19. 09. 2008

THE CHANGES WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT STILL “SHAKE” THE SERBIAN MEDIA

The Results of IREX’s Research of the Media Sustainability Index Revealed

Belgrade, September 19, 2008. (Danas) - The freedom of speech, respecting professional journalistic standards, the transparency of the information sources, the economic self-sustainability of the media and the support of the institutions connected to the media as the aims of the media sustainability have not advanced in comparison with the previous years’ data in Serbia, shows IREX’s research of the media sustainability index conducted in 21 countries in 2007.

Goran Cetinić, a media consultant, explained that the sustainability index helped follow the media quality in the countries in transition. Experts from 21 countries evaluate the state in five areas.

- In comparison with 2006, last year the media sustainability index dropped from 2.48 to 2.39 in Serbia, which means that the changes in the government still affect the media situation in the country. A decrease of the media sustainability index has been noted in all the South European countries –  Cetinić stated. According to him, the fall of the index is influenced, among other things, by „counteroffensive reactions of the governments in those countries after the previous democratic soarings, which is why the improvement of the media situation has been halted in most countries“.

Consultant Dragan Kremer pointed out that the experts who had analized the freedom of speech in Serbia criticized the fact that the laws regulating the functioning of the media were not implemented, the process for issuing permits and frequences for the electronic media, as well as the non-existent political will to find the murderers and prevent attacks on journalists. The complaints in the sphere of journalistic professionalism referred to the fact that the real journalistic reporting was on the decrease, whereas there was ever more „mechanical broadcasting of agency news and political parties’ announcements“ – Kremer explained.

The authors of the research have also mentioned the low journalistic salaries, which enable corruption, and the insufficiently developed specialized reporting.

- Although there are many media on the territory of Serbia, they mostly broadcast the same information. Thus, „alternative voices” are inadequately represented –  Kremer pointed out.

The research has also shown that the Serbian media rate high in terms of business due to the substantial income from the advertizing, claimed Cetinić. He added that  the media market in Serbia was saturated with competition, and that the state of the media in central Serbia was far worse than in Belgrade. The institutions connected with the media, such as journalistic associations, printing houses and the distributive network, were rather positively evaluated, but the experts maintained that Serbia needed  a more active union organization in the media sphere.