this.”

According to Edward Gonzalez, USAID General Development Office Director, the citizens need to make sure they get their news from various sources and think critically about the information they consume.  On the other hand, Gonzalez said, the Government should promote transparency and accountability.

SARAJEVO, 25.06.2018.-Legal regulations of media field in Bosnia and Herzegovina has, according to most analysis that had been conducted, been considered as a set of quality – based legal regulations, although in certain segments insufficient quality has been noticed as far as its implementation is concerned.

What most surveyors, analysts, and researchers agreed on (Brunwasser, Marko, Turčilo (2016), Šljivo (2016) etc.) was the fact that legal regulations still lack certain laws, such as Law on Ownership Transparency and Law on Advertising Industry. The passing of both these Laws can be based upon the theoretical thesis, European practice, but also based upon current situation in the media field in BiH. In this text, we shall take into consideration the reasons consisting of the requirements necessary for passing the Law on Ownership Transparency and making its passing justified.

Generally, we consider media as social institutions, business sector, and public services as well. It’s these three roles that support the thesis that legal regulation of media ownership represents the tool for strengthening and reinforcing the media scene but also represents a better quality interaction between the public and media branch. Namely, media houses, being marked as social institutions, are obliged to conduct, execute and provide fair, objective, unbiased and well – balanced information to general public looking from different sources, angles, and perspectives. In order to obtain a pluralism of different opinions, including ideas and information provided, the existence of media pluralism is (in democratic – based societies) required, including communication channels. This can be attained by preventing horizontal and vertical ownership concentration, that is, prevention the monopoly occurrence, with an aim to provide various platforms for social dialogues required.

When in fact, we analyze media houses as business spheres, it becomes clear why we failed here long ago (in theoretical discourse, but also in reality) in order to approach media as value-based neutral and technically and technologically established and developed means for information and ideas passing and transferring; instead we approached media houses as we would approach certain organizations with pre-established structure and functioning on common sense basis, including outcomes of operations and agendas and at the end, whose final goal would be to make a profit. All influencing factors making an impact upon media institutions, including media operations and questions being outlined on the agenda, must continually be questioned, assessed and finally, explained to the general public. Having highlighted this, it would be crucial to provide, even including ordinary citizens, with the information regarding media owners, bearing in mind that this would enable them to evaluate the background of information provided and intermediated through certain media house.

It is neither sufficient, nor encouraging to allow media houses to operate according to market regulations only, in sense of neoliberal capitalism and profit common sense, particularly due to the fact that the number of media houses in BiH, media market that manage to operate without solid and stable market logic, with obvious, limited and decreased commercial advertising potential and limited published editions or limited viewership, which altogether creates a suspicion that the money for these media houses have been “injected”’ from other financial sources. Finally, if, generally speaking, media houses are considered a public service, than it is crucial for citizens not to act (serve) as govern- ment’s puppets, including elite groups’ puppets, promoting thus governing officials’ interests and the interpretation of social reality thus becomes consequently “tailored” pursuant to its requirements and needs and this may be caused by close ties between media entrepreneurs (owners) and political and economic authorities.

At the end, less but not the least reason for insisting on ownership transparency can be displayed through the fact that editing policies are indeed directly linked and tied with owners’ interests, and it would therefore be necessary and required to follow European standards and provide information regarding who owns what (media owners information), why they decide to purchase certain media house and are they eager and willing to alter editing policies after purchasing this media houses, altogether to the benefit of both citizens (public) and media staff (employees) in media. Ownership transparency is also, directly tied with the prevention of political clien- telism where upholding and advocating reporting alters objective information and journalism as such,and thus loses its independent and emancipation – based social role.

Media houses have been subject to instrumental and clientelism – based societ- ies (and Bosnia and Herzegovina is certainly one of these societies) and as a result, public is not provided with quality – ranged information, nor they are presented with an opportunity to take part in public discourse, having in mind that public discourse, as such, is “reserved” for elite groups. Prevention of political clientelism is therefore following an increase of media transparency sphere. As far as legal regulations of media ownership in Bosnia and Herzegovina is con- cerned, they should, above all, resolve the issue and answer the question and pro- vide information accessibility regarding actual cases and share reliable information about media owners, in order to ensure the control media concentration and prevent monopolistic relations towards media houses and their misuse by political and economic powerful groups and individuals. In this context, the initial precondition is actually the establishing of single registry of media houses which should undoubtedly display who the real media owners are. It is the fact that Communication Regulatory Agency and Press Council, as regulatory bodies, in fact as self – regulatory body, do have the list of media houses and this list contains the information regarding media ownership (formally), that is, companies owning certain media houses.

