When it comes to big advertisers, pull the handbrake

21/05/2018

PODGORICA 25.05.2018. – Large retail chains and mobile operators are the largest advertisers in commercial media. Journalists do not necessarily have direct contact with them, but they can indirectly influence the freedom of reporting.

This is the opinion of several journalists who are employed in commercial media in Montenegro who have anonymously reported their experience from the editorial staff. “Despite the fact that we have information about trade chains that imported infected meat from abroad, the trade names have not been published or deleted from the text”, one of the journalists said.

He believes that advertisers do not have a direct impact on journalists but on the management or editorial board of the media house: “It’s not excluded that the advertiser may not even say in advance that we may have a problem because of the published text, so a self-censorship is common in journalists or editors-the fear that they may have a problem if they publish the names of those who pay advertising space”, said the reporter.

According to the 2017 Media Sustainability Index, the Montenegrin advertising market is estimated at around 12-13 million euros worth, of which 10 million are commercial advertisers, and 2-3 million makes advertisement of state and local administration and state-owned companies.

Trade Union of Media of Montenegro in the analysis “Indicators of the level of media freedom and security of journalists” recognizes the problem of the inseparability of service marketing and editorial office marketing. They state that most media do not have internal acts that regulate the rules of work in the editorial office: “In some cases, editorial offices are not separate from the marketing sector. Therefore, in practice, indirect effects of the owner or marketing sector on the editorial policy of the media often occur”.

The analysis of the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), based on interviews with journalists and media experts, recognizes that direct pressures on journalists by economic influential groups and individuals are not visible, but that in some editorial offices there are topics that cannot be addressed, and are related to structures that have an economic impact on the business of the media.

Journalist and NGO activist Darko Ivanovic from the Civic Alliance (GA) believes that state and local public services have certain agendas that rely on a state protocol that is “a stumbling block for the development of media freedom”, while commercial media in Montenegro face another problem: “Commercial media must function in a market that is narrow in terms of advertisers and marketing, so it is difficult to remain independent and process absolutely all topics. When it comes to big advertisers, handbrake is usually pulled”.

Working with a private employer is the same everywhere

Our interlocutors believe that work in private media is like working in any private company. “The fact that you have a contract and a limited working hours does not mean that you will be working eight hours a day. You have a low paycheck and there is no possibility of being additionally rewarded for a job well-done”.

This is confirmed by numerous analyses and researches on the situation in the media, according to which, the low salary is the reason why journalists leave the media and are increasingly seeking jobs in PR services of companies and in the bodies of state.

“In some media, journalists face working illegally, although I have to be completely honest, in the media in which I work it is not the case”.

Mostly they have a correct relationship with the editorial office which is of key importance for the work of every journalist.

“If this relationship is ‘tense’, it is extremely poorly affecting productivity, while on the other hand, proper collaboration and communication can produce good media material. Personally, I have a good relationship with the editorial staff, starting with the editors of the sections to larger instances, which is why I consider my work to be better. Surely, situations in which you have to listen to your superiors are not rare, but in many other cases I have the freedom to decide for myself, “said our interlocutor.

Her colleague has a good relationship with the editors, and formal with the management.

“This influence is sometimes reflected in the choice of topics that the editorial office imposes on journalists”, she says, adding: “External factors influence my work in a way that editor periodically sets up topics related to certain issues that are not sufficiently important for general public at that moment. I also notice the favors of certain interlocutors through topics that are processed in the media”.

Our interlocutors agree that the influence of individuals, parties or indirect groups can be difficult to avoid: “They do not influence too much and do not influence always, but they do influence. The utopia is that there is a media that, at least partly, is not inclined towards some side”.

Darko Ivanović from the Civic Alliance says that as the author of the programs broadcasted on both commercial and public media, he had a favorable position because he concluded contracts with the media houses that had a clause on editorial freedom.

“As long as we stood by it, there was no problem. I think that most journalists have considerable freedom but that it is oscillating from the interests of owners in private media to stunning self-censorship in public services in the country”, said Ivanović.

