On January 28th, at the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels, OBC hosted a discussion on media freedom in Europe. The welcoming speech of our director, Luisa Chiodi, summarizing the achievements of the project “Safety Net for European Journalists”
Between journalists and criminals, some state institutions favour the latter. The story of Vladimir Mitrić, journalist in Western Serbia, as told to SEEMO, the South East Europe Media Organization
Many South East European journalists experience blackmail, threats or even assaults in their everyday work. The case of Predrag Blagojević, editor in chief of Južne vesti in Niš
Reacting to threats can make you stronger, and also more efficient. The story of Veran Matić, a journalist under police protection, fighting impunity in Serbia
Journalists in South East Europe have to face assaults and threats for carrying out their professional activity. The story of Željko Ivanović in Podgorica
Journalists from South East Europe talk to the media organization SEEMO about the threats and assaults they had to face while carrying out their job. The story of Drago Hedl
On the night of December 14th, around 30 journalists, production directors, and screenwriters have been arrested by the police on charges of "being part of an armed terrorist organisation"
A recent court ruling banning media coverage of an ongoing parliamentary investigation into corruption allegations against four former Turkish cabinet ministers has been met with indignation by local news outlets and has drawn criticism by several international organizations
A study recently presented at the European Parliament focuses on the media situation in Southeast Europe. It introduces a new concept: that of integrity
Hundreds of journalists have been killed around the world in the past decade, with nine out of ten cases going unpunished, the UN and independent press freedom groups said in statements marking the first-ever International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2nd
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama mentioned Kosovo's independence during his historic visit to Belgrade. It was enough for Serbian media to start a smear campaign against him
The International Press Institute (IPI) released three documents in mid-July as it started work on a project on defamation laws and press freedom in Europe aimed at raising public awareness about the need of legal reform in this area, as well as at ensuring that European journalists are able to defend their rights more effectively.
Journalists should speak up about the problems they face in their work, as there are problems everywhere in Europe. An interview with Oliver Vujović, SEEMO Secretary General
Croatian journalist Zrinka Vrabec Mojzeš spoke at the Skopje Media Forum about the dangerous relations among politics, media and media owners in the region, and advocated the need for a European-level legislation on media. Interview
Media concentration and lack of ownership transparency are a major obstacle to media pluralism and freedom in Bulgaria. According to media law expert Nelly Ognyanova, neither of these obstacles can be removed without political will. Interview
Turkey and Azerbaijan share many cultural ties. Now there is something new to add to the Azerbaijani-Turkish friendship. Both countries have now been hosts to the annual multi-stakeholder Internet Governance Forum
The SEEMF it's an international annual meeting that gathers european journalists and media workers. At the 2014 edition, Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso will present the interim results of its research and the activities carried out in the framework of the "Safety Net for European Journalists" project
The abolition of "Utisak Nedelje", a popular political talk show broadcast on B92 TV and directed by Olja Bećković, caused a true storm among Serbian journalists. But this is not the only programme gone missing from the schedules
Slovenian media market is assessed as free by the main international watchdogs, although under a strong State influence and lacking strategic private ownership. An interview with Marko Milosavljević, Head of the Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lubiana
Serbia adopted new rules that require the State to leave media ownership. Media associations have welcomed the new legislation, introduced as a result of pressure from Brussels
EU states are failing to reach relevant international standards on freedom of expression, as defamation remains a criminal act in 23 out of all 28 members of the bloc, the International Press Institute (IPI) said on July 17th
Reporters Without Borders warns that access to media and information can be dropped from United Nations development goals. Protection of the right to information is in danger of being weakened or disappearing altogether, to be replaced a vague reference to freedom of expression
Svetlana Lukić, editor of "Peščanik": the long rule of the Democratic Party, Boris Tadić, and his court set up a mechanism of media control. Vučić - once Milošević's minister of Information- inherited it and added his own, Šešelj-style, "charm"
Ljubica Grozdanovska Dimishkovska, author of international report critical of the country's level of democracy, was criticised for her analysis, with pro-government media seeing it as serving the interests of the opposition as well as those of Greece
In Bulgaria, freedom of the press and expression has dramatically declined in recent years. Among the principle causes are media concentration, self-censorship and pressure on journalists. We spoke about this with Professor Orlin Spasov
The Serbian government is facing increasingly frequent accusations of web censorship. The interventions by the OSCE and the European Commission, the reactions of prime minister Vučić
The Bosnian Herzegovinian Film Festival in New York City recently premiered a documentary movie on the White Armband Initiative, the event taking place in Prijedor each year on May 31st. Transitional justice experts Refik Hodžić and Eldar Sarajlić discussed the process of dealing with the past in the country
