26. 10. 2005

ABUSE OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

PODGORICA, October 26, 2005 – The monitoring of Montenegrin press showed that the print media abused the freedom of reporting on court proceedings of underage persons and cases of violence. The monitoring, carried out by the Association of Young Journalists and OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, included the articles of dailies Dan, Vijesti, Republika, Pobjeda and Monitor covering these issues from July 11 to October 3, 2005. The most frequent errors were made in covering the cases from courtrooms and reporting on accidents and violence. The journalists were mostly erring in the headlines, which usually did not correspond to the context, said the president of the Association, Boris Darmanovic. “The best example is when a journalist reports on arrest of the murder suspect. The headline presents the person as a murderer, which is not necessarily true, because the court might find that person not guilty”, said Darmanovic. “Such errors were made mostly in the dailies Vijesti and Dan, much less in Republika, and almost none in Pobjeda. The pictures from accident sites and detailed description of the victim’s family should not be published, especially when reporting from their home town. It is justifiable only when it is in interest of the wider public”, said Darmanovic. “It is necessary to pay more attention to protection of personal reputation, honor and identity of a child. This right should be respected by all, particularly the media”, said the Montenegrin deputy ombudsman Budimir Scepanovic. Komnen Radevic, journalist of daily Vijesti, said that courts and police should be more open to journalists. President of the Basic Court in Podgorica Zoran Pazin believes that not enough effort has been made for establishing balance between the rights to timely information, fair trial and privacy. According to Pazin, editors should give such assignments to those journalists who could professionally rise up to the challenge. The courts on the other hand, Pazin says, have not yet grown up to their role when it comes to their relations with the public. “The president of the court, or person authorized by the president, provides information on court’s conducts”, said Pazin. Coordinator of the Self-regulatory journalists’ body Branko Vojicic says there is something like freedom for honest work in Montenegro, but its misuse is also evident. Vojicic says that the Montenegrin media is characterized by ignorance, negligence and unprofessional conduct, pointing that 60 percent of journalists has no qualifications, and that it is very hard to train such people to do their job professionally. “Profusion of media does not automatically mean the profusion of objectivity”, said Vojicic, adding that the most experienced journalists are usually the most manipulated ones. According to the representative of OSCE Paraschiva Badescu, it is necessary to develop an efficient legal frame for media conduct, as well as to work on the implementation and raise of professional standards. The principal condition of the truly objective media is a high level of professionalism, said Badescu.