“Whenever a journalist financially depends on the owner, and the owners have certain interests and topics of special attention that are not allowed to be written about, this process is a kind of cage of journalistic freedoms”, says Ivanovic and adds: “Soft censorship that is reflected in advertising state institutions and often businesses in the media that are “suitable” creates additional pressure on the media who dare to write and launch topics of social importance, which deal with corruption, non-transparency, nepotism, chronism…”

The Union of Media in Montenegro has about 600 members, of which one third of its members work in private media. Our interlocutors are members of journalistic associations and because of that, they say, they did not have problems with the management of the media in which they work.

“I have not asked for their help so far. I can only help journalists through a more proactive approach. The problem is that the problems of journalists cannot be written in an objective way, because of the influence of management on editorial policy, “says one of the reporters.

Darko Ivanovic, who is also active in the Media Union, thinks that the solution for the current bad situation in the media is a change in the reporting process.

“This change should be carried out by the guild organizations, led by the Union and the journalists who are organizing it. A collective contract, a unique code of conduct, self-regulation are the key documents from which to start. Basically there is no ideal state and ideal answers. But I think that the key is the willingness of journalists to organize themselves and thus act towards employers”, he said.

Real voice of journalism: a report on the state of freedom of the media in 17 local communities in BiH

BHJA

21/05/2018

SARAJEVO, 21.05.2018. – Post – Conflict Research Center presented results on the reasearch on the media freedom level in 17 local communities in BiH.

The report came about as part of a research project called “Real Voice of Journalism”. The project aims to improve the overall position of journalists and media activists and to prevent further aggravation and violations in the field of freedom of expression in BiH, and is implemented by the Post – Conflict Research Center, in cooperation with Balkan Investigative Reporting Network and The WARM Fondation.

The project is being implemented over a period of nine months and has focused on working with local journalists to create research that demonstrates their real everyday struggle to create impartial, objective and relevant content.

Project is financed by the EU through a small grants program “Protection of media freedom and freedom of expression in Western Balkans” implemented by Croatian journalists Association as a part of a regional project “WB Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and journalists Safety”.

Presentation of the report was organized on May 18 at Hotel Europa in Sarajevo. Marija Arnautović (Radio Free Europe – Balkan Service), Borka Rudić (BHJA), Erna Mačkić (BIRN BiH), Lejla Turčilo (Faculty of Political science, University of Sarajevo), and Tatjana Milovanovic (CPI) and Velma Saric (CPI) participated in the presentation.

This project is financed by the European Union through the small grants program “Protecting Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression in the Western Balkans”, implemented by the Croatian Journalists Association, as part of the regional project “Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety”, implemented through a partnership of six regional journalist associations – Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia, Association of Bosnia-Herzegovina Journalists, Croatian Journalists’ Association, Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Association of Journalists of Macedonia and the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro.

Hercegovački mediji: problem ideologije i autocenzure

BHJA

21/05/2018

MOSTAR, 21.05.2018. – “Kada bi ostavili meni da odlučim da li bismo trebali imati vladu bez novina ili novine bez vlade, ne bih ni trenutka oklijevao da izaberem ovo posljednje”. To je čuvena i često citirana uzrečica jednog od prvih predsjednika Sjedinjenih Američkih Država, Thomasa Jeffersona, o slobodi i važnosti medija za jedno demokratsko društvo.

Zato je stanje u kojem se nalaze mediji zapravo prava slika društva u kojem ti mediji egzistiraju. Kada je riječ o Bosni i Hercegovini (BiH), ta slika je možda najrealnija na lokalnom nivou, u manjim sredinama i zajednicama u kojima više-manje svako svakoga poznaje, a svakodnevna zbivanja su mnogo manje pod “reflektorima” velikih, glavnih medija, pa samim tim i šire javnosti.

Konkretno u BiH, Sarajevo i Banja Luka, na primjer, kao veći centri, su i veća tržišta, mjesta sa većom političkom konkurencijom, sa različitim ideološkim utjecajima, što je svakako povoljnije okruženje i za medijsko djelovanje i postojanje u odnosu na manje sredine.

