The head of newly formed media sector of the Ministry of Culture was presented as a “media legislation expert”, but while she was working at the Agency for Electronic Media, he misapplied some law regulations. As an information officer, Zvoranić has shown far more consideration for interests of media corporation than for the right of journalists and the general public to access information about their public commitments which regard quality of program for which broadcasting they had been granted a concession.
The Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria (AEJ-Bulgaria) argues that politicians exert unwarrantable pressure over Bulgarian media. This is one of the main statements in the fourth edition of its traditional online inquiry on freedom of speech attitudes. The instruments of politicians to influence media contents are getting more and more sophisticated. AEJ-Bulgaria argues that in 2015 media were more dependent on advertisers while in 2017 they were replaced by politicians.
One of the biggest reason for unprofessional reporting on people with disability is ignorance of proper terminology. Only specialized media in Bosnia and Herzegovina know how to use correct vocabulary when writing on this issue. Activist and journalist Ana Kotur tries to explain why the use of proper terminology does not threaten journalistic freedom to express themselves the way they think they should.
Media and journalist associations have assessed that the statement of Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, who stated that there was no objective journalism in Serbia, was unfounded, cynical and frivolous, and called for a dialogue about unbiased journalism. The deterioration of the media landscape in Serbia is garnering increased attention abroad and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) decided to send an international mission to Serbia to help to improve freedom of expression and media freedoms.
The Union is protesting against the order of the Minister of Culture Mirela Kumbaro who has prohibited the entry in the Butrinti UNESCO-protected Archaelogical Park to journalists who wants to investigate the ongoing illegal works of construction.
According to Open Society Institute – Sofia survey, Bulgaria is at the bottom of media literacy in Europe. The index, produced by Open Society Institute, is based on five key criteria: media freedom, education, trust in society, and the use of information and communication technologies. Bulgaria, Montenegro, Albania and Turkey are in the last places, while Netherlands, Denmark and Estonia are at the top.
Dozens of journalists protested in Sofia against the State pressure. The demonstration was provoked by the threats against the Nova TV host Viktor Nikolaev. The former GERB MP Anton Todorov and the Deputy Prime Minister Valery Simeonov warned him that he could loose his job if he continued to ask awkward questions. “Silence Kills” and “We Have Questions, Not Requests” were some of the main messages of the protest organized by the Association of European Journalists in Bulgaria.
Beyond the antique walls of UNESCO-protected Butrinti archaeological park, in southern Albania, somebody is constructing a restaurant, although it is forbidden by national and international laws. That’s probably why journalist have no access, neither as a simple visitor.
At the end of August, the Environment Minister Doina Pană said she would like the televisions to broadcast more positive news, adding that this could be financial rewarded. The idea is not new, and the statement is not exactly innocent or benign - the minister suggested the idea of a “pact” between women in the press and women in politics to uphold this law. Several years ago in Romania there was a similar legislative initiative according to which televisions should have broadcasted 50% positive news and 50% negative news. This law had been approved by the Senate, and only due to the pressure of civil society it was rejected by the President. Such a law, says Jean Fracois Julliard, spokesperson for Reporters sans Frontiers, exists only in China.
In today’s Romania the most worrying episode of political interference in media freedom was on February 2017, when the Minister of Internal Affairs Carmen Dan drew up and presented a “blacklist” of journalists and politicians belonging to the opposition, who would have been “involved” in supporting anti-government protests.