However, the information regarding the real media house owners are in fact difficult to access and this may (in most cases) be done by checking the information on Company Register list with these companies being outlined legally as owners which again represents one of the problems that should be resolved and settled by the normative regulation and the implementation of its provisions. Furthermore, reality and real cases confirmed that it is important to ensure the information transparency regarding the owners and structure of certain web sites, taking into consideration that they are becoming more and more significant information source for general public and these web sites operate as standard media organizations with most web sites having absolutely no information about the owners (entrepreneurs), have no impressum sections that may encourage the editors and other staff to improve their work.

Law on Transparency of Media Ownership should be developed in accordance with European cases and practices, and it should include wide counseling with legal experts and media community representatives as its final outcome should result in more transparent media scene that would enable the comprehension of media operation context for all citizens. It is on one hand and looking at short – term perspective, the mechanism required for media scene support, and on the other hand and looking from long –term perspective and directly, a mechanism for democratization of the entire society in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This text is a part of E-Bulletin– fifth edition of special serial of BHN online bulletin implemented through the “Media and Public Reputation” (origin. “Mediji i javni ugled”) project, also representing a contribution to public debate regarding the transparency of media ownership and upholding and encouraging the passing of set of laws aimed to advance media field and information market in BiH.

SARAJEVO, 21.06.2018. – On the conference  “Regulation of the advertising market” held on June 21, 2018 in Sarajevo, a report on advertising policies and practices in BiH was presented, and problems and possible solutions for the unregulated advertising market in BiH were discussed.

The existing legislation and regulations in BiH include certain aspects of advertising, especially in the electronic media sector, but many areas remain unsettled, such as discounts for advertising services, advertising games of chance and advertising through influencers, said the representor of the report Sanela Hodžić, researcher of Media Centre Sarajevo, who presented the main findings.

In the report the authors Selma Kadić-Maglajlić i Barbara Krajnc the problem of poor availability of advertising information and ineffective control over advertising practices was emphasized. Thus, there are inadequately regulated public sector advertising criteria and procedures, and advertising information for public companies is treated as a business secret, which allows misuse of public funds for political promotion and rewarding of loyal media. The public procurement system has partially improved the transparency of public sector advertising, but the availability of information is still limited by the unjustified use of less transparent procedures, irregular publication and incomplete procurement plans.

Stressing the need for market regulation, Senad Zaimovic, director of marketing agency Fabrika and consultant on the report, said that there is no sufficient production, knowledge and interest in advertising in BiH, and that the industry did not use the potential of the Associations of Media Industry. “The complete domestic advertising sector is in an unfavorable position,” concluded Zaimovic.

Adnan Bilal, marceting director of FTV BiH, added that among the biggest problems in this area in BiH is also the lack of laws on the transparency of media ownership, as well as the arbitrary and non-transparent determination of the price of advertising space in the media.

Marceting expert Ekrem Dupanović stressed that it is primarily necessary to unite the media industry, which has so far shown disinterestedness to address these issues.

Advertisment expert Samra Luckin from the organization JaBiHEU has said it is very important to distinguish editorial from advertising content.

The report presentation emphasized the lack of a comprehensive framework that would regulate advertising in BiH, as well as the lack of initiatives to ensure the legitimacy of the system of measuring TV ratings and promoting ethical standards in the advertising sector. Recommendations that are a part of the report, among other things, aimed at increasing transparency, in particular with regard to public sector advertising, defining how to determine prices and conditions for achieving discounts, introducing external audits in public media procurement procedures, and the involvement of media auditors in the preparation and selection of media services , redefining business secrets in public companies, establishing a court of honor at the level of the advertising industry to adopt and promote ethical standards of advertising, promoting the reliability of audience research.

This report is part of the project „Media and public reputation“ financed by the EU, and implemented by BH Journalists Association, Media Centre Sarajevo, Press Council and BH novinari, Mediacentar Sarajevo and JaBiHEU.