U Mostaru, gradu koji i preko 20 godina nakon rata živi sa etničkim podjelama, stanje medija je teško, slaže se niz medijskih profesionalaca i analitičara. Grad je u godinama neposredno nakon rata, imao čak tri lokalne, utjecajne TV-stanice – Hrvatsku radio televiziju (HTV) Mostar, HTV Oscar-C, te Radioteleviziju (RTV) Mostar. U zadnjih nekoliko godina, jedna od tih TV-stanica – HTV Mostar – koja je bila javni medij, je zbog ogromnih finansijskih dubioza potpuno nestala sa medijske scene; RTV Mostar je tokom godina, nakon privatizacije i učešća u projektu stvaranja TV1 u Sarajevu, izgubila nekadašnji utjecaj i djeluje sa značajno umanjenim kapacitetima; dok ni HTV Oscar-C ni izbliza nema utjecaj kojeg je nekad imala. U međuvremenu, nastale su i lokalne TV-stanice City TV, te Naša TV, koje program emitiraju posredstvom kablovskih operatera. Slično stanje je i sa radijskim stanicama, kojih ima nekoliko registriranih, što javnih, što privatnih, ali medijski profesionalci nerijetko postavljaju pitanje koliko te stanice imaju stvarnog programa, osim onog zabavnog karaktera?

“Što se tiče grada Mostara, možemo reći da postoji relativno veliki broj medija u gradu. Kakav je njihov kvalitet, kakav je njihov doseg, da li su oni analitični, da li su dobri, da li su zabavni, da li su slobodni? To je veliko pitanje. Po mom mišljenju kvantitet ne mora nužno značiti kvalitet. Imamo u Mostaru veliki broj medija, međutim, kada pogledate malo i izanalizirate ko se čime bavi i na koji način, ko ima nekakav barem pokušaj nekog redovnog i pristojnog javnog servisa vijesti ili nekih emisija koje se tiču grada Mostara i šire zajednice, onda vidite da tu postoje, pogotovo među radio stanicama, dosta stanica koje emitiraju programe koji su zapravo nekakva vrsta kompjuterskih muzičkih set lista, sa nešto džinglova i reklama, bez čak i pokušaja da se napravi nešto što bi moglo biti zadovoljavanje potreba lokalne zajednice”, kaže Faruk Kajtaz, predsjednik Udruženja građana Starmo Mostar, koje se bavi pitanjem slobode medija.

Kajtaz napominje kako je sloboda medija izuzetno važna za svako demokratsko društvo, ukoliko se ono zaista želi nazvati demokratskim. “Mislim da sada više ne postoji klasični problem ugrožavanja slobode medija, kao što je to nekada bilo u onoj državi ili neposredno iza rata ovdje kod nas, kada se vršio politički pritisak ili su novinare zvali putem telefona, pa im se govorilo šta trebaju izvještavati. Mislim da su sada metode pritiska postale malo drugačije, sofisticiranije, one su po principu uskraćivanja finansiranja i vlasničkih struktura unutar medija, ko – zapravo – njima upravlja”, smatra Kajtaz.

Jedna od glavnih poluga utjecaja na medije, slažu se medijski profesionalci, jeste ekonomske prirode i radi se o kontroli tokova novca, usmjerenog ka medijima. Zato se postavlja pitanje: kako će ekonomski opstati oni mediji koji žele biti društvena avangarda? Takvi mediji su prepušteni sami sebi, smatra Štefica Galić, sa portala tačno.net, sa sjedištem u Mostaru.

“Međunarodne udruge i druge organizacije koje su podržavale takve medije su se poodavno povukle iz Bosne i Hercegovine. Pošto nema razvoja privrede, ona je devastirana, onemogućeno je funkcioniranje medija kroz oglase i zakup, prodavanje medijskog prostora. Zbog toga je znatan dio medija prepušten političkim strankama, koji putem vršenja vlasti, preko budžeta javnih poduzeća ili na neke druge načine održavaju u životu znatan dio medija”, navodi Galić.

