The Agency for preventing corruption started a case against journalist Tufik Softić based on anonymous tip. It happened just some days before a verdict was to be brought in a case where Softić sued the state for not having protected him after he was assaulted in 2007.
For the first time ever, a Montenegrin citizen was compensated by the State for an ineffective investigation. Journalist Tufik Softić was awarded 7.000 euros after the Constitutional Court decided that his right to life was harmed by not finding the perpetrators that attacked him in 2007.
Statistics on violence against women that have arisen from the campaign #MeToo show clear data, but what is actual reaction of media outlets in Bosnia and Herzegovina and world? Alan Pejković analyzes journalistic and media approach to this topic in different societies.
In 2015, long before the Tahiri affair shaken the Rama government, a former Albanian policeman had already reported the facts. His findings on the extent of cannabis smuggling were not appreciated by Albanian authorities and made him an unwelcome person in his own country. Dritan Zagani is now a political refugee in Switzerland.
“During summer, we were contacted by the colleagues at OBCT, they invited us to take part in an international project with many countries in Europe and the Balkans initiated under the umbrella of the European centre for Press and Media Freedom. Initially we were honoured to be part of this project, but soon after we started thinking about how we would approach it. The invitation by OBCT raised a question: while in our country anyone can publish anything they want, is there true press freedom? And what about media pluralism?”
In five countries of the world including Serbia, Facebook is testing a new formula: only sponsored contents are visible to the whole users. In one week, the rates of presence on the pages of independent media have thus collapsed. In Vučić's Serbia, social networks had been so far the only alternative to traditional media, heavily controlled by the government.
A member of GERB party threatened a journalist, and his career was over. But this is not how it works in Bulgaria, an EU country with no freedom of expression, according to the ranking of Reporters Without Borders.
The Western Balkans Media Days took place in Tirana from 8 to 10 November. The debates gave rise to an intense discussions: a gloomy picture of the freedom of the press in the region came up from the conference. Did the European Union get the message?
Insecurity, political and economic pressures: Albanian journalists constantly report on press freedom deterioration. Even an experienced professional like Artan Rama was heavily censored. It was October 2016 when his magazine “Publicus” was brutally interrupted by the heads of private television Vizion Plus.
Non-profit Croatian media should benefit from four million euros of European aid. But the current Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Korzinek wants to redirect these funds to commercial media…
