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Bogdanović: Any attack on media community is unacceptable, Government is constantly improving work environment of media

Published on: Sep 12, 2019 • 6:55 PM Author: PR Service
Podgorica, Montenegro (12 September 2019) – The EU Western Balkans Media Days Forum, organised by the European Commission, was opened today in Podgorica. The key theme of this year's forum, which was established in 2017, concerns politics and the media.

The forum was opened by Minister of Culture Aleksandar Bogdanović. Director-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission Christian Danielsson also attended the event.

In his address, Minister Bogdanović emphasised that media pluralism in Montenegro, among other things, is reflected in the fact that there are 140 media in the country, and that creating the necessary conditions for their smooth and safe work, improving the overall media environment and guaranteeing freedom of expression and information, are the key objectives pursued by the Government of Montenegro.

Freedom of expression as a basic human right is inviolable, but it also carries responsibility towards public and facts. High ethical principles and self-regulation are therefore extremely important, especially for developing democracies. Objective and quality reporting is supporting the quality of democracy and the media are the best controllers of any government when they are professional.

On the other hand, media freedoms and the smooth and independent work of journalists are still not implied, either globally, in Europe or in our environment. Today, unfortunately, we have cases of journalists being arrested, attacked or even killed. This is absolutely unacceptable. The Government is taking all measures to address the attacks on journalists and media assets. A safe work environment of the media is a condition that the State will guarantee to all media employees. No case of attack on journalists, their security and media property should be archived without specific police, prosecutorial and judicial dismissal, Minister Bogdanović said.

Furthermore, Minister Bogdanović stressed the numerous ongoing activities to establish better media legislation, noting that the Government of Montenegro is supporting the media community in other ways as well.

The current revision of the media legislation in Montenegro, which started in 2018 with the expert support of the international community, is followed by a broad social dialogue with the aim of achieving the highest international standards and good practice. With the revision of the Law on Media, the National Public Broadcaster Radio-Television of Montenegro and audiovisual media services, we will upgrade the level of quality conditions for the work of the media and standardize solutions that guarantee free and independent media, protection of pluralism and diversity of media, transparency of state media advertising, financial support for self-regulation, strengthening the political, institutional and financial independence of broadcasters, and the overall independence of the national public broadcaster.

The Government, together with other institutions, provided over the past few years substantial direct financial support for the work of the media, in the amount of over EUR 40 million. 

Minister Bogdanović pointed out that the development of technologies is another challenge for the media community in Montenegro and the region.

In addition to the conventional challenges, the contemporary challenges facing the media community, in the region and globally, should not be neglected. We also face the rapid and often unpredictable changes caused by the rapid technological advances and the growing role of the internet and social networks. The key is to exchange experience and find the best model for media performance and sustainability in the advanced technological era, while not compromising standards and quality of work. This is not an easy task, especially for the vulnerable and limited resources media in the Western Balkans, but the right path exists. In addition, propaganda and misinformation are a problem for which, even in democratic societies, there is no simple and one-off response. Continuous education, developing a critical understanding and analysis of media content, raising awareness and enhancing professionalism are crucial. The best tool against fake news remains true information. In the challenges of the digital age and hyper-production of news, Montenegro and the region need media that serve the public interest, the Minister concluded.


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