Kako se ‘kupuje’ poslušnost medija, ukazao je i zastupnik Socijaldemokratske partije BiH u Skupštini Hercegovačko-neretvanskog kantona (HNK), Aner Žuljević. On naglašava da iz te opozicione stranke inače nisu uspjeli dobiti od kantonalne Vlade informacije o trošenju javnog novca za razne planirane stavke u budžetu HNK-a, pa tako ni o transferu prema medijskim kućama na području Hercegovačko-neretvanskog kantona. “Zašto nešto što je išlo prema medijskim kućama treba da ostane sakriveno i na taj način dovede u nezgodnu poziciju i medijske kuće i javnost, a na kraju najvećim dijelom veže špekulaciju za ovu Vladu da ustvari sa tim transferima vrši kupovinu naklonosti pojedinih medija? Činjenica da je ta odluka postojala potvrđuje da je jedan od medija, kojeg nećemo da reklamiramo, dobio dopunu odluke, očigledno nezadovoljan prvom odlukom i tom dopunom odluke dobio odgovarajuća sredstva”,izjavio je Žuljević.

Jedna od direktnih posljedice takve, indirektne, kontrole medija jeste i svojevrsna autocenzura u medijima na mostarskom području, slažu se medijski eksperti i profesionalci, koji pokušavaju ukazati na taj problem. “Poseban problem je novinarska autocenzura. Mislim da je to jedan od najvažnijih i najvećih problema medija, upravo to što novinari, čini mi se, u Mostaru jako dobro znaju gdje su njihove granice i ne žele da ih pređu”, objašnjava Faruk Kajtaz.

Kako to praktično izgleda u medijskom ili bolje rečeno novinarskom svakodnevnom poslu kreiranja sadržaja, koji onda budu usmjeravani ka publici?

“Kada se govori o autocenzurama, možemo ih vidjeti iz nekoliko aspekata, a podvukao bih onaj koji me najviše boli i za kojeg mislim da iz njega proizilazi najviše zla. To je ideološki momenat. Dakle, kada smo zaokupljeni određenom ideologijom i mrzimo sve što ta ideologija i ti mitovi ne bi podržavali, tada ta vijest ostane ‘ogoljena’ samo za onaj mit, samo za onu ideologiju koju volimo, kojoj smo pristupili, za koju smo uzeli onu ‘člansku karticu’. Sav ostali dio stvarnosti otpada i njega ne razumijemo niti želimo predstavljati”, govori Husein Oručević, politolog.

Doslovno gašenje određenog broja medija, te “rezanje krila” drugom dijelu elektronskih medija na mostarskom području, otvorilo je vrata ”procvatu” prilično velikog broja internet-portala, koji imaju redovne rubrike vijesti, bilo da su one isključivo lokalne ili da pored lokalnih objavljuju i druge informativne sadržaje koji se tiču cijele Bosne i Hercegovine, regiona i šire. Najpoznatiji je, svakako, internet-portal na hrvatskom jeziku bljesak.info, koji postoji već nekih 16 godina. Trenutno su aktuelni i ostvaruju utjecaj na javnost i portali kao što su starmo.ba, tacno.net, mostarski.ba, pogled.ba, novasloboda.ba, dnevnik.ba, hms.ba, hercegovina.info, republikainfo.com, treci.ba, abrasmedia.info i drugi.

Pored standardnih, redovnih problema koji muče sve medije na ovom prostoru BiH, analitičari ukazuju na još jedan fenomen, koji karakterizira online medije u centru Hercegovine, te ima sve veći utjecaj na ‘mainstream’ novinarstvo u online medijima. Naime, u jednoj etnički podijeljenoj zajednici bilo kakva kontroverznija vijest, objavljena na internet-portalu, bez obzira je li on na hrvatskom ili bosanskom jeziku, u pravilu izaziva niz komentara i reakcija čitalaca, a ti komentari nerijetko sadrže govor mržnje, huškački rječnik i doprinose daljnjem ”paljenju” opće atmosfere u društvu, preciznije u lokalnoj zajednici.

