PODGORICA, 09.03.2024. – The Trade Union of Media of Montenegro, as the largest organization dealing with media in Montenegro, which gathers more than 700 employees, fully supports and stands in solidarity with our colleague Danilo Ajković, a journalist from Television Vijesti, whom the Deputy Prime Minister Nik Đeljošaj attempted to discredit.

The Coalition for Media Freedom is concerned about the fact that, during the inspection, regarding the actions of Belgrade Police Chief Veselin Milic at the press conference on May 3, 2023, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Data Protection determined that there was no omission by the Belgrade Police Chief, but that the media that reported on the conference were to blame for the disclosure of information about minors. In this way, the institution of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Data Protection showed a deep misunderstanding of the journalistic profession as well as the role of the media in a democratic society.

We remind the public that journalists did not come in an illegal way to the list of children who are underage K.K. wanted to kill, but the list was made available to the public precisely by the chief of the Belgrade police, who showed the list at a press conference. The position of the Commissioner, according to which the law was violated by journalists and the media reporting from the press conference, is not only contrary to the basic postulates of freedom of expression, but also contrary to the basic rules of logic.

We ask the Commissioner how it is possible that the one who made the information available to the public is not responsible, but that the one responsible is the one who conveyed the information, and that information was made available to the public by the Belgrade police chief personally at a press conference? Why did information and lists appear at the press conference that journalists should not convey?

We invite the Commissioner, if he has not already done so to the journalists of BIRN, to answer the public what he has learned so far during the inspection, whether it can really be concluded from the minutes of the inspection carried out so far that the law was violated by the media that reported on it from the press conference, and not the one who showed the list and thus made it available to the public and to use his own powers to end the inspection, regardless of the internal control procedure, because we believe that the Commissioner has enough information to make a decision whether in the specific case, the law was broken or not.

The Coalition for Media Freedom: 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”, the Slavko Curuvija Foundation and Branch Trade Union of Culture, Arts and Media ‘Nezavisnost’ 

On International Women’s Day, MFRR coalition partners publish a critical examination of attacks against women journalists in the European Union and candidate countries

To mark International Women’s Day, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) presents an analysis of the troubling attacks against women journalists, in European Union member states and candidate countries. In 2023, female journalists faced a disproportionate number of verbal attacks, especially online. The MFRR partners call for collaborative efforts to protect their rights and foster a society free from discrimination.

On International Women’s Day, the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) emphasise the need to improve gender equality and overcome persistent challenges facing women in journalism. In particular, they highlight the alarming attacks against women journalists in the European Union member states and candidate countries in 2023. Data from the Mapping Media Freedom initiative reveals 281 recorded incidents of attacks against women journalists in this region during the past year.

Smear campaigns and online threats

Women journalists more commonly face verbal attacks than their male counterparts, according to MFRR data. Verbal attacks constituted 31.0% of recorded incidents involving male journalists, while for female journalists this figure was 42.7%.

Notably, smear campaigns have become significant tools aimed at silencing and discrediting women journalists, particularly when reporting on polarising topics during electoral periods. These campaigns create fertile ground for disinformation to spread unchecked.

The digital landscape has amplified patterns of harassment against women journalists during their professional activities. Online attacks, constituting 24.6% of all incidents against women journalists, are particularly alarming, far surpassing those against male journalists (12.5%). This includes mainly online harassment, such as intimidation, discredit, insult, harassment, sexual harassment, and bullying.

These targeted attacks extend beyond verbal assaults and include direct threats to the safety of journalists and their families, doxxing, and attacks taking on sexualized tones, such as rape threats. In 2023, women journalists faced at least 20 rape or death threats, of which 60% happened online. ARTICLE19 Europe has developed a series of briefings analysing the freedom of expression implications of online threats against women journalists and assessing investigations into these cases (including a focus briefing on investigations of online abuse against women journalists Spain).

The surge in online attacks aims to intimidate, silence, and stigmatise women journalists, potentially limiting their participation in public spaces. Understanding online abuse is imperative, as it directly impacts the ability of women journalists to fully exercise their right to free expression.

Physical assaults and legal incidents

Attacks in public spaces and during protests account for 18.9% and 15.3%, respectively, of the incidents documented involving women journalists. Physical assaults, though less frequent than for male journalists, still constitute 23.5% of incidents for women journalists, resulting in injuries in 17 cases. Legal incidents, including arrests, detentions, imprisonments, criminal charges, civil lawsuits, or defamation, are also significant concerns, constituting 25.6% of all incidents against women.

Through its Safety4Journalists platform, the European Federation of Journalists highlights how media workers have traditionally been considered at risk because of the nature of their work, while in reality, there is both a lack of awareness of safety issues and of protective measures in place for them. In 2023, EFJ created a Gender and Diversity Expert Group, for which the safety of female journalists emerged as one of the key work topics.

