Media

The Dataharvest/EIJC 2015 in a Nutshell

20/05/2015

From the 8th until the 10th of May, the European capital of Brussels was transformed into an international meeting point for data coders and journalists, investigative or otherwise. The reason: the Dataharvest European Investigative Journalism Conference 2015.

Silence Of the Lambs, Azerbaijani Style

13/05/2015 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

The European Games in Baku are only a month away, while the list of the country's political prisoners keeps on growing

Smear campaign against the Serbian Ombudsman

07/05/2015 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrade

Serbian Ombudsman Saša Janković has been under attack for months. A campaign orchestrated by government circles and the media close to them has been trying to denigrate both his function and his person. An analysis

A grass-roots initiative for media freedom in Europe

20/02/2015 -  Luisa Chiodi

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”

Vladimir Mitrić, a journalist under police protection

27/01/2015 -  SEEMO

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

Predrag Blagojević: journalists under blackmail

28/01/2015 -  SEEMO

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

Veran Matić: fighting impunity

23/01/2015 -  SEEMO

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

Željko Ivanović: being a journalist in Montenegro

22/01/2015 -  SEEMO

Journalists in South East Europe have to face assaults and threats for carrying out their professional activity. The story of Željko Ivanović in Podgorica

Drago Hedl: Croatian dangerous journalism

21/01/2015 -  SEEMO

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

Dragana Sotirovski, journalism on the field

26/01/2015 -  SEEMO

The Seemo stories: South East European journalists who have experienced threats or assaults in their everyday work. The case of Dragana Sotirovski

Turkey, press freedom in jail

19/12/2014 -  Fazıla Mat Istanbul

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"

Turkish gag order stokes criticism

09/12/2014 -  Svetla Dimitrova

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

Slovenia: tabloid journalism on the rise

05/12/2014 -  Stefano Lusa Koper

A tragic event shows the downhill path taken by Slovenian journalism – more and more scandal, less and less ethics

SEE: media integrity matters

28/11/2014 -  Svetla Dimitrova

A study recently presented at the European Parliament focuses on the media situation in Southeast Europe. It introduces a new concept: that of integrity

Nine out of 10 cases of journalists' murders go unpunished

24/11/2014 -  Svetla Dimitrova Sofia

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

Edi Rama, the insults on Serbian media

21/11/2014 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrade

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

International standards on freedom of expression and defamation

29/10/2014

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.

Voices from the VIII SEEMF: Oliver Vujović

29/10/2014 -  Svetla Dimitrova Skopje

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

The Skopje Media Forum: Europe calling

24/10/2014 -  Svetla Dimitrova Skopje

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 media ownership in Bulgaria

17/10/2014 -  Svetla Dimitrova Sofia

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, Azerbaijan and the Internet Governance Forum

16/10/2014 -  Arzu Geybullayeva Istanbul

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

OBC will take part in the South Est Europe Media Forum 2014

15/10/2014

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

Serbia: media in the storm

09/10/2014 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrade

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

Free internet: the Turkish riddle

29/09/2014 -  Fazıla Mat Istanbul

In early September, international debate on Internet freedom focused on Turkey, a country experiencing growing restrictions and censorship

Slovenia: the media market challenges

19/08/2014 -  Marzia Bona

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

The privatization of the Serbian media

13/08/2014 -  Dragan Janjić Belgrado

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

IPI says EU criminal defamation laws outdated

25/07/2014

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

Will media freedom be part of UN's future development goals?

18/07/2014

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

Aleksandar Vučić: from deck hand to captain of media control in Serbia

14/07/2014 -  Hrvoje Šimičević

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"

Macedonia: analyst caught in political crossfire over Freedom House report

09/07/2014 -  Svetla Dimitrova

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