“Danas smo svi svjedoci da je svaki čovjek na neki način postao izvor informacija i komentator društvene zbilje”, navodi novinar BH Radija 1 i kolumnista portala bljesak.info, Igor Božović. On ističe kako treba obratiti pažnju na to da se danas ustvari zloupotrebljava sloboda informacija i pristupa informacijama baš kroz oblik društvenog komuniciranja, društvenih mreža. “Svjedoci smo da danas svako može otvoriti profil na internetu i širiti svoje alternativne činjenice, fake news i sve ove nove pojmove u kojima smo se udomaćili”, kaže Božović.

Takve stvari, slaže se, utječu na standardno novinarstvo, u ovom slučaju na internet-portale, koji su ušli u prazan medijski prostor koji je nastao na lokalnom nivou promjenom ‘reljefa’ kada se radi o lokalnim medijima. “Dobro je da ljudi mogu sve više doprinositi vlastitim iskustvima, jer onda imamo širi pojam i više pogleda na istu stvar i na isti događaj, ali loša je činjenica da bilo tko tko ima malo tehničkog znanja može plasirati informacije, ne govoreći o tome da je ta osoba provela neke godine učenja o etici novinarstva, o novinarskom bontonu i slično”, dodao je Božović.

Postoje razmišljanja da su za stanje medija i novinara uopće u centru Hercegovine, pored objektivnih, društvenih okolnosti, krivi i sami medijski poslenici. Upućeni smatraju kako su novinari neorganizirani, podijeljeni u više novinarskih udruženja, bez vlastitog sindikata koji bi se borio za njihova prava, a nekoliko pokušaja pokretanja takvog sindikata je ustvari propalo. “Moram kazati da su novinari prisiljeni raditi za možda plaćicu od 500 do 600 KM”, navodi urednica internet-portala republikainfo.com, Vera Soldo. Naglašava da novinari, ako žele biti slobodni, moraju platiti svoju slobodu, te kao primjer navodi rad domaćih novinara za inostrane medije. “Međunarodni mediji svojim novinarima daju bolje honorare, plaće. Kad ste vi bolje plaćeni, vi naravno da imate više sredstava za rad, naravno da imate veću mogućnost za rad na istraživačkim pričama, a to ovdje fali”, objašnjava Soldo, ukazujući na težak položaj novinara u Bosni i Hercegovini.

“Do novinara je samih da se izbore za svoj status. Ja sam uvijek, kada sam imao tako te neke razgovore o novinarstvu, o medijima, govorio da niko novinarima neće ništa dati. Postoje neke stvari koje se podrazumijevaju, u tom legislativnom smislu BiH ima gotovo pa savršene medijske zakone, čak su i neke članice EU prepisivale naša rješenja”, navodi Faruk Kajtaz.

On podsjeća kako je svojevremeno i Slovenija ‘prepisala’ neka zakonska rješenja od BiH, kada je riječ o medijima. Međutim, jedno je napisati zakon, usvojiti ga, a nešto sasvim drugo je taj zakon provesti, konzumirati ga u stvarnosti. “Dakle, novinari moraju da se izbore za svoja prava, oni prije svega moraju znati šta su njihova prava, moraju znati svoj posao, ne smiju biti držači mikrofona, trebaju biti ljudi koji razmišljaju svojom glavom i moraju biti ljudi koji poštivaju činjenice, jer bez istinitosti i činjenica onakvih kakve jesu, sve ostalo je upitno”, naglasio je Kajtaz.

Ukinuta odluka o izdvajanju veštačenja komunikacije debeovaca u slučaju „Ćuruvija”

IJAS

18/05/2018

BEOGRAD, 18.05.2018. – Apelacioni sud u Beogradu ukinuo je odluku kojom je sudsko veće Specijalnog suda u postupku protiv optuženih za ubistvo novinara Slavka Ćuruvije, na predlog njihovih branilaca iz spisa predmeta izdvojilo izveštaj o veštačenju baznih stanica, odnosno telekomunikaciji za koju tužilaštvo tvrdi da je vođena između okrivljenih na dan ubistva.

