Today, journalists and cameramen of the Kosovar media spontaneously organized to boycott the press conference, after the Government Meeting. Journalists waited more than 40 minutes for the appearance of ministers Hekuran Murati and Arbërie Nagavci.

AJK supports its colleagues for today’s action since this is not the first time that the Government delays the conferences without any explanation.

AJK also asks the Government to respect the work of journalists by organizing press conferences, at a reasonable time after the end of the meetings. The government must put the public interest first, accepting questions from journalists about the decisions it makes.

Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) has launched a platform for the safety of journalists “On the line” (https://prvalinija.nuns.rs/), which contains resources and tools that help newsrooms and journalists act correctly in the event of online threats addressed to them. As part of this action, journalists who are victims of online violence are provided with legal assistance, as well as psychological support to help them cope with this situation.

The site was created as a result of frequent attacks on journalists, especially online. Last year, there were 136 reported attacks/threats against journalists, of which 51 were online threats.

Based on the guidelines on the website, newsrooms can implement a mechanism to protect journalists who are the target of online attacks from the professional and emotional impact that occurs as a result of this form of harassment.

One of the ideas is to create a safety culture in the newsroom where journalists are encouraged to report violence on the Internet and are given support. The main goal of media outlets must be to create an environment where journalists do not feel embarrassed to report attacks on the Internet. Due to a competitive work environment or precarious work situation, journalists may worry that reporting an attack will be perceived as a sign of weakness or a lack of professional standards, and that it will negatively affect their careers. It is essential to speak openly about online abuse in order to limit its effects, including trauma and self-censorship.

A special section on the website refers to attacks on female journalists on the Internet, as well as on freelance journalists.

The website contains numerous interviews with international experts in this field who provide guidelines/advice on how to deal with the public on the Internet and how to act in the event of an online attack. Some of them were the targets of attacks themselves.

At the same time, the website contains the confessions of female journalists who were the targets of attacks, who talk about how they dealt with the situation.

The platform contains numerous useful resources – publications and tools that serve to train journalists to combat online violence.

Visit the On the Line platform here: https://prvalinija.nuns.rs/

The “On the Line” platform was created as part of a project financed by the European Union, which is jointly implemented by IJAS and BIRN in cooperation with the International Press Institute (IPI). IJAS and BIRN would like to thank the International Press Institute for providing the text and video materials originally published on its On the Line platform.

The Ukrainian journalists today met with the Chairman of the Assembly of Kosovo Glauk Konjufca, and they closely followed the second session of the Assembly for the spring session.

Colleagues from Ukraine were greeted by the MPs present in the Parliament, as they cheered “Slava Ukraine” and “Long live Kosovo”.

Luidmyla Makei, Sehri Shevchenko, Luidmyla Mekh, Maryna Zhyvotkova, Oksana Chykanchy, Viktoriia Kaidash, Iryna Synelnyk, and Olga Lysnicha, in the in companionship of the Executive Director of AJK, Getoarbe Mulliqi Bojaj and the Legal Adviser of ECPMF, Flutura Kusari, have expressed their gratitude for the help given to them by the Institutions and the people of Kosovo.

Journalists from Ukraine have taken shelter in Kosovo within the “Journalists in Residence – Kosovo” program, which was initiated by the European Center for Press and Media Freedom ECPMF and is financed by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.

Ukrainian journalists’ organizations are sounding the alarm. The new Media Law signed by President Zelensky threatens media freedom. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) call on the European Commission and the Council of Europe to convince the Ukrainian authorities to review the law, in consultation with journalists’ organizations and the media.

The representative trade unions of Ukrainian journalists, NUJU and IMTUU, denounce multiple problematic provisions, starting with the political dependence of the state regulator and the widening of the spectrum of extrajudicial sanctions against the media.

On 29 December, president Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a controversial bill that expands the government’s regulatory power over news media. The new law allows the state media regulator, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council (NTRBC), to regulate print and online media, as well as internet, television, radio and online platforms such as YouTube and social networks. It also provides the state media regulator with the right to fine media outlets, revoke their licenses, and temporarily block certain publications without a court ruling (the state regulator has the right to block access to an unregistered publication without a court decision, for up to two weeks).

The NTRBC is a constitutional body. Half of its members are appointed by the president, and half by the parliament, which is controlled by the pro-presidential majority. The state media regulator obviously falls under the total control of Ukrainian authorities.

“We welcome the implementation of the EU Audiovisual Directive, which is included in the new law,” said NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko. “And we also welcome the modernization of Ukrainian media legislation. But at the same time, the authorities should conduct a broad dialogue with journalists and the real media sector when introducing new rules. In the past, Ukrainian journalists have always been the driving force behind new media laws, as they saw them as a tool to protect freedom of expression and the profession. Currently, we do not see active supporters of the law among journalists. Rather, it is a law that aims to strengthen state regulation of the media.”

“Ukrainian officials, through the media they control, have launched a campaign to discredit those who constructively criticize certain provisions of the law, instead of working on the law’s shortcomings and initiating the necessary dialogue with the professional sector,” added IMTUU President Serhiy Shturkhetskyy. “This makes us fear what awaits us after the full implementation of the law: government officials will declare those who disagree with their vision to be enemies of the country or foreign agents. This perspective of state and political regulation of the media is in total contradiction with the desire of Ukrainian civil society for European integration.”

