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Monitoring medijske scene izrađuje se s ciljem kontinuiranog praćenja događaja i procesa koji utiču na stanje medijskih sloboda u Republici Srbiji. Autori monitoringa bave se: slobodom izražavanja; praćenjem implementacije postojećih propisa; usvajanjem novih propisa, ali i izmenama i dopunama aktuelnih, kako iz oblasti medija, tako i iz drugih oblasti koje na direktan ili indirektan način utiču na slobodu medija; kao i analizom SLAPP tužbi (strateških tužbi protiv učešća javnosti) usmerenih prema novinarima i medijima.

Sloboda izražavanja

Analizirano je saopštenje predstavnice OEBS-a za slobodu medija, Tereze Ribeiro, u vezi sa novinarima koji su sve češća meta softvera za nadzor širom sveta, što znatno utiče na njihovu privatnost i na slobodu medija. Koalicija za žene u inostranstvu (CWI) je ovog meseca u svom izveštaju „Status medijskih sloboda za novinarke“ prepoznala slučaj ruske novinarke Nataše Tiškevič koja je 40 sati bila zatvorena na beogradskom aerodromu, kao jedan od tri najveća slučaja pretnji i napada sa kojima se suočavaju novinarke širom sveta. Izveštaj za septembar mesec detaljnije obrađuje slučaj redakcije Danas, slučaj Maje Đurić, novinarke N1, slučaj portala VranjeNews, kao i slučaj Vojina Radovanovića, novinara dnevnog lista Danas.

Monitoring procesa usvajanja novih zakona 

Pošto su nacrti dva medijska zakona završeni, septembar mesec obeležila je dugo očekivana javna rasprava, a stručna javnost je dobila priliku da iznese svoje predloge i zamerke. Ključne teme za raspravu bile su mogućnost da država bude u posrednom vlasništvu nad medijima, način raspoređivanja finansijskih sredstava, obaveznost poštovanja Kodeksa novinara Srbije, kao i nadležnost Saveta za štampu. Skoro polovina od nacrta članova Zakona o elektronskim medjiima se odnosi na Regulatorno telo za elekstronske medije (REM), a sa tim u vezi otvorena su pitanja biranja novog Saveta REM-a, način izbora i trajanje mandata članova, kao i pitanje izricanja sankcija medijima.

Implementacija postojećih propisa

Udruženje novinara Srbije (UNS) je saopštilo da je ministar informisanja i telekomunikacija, Mihailo Jovanović, na pet od devet ovogodišnjih konkursa, „u skladu sa Zakonom o javnom informisanju i medijima, na osnovu diskrecionog ovlašćenja’’, menjao iznose koje je komisija predložila za sufinansiranje. Ovakvo postupanje dovelo je do obraćanja UNS-a Jovanoviću i postavljanja pitanja da li ministar ima ovakvo zakonsko ovlašćenje, bez da prethodno uoči greške u radu komisije i utvrdi da su komisije radile suprotno zakonu. Uprkos tome što je Poverenik za informacije od javnog značaja i zaštitu podataka o ličnosti poništio rešenje Ministarstva informisanja i telekomunikacija kojim se odbija dostavljanje profesionalnih biografija, Ministarstvo je ponovo odbilo da UNS-u dostavi profesionalne biografije kandidata za članove komisija za medijske konkurse.

SLAPP tužbe usmerene prema novinarima i medijima

Septembar mesec obeležila je presuda Evropskog suda za ljudska prava u korist B92, u vezi sa slučajem koji je inicirala Zorica Pavlović zbog informacija objavljenih u serijalu Insajder koji se 2011. godine emitovao na B92, a koje se tiču zloupotreba prilikom nabavke vakcina protiv svinjskog gripa. Kako se navodi u odluci, domaći sudovi su presudom protiv tadašnje televizije B92 ugrozili slobodu govora i izveštavanja medija u interesu javnosti, čime su prekršili član 10. Evropske konvencije o ljudskim pravima koji garantuje slobodu izveštavanja. „Sud je utvrdio da su srpski sudovi priznali da su informacije koje je objavio podnosilac predstavke doprinele javnoj raspravi i da je neko ko je na funkciji pomoćnika ministra zdravlja trebalo da pokaže veći stepen tolerancije“ – navodi se u presudi Evropskog suda za ljudska prava.