Portparol Apelacionog suda Mirjana Piljić precizirala je za Tanjug da je rešenje od 24. aprila ukinuto i vraćeno prvostepenom sudu na ponovno odlučivanje.

Reč je o telekomunikacijama između pripadnika DB-a na dan ubistva i dan pred ubistvo, a izveštaj je sačinjen na osnovu traka koje su oduzete od „Telekoma” i „Telenora”, ali za svetrake ne postoji potvrda o oduzimanju, prenosi Tanjug.

Nastavak suđenje za ubistvo Slavka Ćuruvije, inače, zakazan je za danas u 14.30 u Specijalnom sudu za organizovani kriminal u Beogradu.

Vučić o napadima na medije

IJAS

18/05/2018

BEOGRAD, 18.05.2018. – Predsednik Srbije Aleksandar Vučić poručio je da se strašni napadi i ubistva novinara u Srbiji neće dogoditi.

“Slušao sam druge da će se u Srbiji dogoditi strašni napadi i ubistva i sve ostalo, ali su se oni desili u skorije vreme u Slovačkoj, na Malti, u Crnoj Gori. Za sada se nisu dogodili u Srbiji. Da li ste čuli da su se neki od ovih slučajeva dogodili u Srbiji? Ne, niste i neće se dogoditi”, rekao je Vučić, prenose Vijesti.

Apsolutno sam siguran da nešto moramo da uradimo, jer je jedan deo naših medija i građanskog društva iz nekog razloganezadovoljan. Ja sam spreman da ih saslušam i da vidim šta možemo da uradimo kako bismo prešli preko različitih mišljenja i da vidimo šta možemo da uradimo kako bismo seli zajedno i pronašli najbolja rešenja za sve. Ali, molim vas, kupite sutrašnje novine i kažite mi da li je iko sem mene više izložen napadima”, poručio je Vučić u razgovoru za Euronews.

Serbian Ombudsman issues order to intelligence agency

IJAS

18/05/2018

BELGRADE, 18.05.2018. – The Serbian Ombudsman has ordered the country’s civilian intelligence service to respond to a complaint by an investigative journalist whose personal information was sent to a government affiliated tabloid.

Ombudsman Zoran Pasalic ordered the Security Information Agency (BIA) to respond within 21 days to charges that it released the personal information of investigative network KRIK editor Stevan Dojcinovic to the Informer daily.

KRIK is an investigative journalism portal specializing in stories of crime and corruption.

The KRIK editor filed the complaint after Informer published some of his personal details following an investigation into the assets owned by then Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. Dojcinovic said he learned that the BIA released his personal information to the tabloid.

A statement on the KRIK portal reported that the Ombudsman’s office said a note had been sent to the BIA because the agency failed to respond to the complaint filed in August 2016.

The Ombudsman met with BIA officials in September 2016 and they asked for more time to respond to the complaint filed by Dojcinovic.

Media freedom is top priority, says government of Republic of Macedonia

AJM

18/05/2018

SKOPJE, 18.05.2018 – The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) was invited to meet important stakeholders on media including the leadership of the host, the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) on 8-9 May 2018 in Skopje. The meetings were part of a project on building capacity of the AJM. The EFJ also met Tamara Chausidis, the President of the Trade Union Of Macedonian Journalists And Media Workers (SSNM) and some photo journalists to coordinate common work and discuss some major challenges photo journalists face in Macedonia.

On 9 May, Renate Schroeder, EFJ Director together with Dragan Sekulovski, Director of the AJM met with Robert Popovski, Minister for Communication, Transparency and Accountability within the Government of the Republic of Macedonia. The EFJ congratulated the Minister for its new policy and improved cooperation with the journalist’ community and in particular the AJM.