Through MFRR Article 19 Europe and the International Press Institute will organise a series of roundtables on investigating cases of online harassment against women journalists in the Western Balkans, drawing on ARTICLE 19’S policy briefs on the topic as well as on IPI’s training resources for newsrooms on how to support women colleagues, developed during its Ontheline campaign.

Across the continent: highlighting attacks on female journalists in Europe

The challenges faced by women journalists in 2023 extend beyond borders, with prominent cases illustrating the severity of gender-based threats:

• In Romania, investigative journalist Emilia Șercan faced a renewed smear campaign after reporting on plagiarism by the Home Affairs Minister.
• In Finland, right-wing MPs also launched a severe online smear campaign against Iltalehti journalist Ida Erämaa for her critical reporting.
• Serbian journalist Bojana Pavlovic faced harassment and the forced removal of her phone. The First Basic Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade then refused to bring criminal charges, having considered the journalist had not been in danger.
• Italian freelance journalist Rossella Puccio faced violent attacks, including her family car being set on fire, underlining the ongoing danger faced by journalists reporting on human rights and social issues, such as migration, poverty, and women’s conditions.
• Marilena Natale, another journalist reporting on the Italian mafia and for this reason living under armed guard since 2017, received new death threats from the Casalesi clan.
• Montenegrin journalist Jelena Jovanović of newspaper Vijesti has also lived under police protection for over two years due to her investigations into organised crime.

The cases keep multiplying in 2024. Verica Marinčić, also from Serbia, was forcibly removed from the Indjija municipality building while reporting on a protest. Meanwhile, Ola Xama, an investigative journalist in Albania, continues to be the subject of an intensified smear campaign, including slut-shaming, the exposure of her private address, and attacks on her family members.

Despite these challenges and risks, these and many more resilient women journalists remain committed to their crucial work of informing the public.

Women journalists’ safety: a collective commitment

On this International Women’s Day, the MFRR coalition calls for a collective commitment from governments, media organisations, and civil society to address root causes and ensure a safe environment for women in journalism. While advocating for laws safeguarding women journalists’ rights and specific actions against gender-based online harassment, the coalition also urges media companies to prioritise the safety of female staff, fostering harassment-free environments and providing comprehensive support in the event of an attack. This collective commitment aims to advance gender equality, stand in solidarity with women journalists facing threats, and create a society free from harassment and discrimination.

Signed

• ARTICLE 19 Europe
• European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
• European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
• Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
• International Press Institute (IPI)
• OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)

Source: EFJ

A report on the most influential media and media companies in Serbia showed that the risk of state control is high.

A presentation of the report on 43 media outlets and their owners was told that the trend of media outlets rallying around the SBB and Telekom Serbia cable services providers is more evident than 5 years ago. The report said that those two providers dominate the market and are important players in terms of media content production and distribution.

A lot of indicators showed that political control over the media is high. According to the report, that risk is highest for TV outlets and less so for print media and radio stations.

Global Media Registry official Nafisa Hasanova told the presentation that this was the second report drawn up for Serbia with the BIRN network following the report for 2017. She said that the risk of state control over the media is relatively high in Serbia.

Source: N1

Journalism students and journalists participating in the second edition of the Academy for information integrity were taught about algorithms and social media on Saturday.

This module, led by Gëzim Bala, a marketing expert and founder of LVL UP company, focused on the significance of social media. It covered how algorithms function across various applications and offered insights on creating more user-friendly content.

Additionally, participants discussed about the methods for protecting themselves on social media and strategies to maximize their profit through its use.

The Academy for Information Integrity will have a final module for this second edition, which will be held in the coming weeks.

The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) appeals to the members of the commission in charge of evaluating project proposals for co-financing media content in Novi Pazar to distribute funds proportionately, in a fair manner, respecting legal rules and enabling media pluralism. Also, we call on the authorities from the City Administration of Novi Pazar not to put pressure on the members of the commission and to enable the conditions provided by law for the work of independent commissions.

Years back, Television Novi Pazar in that city received disproportionately high sums of money through media contests compared to other media participating in the contest. Namely, every year more than 80 percent of the funds earmarked for the media goes to this television.

This practice not only threatens media pluralism and the diversity of voices in the public space, but also calls into question the very purpose of project co-financing, which should be aimed at encouraging quality journalism and a wide range of media content.

The city of Novi Pazar was one of the first this year to announce a competition for co-financing of media content production projects, and it is expected that it will be among the first to decide on the distribution of planned funds for that purpose in the amount of 39 million dinars (almost 333.000 euros). Since the maximum amount that can be received by one project is limited to 32.5 million dinars, it is expected that this year, too, that amount or an approximate amount will be received by Television Novi Pazar.

We call on the authorities in the City Administration in Novi Pazar to stop the practice of uneven and unfair distribution of funds and to put professional reporting and public interest first when distributing funds.