Ova publikacija objavljena je uz finansijsku pomoć Evropske unije i Ministarstva informisanja i telekomunikacija. Za sadržinu ove publikacije isključivo je odgovorna Asocijacija nezavisnih elektronskih medija i ta sadržina nipošto ne izražava zvanične stavove Evropske unije i Ministarstva informisanja i telekomunikacija.

Ovaj Monitoring Izveštaj uradio je stručni monitoring tim ANEM-a iz advokatske kancelarije „Živković&Samardžić", a celokupan se može pronaći na ovom linku.

SERBIA'S MEDIA SCENE IN SEPTEMBER 2023

Monitoring of the media scene is carried out with the aim of continuous monitoring of events and processes that affect the state of media freedom in the Republic of Serbia. The authors of the monitoring deal with: freedom of expression; monitoring the implementation of existing regulations; by adopting new regulations, but also by amending and supplementing the current ones, both from the field of media, and from other areas that directly or indirectly affect the freedom of the media; as well as by analyzing SLAPP lawsuits (strategic lawsuits against public participation) directed against journalists and media.

Freedom of speech

The statement of the OSCE representative for freedom of the media, Teresa Ribeiro, was analyzed in relation to journalists who are increasingly the target of surveillance software around the world, which significantly affects their privacy and media freedom. This month, the Coalition for Women Abroad (CWI) in its report "Status of media freedoms for female journalists" recognized the case of Russian journalist Natasha Tishkevich, who was imprisoned for 40 hours at the Belgrade airport, as one of the three biggest cases of threats and attacks female journalists face around the world. The report for the month of September deals in more detail with the case of the Danas newsroom, the case of Maja Đurić, a journalist from N1, the case of the VranjeNews portal, as well as the case of Vojin Radovanović, a journalist with the daily newspaper Danas.

Monitoring of the process of adoption of new laws

Since the drafts of the two media laws have been completed, September was marked by the long-awaited public discussion, and the expert public got the opportunity to present their suggestions and objections. The key topics for discussion were the possibility of the state having indirect ownership of the media, the method of allocating financial resources, the obligation to comply with the Code of Journalists of Serbia, as well as the competence of the Press Council. Almost half of the draft articles of the Law on Electronic Media refer to the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM), and in this regard, the issues of electing a new Council of REM, the method of election and the duration of the members' mandate, as well as the issue of imposing sanctions on the media are open.

Implementation of existing regulations

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) announced that the Minister of Information and Telecommunications, Mihailo Jovanović, changed the amounts proposed by the commission for five out of nine co-financing competitions this year, "in accordance with the Law on Public Information and Media, on the basis of discretionary authority". This behavior led UNS to address Jovanović and ask whether the minister has such legal authority, without first noticing mistakes in the commission's work and establishing that the commissions were working contrary to the Law. Despite the fact that the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data overturned the decision of the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications not to submit professional biographies, the Ministry again refused to submit to UNS the professional biographies of candidates for media competition committee members.

SLAPP lawsuits directed at journalists and media

The month of September was marked by the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in favor of B92, in connection with the case initiated by Zorica Pavlović due to the information published in the Insajder series broadcast on B92 in 2011, concerning abuses in the procurement of swine flu vaccines. As stated in the decision, the domestic courts, with their verdict against the then B92 television, threatened the freedom of speech and media reporting in the interest of the public, thereby violating Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of reporting. "The court found that the Serbian courts recognized that the information published by the applicant contributed to the public debate and that someone who holds the position of assistant minister of health should have shown a greater degree of tolerance," the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights states.

Media monitoring was published with the financial support of the European Union and the Ministry of Information and telecommunication of the Republic of Serbia. The Association of Independent Electronic Media is solely responsible for its content, and that content in no way expresses the official views of the European Union and the Ministry of Information and telecommunication.

This Monitoring Report was prepared by ANEM's expert monitoring team from the law office "Savović" in cooperation with ANEM, and the entire report can be found at this link.