“The cabinet of the Minister without Portfolio in the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in charge of Communications, Accountability, and Transparency is new and shall reflect our goal to be open, transparent and democratic. Media freedom and journalists’ freedom are top priorities of our government,” said Minister Robert Popovski. That is why we are organizing weekly meetings with the press, lead a zero tolerance policy vis-a-vis attacks against journalists and pursue a media reform.”

Such media reform includes improvements on the Law on free access to public information, defamation, reform of the public service media MRT, which needs improved funding and editorial independence.

“We want real professionals to work who are independent of political pressure, but we need the opposition to agree to our proposals”, he said and acknowledged the difficult heritage of control of the media by the former government.

The meeting also discussed the specific problem of the creation of pools of government pictures given to media. A group of photojournalists had drawn the EFJ’s attention to this issue in an earlier meeting. This causes economic problems for photojournalists as they cannot compete with free quality pictures, but also moral problems as these pictures are not labeled as government pictures and would be seen as government PR.

Minister Popovski reckoned the problem and assured he would get them labeled. “Media has not enough money to send journalist to press conferences or government events. We want to help media”.

EFJ and AJM also met with Oliver Spasovski, Minister for Internal Affairs and Dejan Andonov, Deputy Minister for Professional Standards and Internal Control within the Government of Republic of Macedonia. The Minister also emphasised the new government approach towards journalists and no to impunity and zero tolerance.

He outlined three projects including:

Signing of memorandum on improved cooperation with the AJM;
Signing of memorandum on improved cooperation on investigations of cases of attacked journalists between police, prosecutors and journalists including training to build trust;
Look into former cases which have not yet been investigated.

Oliver Spasovski admitted that a great atmosphere of self-censorship and fear continues in Macedonia’s small media market, and said that an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional approach is needed to slowly change the culture of impunity.

The EFJ reminded the Minister to fully implement the Council of Europe Recommendation (2016) 4 on the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalist and other Media Actors.

Constructive meeting with Oliver Spasovski, Minister of Internal Affairs on improved cooperation with @znmsobranie (AJM), fighting impunity, training btw journalists & police officers to build trust in Republic of Macedonia!!! pic.twitter.com/Yssd148QlS

— Renate Schroeder (@renatemargot) May 9, 2018

The AJM latest report on Indicators for the degree of media freedom and journalist’ safety (December 2017) highlights the many challenges journalists face in Macedonia also with regard to disgraceful working conditions, lack of editorial independence and ethical challenges.

This activity was under the EU-funded project “Journalists’ Network for Media Freedom in Macedonia”, implemented by the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) in cooperation with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ).

Following this short mission, EFJ, AJM and SSNM went to Struga (Macedonia) to participate in the OSCE South East Europe Media Conference. Renate Schroeder moderated the first session on safety of journalists. All participants of the conference adopted a declaration on the shooting of journalist Olivera Lakić.

EU Urged to Pressure Members on Media Freedom

AJM

18/05/2018

Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council 2018 - The EU-European People's Party (EPP) Summit in Sofia — epa06741988 Vice President of the European Parliament David McAllister (C-L) speaks with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic (C-R) during the European People's Party (EPP) Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria,16 May 2018. The Summit agenda focuses on preparation for the EU-Western Balkans summit on 16 and 17 May in Sofia. Bulgaria took over its first Presidency of the European Council from January 2018 until June 2018. EPA-EFE/Borislav Troshev

SKOPJE, 18.05.2018 – Media organisations and activists signed a joint declaration calling for the EU to take into account the media freedom situation in member states and candidate countries while awarding funds.

Media organisations, publishers, NGOs and representatives of political parties from across the European Union and the Balkans on Wednesday published what they called the ‘Sofia Declaration’, urging the EU to prioritise media freedom in Europe.

At an event that took part before Thursday’s EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia in Bulgaria, they warned of the waning strength and independence of European media and the consequent threat to democracy.

“The establishment of controlled media is the first step to public governance models known as ‘mild dictatorships’ or ‘captured state’ which creates serious threats to the normal functioning of democracy, not only in the respective countries, but for the whole EU,” the declaration said.