SARAJEVO, 22.06.2018. – Media and civil society organizations play an important role in post-conflict processes of building peace and tolerant societies. As it was said on the workshop  “Transitional Justice and Reporting” which started today in Sarajevo, in circumstances like this, journalists must be more accountable and professional, because the media content they produce has an impact on the culture and behavior of citizens.

The six-day workshop that was organized by BH Journalists Association with the support of the Danish organization International Media Support (IMS) gathered 11 journalists and civil society activists from Syria and Iraq.

„Media outlets and civil society organizations must be more responsible and creative in their work in  war and post-war social circumstances. Journalists and activists must be aware that media and civil society organizations significantly influence the perception of reality, culture and citizens’ behavior“, said the media adviser of IMS Henrik Keith Hansen and emphasized that in specific conflict circumcises society needs journalists who would report on an innovate way, with the focus on solutions and who are able to make a step forward from conventional reporting.

„Considering that Bosnia and Herzegovina journalists have experienced both war and transitional journalism in recent history, I believe that the workshop in Sarajevo will help and contribute to peacebuilding and the construction of a media scene in Iraq and Syria“, said the program director of IMS Osama Hababe and expressed the strong support of this organization in constructive reporting that simultaneously understands and empowers citizens.

The General Secretary of BHJA Borka Rudić emphasized the importance of organizing journalists in professional associations, especially in a conflict and post-conflict context. “This is important for the promotion of ethical principles and the integration of media community, as well as for contributing to development of media laws and institutions as infrastructures necessary for free action of media and journalists work,” Rudic said.

During this six days participants will learn and discuss, among other things, about standards of fair, balanced and objective reporting on sensitive issues related to war and human rights violations, transitional justice and facing the past, documenting war crimes and media contribution to peace building and stabilities.

Media professionals, representatives of the academic community, transitional justice experts and activists from BiH will share their experiences with the participants. In addition to this, visits to the editorial offices of Oslobodjenje and Federal Television, and the BHJA journalists club in Mostar are planned.

BEOGRAD, 21.06.2018. – Zbog brojnih kontroverzi u vezi sa slučajem nestalog novinara iz Bele Crkve Stefana Cvetkovica, u Beogradu je održan hitan sastanak Radne grupe za zaštitu novinara.

Predstavnici medija nakon sastanka navode da su zadovoljni postupanjem policije i tužilaštva u ovom slučaju, ali zameraju mešanje politike, ponavljajući da je od izuzetne važnost da se rasvetle sve okolnosti tog događaja.

Da li je Stefan Cvetkovic prošle srede kidnapovan, kako on tvrdi, ili je lažirao otmicu kako sumnja tužilaštvo – odgovora na ovo pitanje još uvek nema, ali je ceo slučaj okupio predstavnike tužilaštva, policije i novinarskih udruženja na sastanku radne grupe za zaštitu novinara.

“Informisali o dosadašnjem toku istrage i ja iskreno verujem da je sastanak protekao u jednoj konstruktivnoj i kvalitetnoj diskusiji i verujem da ćemo uskoro ponovo sesti za isti sto i nastaviti razgovore koje se tiču pitanja kada je reč o bezbednosti novinara”, kaže državna sekretarka MUP-a, Biljana Popović Ivković.

Nove detalje o celom slučaju ne žele da iznose ni predstavnici ministarstva ni novinarskih udruženja.

“Predstavnici policije i tužilaštva su nama izneli infomarcije na osnovu kojih oni sumnjaju da je otmica lažirana, ja ne bih voleo da iznosim te informacije, ali meni to deluje uverljivo”, rekao je Dušan Telesković, član Radne grupe iz UNS-a.

“Sva udruženja su praktično zadovoljna postupanjem zvaničnih državnih organa tu mislimo na MUP i na tužilaštvo. Mi smo izneli neke primedbe na mešanje politike u celu stvar, ali to nije stvar ove komisije, o tome će se na drugom mestu i na drugačiji način”, dodao je Dragan Janjić, ispred NUNS-a.

Zajednički stav novinarskih udruženja je i da ovaj slučaj mora da bude što pre u potpunosti razjašnjen.