“A state regulator with such sanctioning powers, without even going through a court, cannot be under the full control of the government,” said EFJ President Maja Sever. “Journalists’ unions were not consulted on the latest version of the law. We call on the European Commission and the Council of Europe to convince the Ukrainian authorities to enter into dialogue with journalists’ organizations and with media organisations. The duty of solidarity with the Ukrainians, in the face of the Russian aggressor, should not prevent us from criticizing legal provisions which threaten freedom of the press and the right of citizens to access credible, pluralist and independent information.”

IFJ President Dominique Pradalié declared: “Media freedom and pluralism are in danger in Ukraine under the new media law, which could create systemic problems for democracy in the country, as it expands the state control over the media. It is very important for Ukrainians, who are suffering from a terrible war, to be able to rely on credible information”.

“The IFJ, together with its affiliates, NUJU and IMTUU, has already called on the Ukrainian government to revise the new law. Today, we join the EFJ in asking the European institutions to convince the Ukrainian authorities to reform the legislation and to start a broad inclusive dialogue with journalists’ unions and the media sector. We must remember that there cannot be democracy without independent journalism and a free press,” Pradalié added.

> Dogs maul journalist to death 

Belgrade-based journalist and analyst Vladan Radosavljević (62) succumbed on 4th January after being attacked by dogs in a village on Mount Kosmaj, close to Belgrade.

The basic court in Mladenovac ordered that Violeta M be remanded into custody for up to 30 days on suspicion of not securing the cage containing the dogs in Velika Ivanča on 4th January, with the dogs later that same day leaving the yard and attacking Radosavljević and his wife, who also sustained serious injuries as a result of the attack.

Radosavljević worked at Studio B, the Belgrade Media Centre and Production Group Mreža. He also served as editor-in-chief of Vršac-based Television Banat, after which he collaborated with Television Šabac until the year 2020.

> Podcast authors targeted by pro-state media and threatened on social media

In just one day, portals of tabloid newspapers and one television company launched a witch hunt against Nenad Kulačin and Marko Vidojković, with the authors of the podcast “The Good, The Bad & The Evil” (DLZ) and columnists of daily newspaper Danas subjected to new insults and threats via social media.

Standing out among the threats received by Kulačin is one alluding to being bitten by dogs, which caused the recent death of journalist Vladan Radosavljević. That threat was issued after Kulačin and Vidojković used their podcast to call for a detailed investigation into the tragic dog attack. Pro-government television station TV Pink subsequently alleged that Kulačin had used the podcast to somehow link the journalist’s tragic death to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

The same podcast episode also included discussion of the 1995 war crime in Srebrenica, during which the presenters clearly emphasised that there is no verdict condemning Serbia or the Serbian people for genocide, but rather specific individuals, though that didn’t prevent individual pro-state tabloids from presenting that part of the podcast conversation as the authors stating that genocide was committed in Srebrenica. Vidojković subsequently also received threats via social media, on the same day that the International and German PEN Centre called on the Serbian authorities to investigate all death threats issued against Vidojković, who reported having received more 40 such threats just last year.

> Journalist who first reported on ammonia leak accident detained

Nenad Paunović, editor-in-chief of local Pirot-based portal Pirot plusonline, who was the first to report to the Serbian public on the leak of an ammonia tank near Pirot and the spill of that dangerous gas, was taken into police custody together with an associate who operated a drone that filmed the scene of the accident.

The two toured the site of the accident some 13 days after the incident occurred. They were released following interrogation and police detention lasting four hours, but neither Paunović nor his lawyer, Srđan Mitić, has subsequently received any information as to whether criminal charges would be filed and for what criminal act.

Apart from being the first to report on the accident, Paunović also became known to the general public after finding a corpse in the immediate vicinity of the railway lines, but also for his posing of questions to Environmental Protection Minister Irena Vujović that she was unable to answer.

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today publishes its position on the draft proposal for the  European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which was adopted by its Steering Committee in Brussels on 13 January.

While we welcome the European Commission’s initiative to strengthen the free and pluralistic media system, and the commitment to protect journalists and editorial independence within the European Union, we stress the importance of a more robust protection of both media freedom and editorial independence.

In its position, the EFJ proposes urgent amendments which are crucial to be included by the co-legislators, the European Parliament and the European Council, as only a strengthened Media Freedom Act can fulfil its proclaimed promises.

The most important points are:

1. The need to adopt a forward looking inclusive definition of media and media service providers in line with International standards;
2. The improvement regarding protection of sources of journalists and deployment of any spyware to be in line with International standards;
3. The need for a binding common and clear rules on transparency of media ownership to ensure meaningful transparency so important for trust in journalism;
4. The strengthening of safeguards on independence of National Regulatory Authorities;
5. The need to guarantee of full independence of the European Board for Media Service from the European Commission;
6. The assessment of public interest tests of media mergers as a minimum action by the board and with civil society and journalists’ organisations involvement. This is pivotal to fight media capture by media moguls and oligarchs who follow their own agenda but not the public interest journalism;
7. The need for a better enforcement of existing and newly established media rules.

“Today, the sustainability of free media is threatened in many EU countries, and the European Media Freedom Act proposal is a significant step in strengthening media independence and pluralism. We are advocating for numerous changes to be made. By accepting remarks and proposals from journalists’ organisations, a strengthened EMFA can contribute to the defence of journalism as a public good,” says Maja Sever.

Only a revised text taking into account aforementioned points can efficiently contribute to the defence of journalism.