The declaration pinpointed five practical measures to prevent the decline of European media, especially in Central and South-East Europe, under the pressure of repressive legislation, unfavourable financial conditions and physical threats to journalists.

It said that newly proposed rules by the European Commission that would see the distribution of EU funds linked to the state of the rule of law in each country to also include indicators for media freedom.

According to the declaration, the EU proposal to tie funding to the rule of law is too limited and does not explicitly mention freedom of the press as a precondition to receive European money.

The declaration also urged the development of mechanisms ensuring sustainable media financing.

It advocated the creation of a Media Freedom Advocacy Fund to assist activists and publishers in taking legal action against abuses of power by governments and to fund cross-border reporting and investigations.

Publishers also called for the EU to support them in their negotiations with major digital platforms such as Facebook and Google on copyright issues and help them enforce their already existing intellectual rights.

The declaration was adopted at a conference in Sofia hosted by the European Network of Publishers’ Associations, the European Federation of Journalists, the Union of Publishers in Bulgaria and the European Magazine Media Association.

It was attended by dozens of journalists, MEPs, media experts and civic activists, alongside representatives of pan-European media bodies including Reporters Without Borders, the Association of European Journalists and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom.

Zaštitnik građana: BIA ima tri nedelje da se izjasni o Dojčinovićevom slučaju

IJAS

17/05/2018

BEOGRAD, 17.05.2018. – Bezbednosno-informativna agencija (BIA) dobila je rok od 21 dan da službi Zaštitnika građana dostavi izjašnjenje na pritužbe koje je na njen rad uložio urednik KRIK-a Stevan Dojčinović. Dojčinović je pritužbu podneo u avgustu 2016, nakon što je saznao da su podaci koje je sakupila obaveštajna agencija dostavljeni tabloidu „Informer“ koji ih je koristio u kampanji vođenoj protiv KRIK-a.

Iz kancelarije Zaštitnika građana juče je rečeno da je urgencija obaveštajnoj agenciji poslata jer od pokretanja postupka u avgustu 2016. nije bilo izjašnjenja u vezi sa slučajem Stevana Dojčinovića.

U dopisu koji je poslat KRIK-u navodi se da je služba Zaštitnika građana ovim povodom održala i sastanak u prostorijama BIA-e u septembru 2016. godine. Predstavnici Agencije su tada zatražili dodatni rok za dostavljanje izjašnjenja na pritužbe koje je Dojčinović izneo na njihov rad.

BIA se, međutim, ni nakon više od godinu i po dana nije izjasnila.

Zaštitnik građana dao je BIA-i rok od 21 dana da se izjasni.

Dojčinović nije praćen „kao novinar“

Podsetimo, Dojčinović je pritužbu na rad BIA-e uložio nakon što je tokom KRIK-ovog istraživanja imovine tadašnjeg premijera Aleksandra Vučića u martu 2016. godine list „Informer“ objavio niz podataka iz Dojčinovićevog profesionalnog i privatnog života, a za koje je saznao da su dostavljeni iz obaveštajne agencije.

U „Informeru“ su se mogli pročitati detalji razgovora koje su telefonom vodili novinari KRIK-a, videti fotografija načinjena skrivenom kamerom, a objavljen je i radni naslov teksta koji je tek pripreman. Članovi redakcije su u tom periodu primećivali i da ih nepoznate osobe prate.

Vučić je tada izjavio da Dojčinović nije praćen „kao novinar“.

Osim ovih informacija, „Informer“ je objavio i niz uvreda i laži na račun Dojčinovića i KRIK-a, zbog čega je urednik KRIK-a tužio ovaj list i njegovog urednika Dragana Vučićevića. Suđenje je u toku pred Višim sudom u Beogradu.

Advokati „Informera“ su u odgovoru na tužbu naveli da potvrdu informacija koje su objavili sud zatraži od Bezbednosno-informativne agencije.

Pogledajte detalje medijske kampanje protiv KRIK-a

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