“Ako ostane nerešen slučaj i ako ostane polarizacija na više nekakvih scenarija to će predstavljati veliki problem za bezbednost novinara i za kredibilitet i naše profesike, ali i za kredibiltet policije, tužilaštva, ali i svih državnih organa”, rekao je Veran Matić, iz Komisije za istraživanje ubistava novinara.

Sastanku radne grupe prisustvovali su kao posmtrači i predstavnici OEBS-a u Srbiji.

PRISTINA, 20.06.2018 – The Association of Journalists of Kosovo opposes the closure of the parliamentary commission for Public Administration, Local Government and Media meeting in which the draft law and funding scheme for Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) was being reviewed without giving any reasoning of closure for media and public.

The Rules of Procedure of the Kosovo Assembly, respectively Article 65 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Assembly Commissions, foresees the closure of meetings in certain cases, but today’s closed-door discussion on the draft law of RTK, we consider that there was no reasons to be held without the presence of media and public, knowing the particular importance that this draft law has for the citizens of the country.

The AJK considers that such practice does not serve the transparency of the work of the Kosovo’s Assembly and at the same time constitutes a violation of the civic rights to be informed.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo calls on the parliamentary commission for Public Administration, Local Government and Media, and on the chairman of this commission, Nait Hasani, to show a good example of accountability and transparency so that such meetings, such as today’s draft law of RTK, be accessible to the media and the public.

BEOGRAD, 19.06.2018. – Stefan Cvetković, novinar iz Bele Crkve, obratio se javnosti tvrdeći da su ga tri osobe otele u sredu uveče, od kojih je jedna imala oružje i značku koja je podsećala na policijsku, dodavši da nije bio tučen niti maltretiran.

Kako je objasnio, osoba s oružjem nije imala masku, dok su ostali bili pod maskama i odveli ga u automobil.

“Nema borbe, nema razgovora. U jednom trenutku zvoni telefon i iz mog džepa jedan od njih vadi telefon i stavlja na uvo, otaljavam razgovor sa prijateljem. Prebacuju me u drugo vozilo koje ima klizeća vrata i koje se zaustavlja na peščani teren”, priča Cvetković.

On smatra da su ga prevezli na lokaciju koja se nalazi u Beloj Crkvi.

Nakon ulaska u prostoriju, kaže Cvetković, jedna od osoba pita la ga je: Da li si svestan šta radiš?

“Akcenat mi deluje kao slovenački”, kaže on i dodaje da je tokom boravka u prostoriji čuo nadletanje helikoptera.

Posle nekog vremena Cvetković kaže da su ga otmičari pitali gde žele da ga odvedu.

“Ostavili su me blizu mesta gde sam tražio. Tražili su da pet minuta ne skidam kapuljaču ako želim da živim”, kaže on.

Cvetković naglašava da ga policija nije pronašla već da je on pozvao policijskog službenika čiji broj zna napamet.

“Dolazi za minut i u vozilu MUP-a me dovoze do SIV-a, u kabinet (državne sekretarke u MUP) Dijane Hrkalović. Tu su bili ljudi, kako su rekli, koji su radili na slučaju. Razgovarali su sa mnom četiri, pet sati, ponašanje svih je bilo profesionalno”, kaže on

Dodaje da ga je pregledala ekipa Hitne pomoći i da mu je data hrana, a da je posle odveden na Vojno-medicinsku akademiju gde ga, kako kaže, smeštaju u apartmanski deo.

“Rečeno mi je da bi zbog istrage i zdravstvenog stanja bilo bolje da tu ostanem neko vreme.”, kaže Cvetković i dodaje da se u međuvremenu čuo sa ocem.

Cvetković je rekao da od ponedeljka uveče ima policijsko obezbeđenje 24 sata, a na početku konferencije se zahvalio celokupnoj javnosti, kao i strukovnim udruženjima i kolegama.

On je odbacio mogućnost da je policija sarađivala sa njegovim navodnim otmičarima, ali da misli da u Srbiji postoji više otuđenih centara moći, od kojih neko možda ima svoje ljude unutar sistema.

Cvetković je rekao da pokušava da spreči upliv politike u taj slučaj i rekao da treba da bude sramota sve one koji su pokušali da zloupotrebe taj događaj.