02. 09. 2005

ILIC`S MEDIA WAR

Politika and Danas are least likely to deviate from professional standards, while Večernje Novosti, Glas Javnosti and Blic are placed between these two groups. In August, as in previous months, the rule that has been most often violated is the rule which states that journalism is incompatible with sensationalism, publication of unfounded accusations, libels, rumors and gossip, as well as forged letters or letters whose authors can not be identified. It is often the case that journalists who break this rule base their assertions on information received from one anonymous source, while professional standards require confirmation from at least two sources before publishing. Aside from sensationalism, Serbian print media often disregard professional norm which states that journalists must not abuse people's emotions nor their ignorance or inability to make a reasonable judgment, while at the same time they have to respect a right to privacy when reporting on disasters, suffering and pain, children, minors, sick people, family tragedies and indictees, as well as when publishing their names and photographs, mentioning their innocent relatives and publishing criminals' memoirs. This rule is one of the three most often violated rules this month – newspapers have published not only photographs of minors who lost their parents, were victims of accidents or torture, but also photographs of mutilated bodies and articles on people who tried to commit suicide. THE REPORT August has been a relatively quiet month with a bit less drastic violations of basic ethical and professional standards. But they are still being violated and, generally speaking, the media are still not observing public interest in a most preferable manner. Trend of tabloidization is still evident, and public is offered sensationalist content. This model is basically dictated by the Serbian political elite, which itself is not dealing with fundamental political problems. It is therefore of interest to analyze a scandal which erupted after the verbal assault on B92 by the minister of capital investment Velimir Ilić and the way in which the affair has been treated by the press. It is evident that the media and politicians have dealt mostly with the minister's behavior, while the whole thing started when a journalist asked whether there has been any influence on judiciary in the case of Marko Milosevic. For a few days the media ran stories about minister's verbal assault on journalists, but it has been treated in the press mostly as a scandal useful for improving papers' circulation and not as a case which warrants a serious reaction from the society and journalists. It should be noted that the minister threatened 'troublesome' reporters – who dared to ask annoying questions – with a sanatorium, i.e. a lunatic asylum. He said these threats as a minister, which means a government representative. Reactions from non-governmental and media organizations amounted to announcements which merely described the offense, while there were no special activities of any kind to make public aware of this important subject. For the most part, the media correctly reported on everything that was said and done, but there was not enough effort to inform the public that journalists who work in its name must have freedom to ask any question, especially when it comes to the executive branch of government. Because of this, Ilic's behavior was even considered likable by a part of public which perhaps does not entirely understand the importance of journalistic freedoms for general progress of society. In the end, even the media concluded that the minister is just the way he is. There weren't any serious discussions about habits that some officials have – namely to bring journalists into line by threatening them with imprisonment in special institutions, this time in a lunatic asylum. Likewise, there weren't any kind of research into the credibility of allegations that courts' decisions are influenced by the executive government. We put special emphasis on this case because it not only demonstrates the relationship between executive government and the media, but also shows the way Serbian press is used to rushing from scandal to scandal. There is always a new scandal to be followed by another, screaming loudly from front pages, while crucial questions remain unanswered. This situation is perhaps convenient for politicians who have found that it is much easier to go round from scandal to scandal than to offer viable solutions for the crisis this country is going through, but the media should always be there to remind them of truly important issues. It is evident that certain print media have begun publishing articles whose style and approach remind us on articles that used to be dominant during the old regime's rule. These texts are mostly aimed against non governmental and other organizations whose positions are not aligned with the course dictated by the ruling elite or, on the other side, against minorities or other countries. We can not say that it is everyday practice, but the tendency is visible. For example, Vecernje Novosti published an obscure article in which it openly accused the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Medienhilfe for espionage. This kind of witch hunt against spies and opponents is certainly not acceptable in democratic society. Using anonymous sources while reporting on the murder of Mutavdzic family in Novi Pazar, Kurir has published certain details about the massacred bodies, as well as allegations that murders were driven by nationalistic motives. Without any serious attempt to investigate and check these claims, the paper instigated interethnic hatred because the article basically suggested that Bosniaks (who are the only potential source of ethnically motivated attack on Serbs in Novi Pazar) are prepared to kill Serbs in a most brutal way in order to expel them. Reporting on irregularities in allotment of houses in the village of Jasa Tomic which has been flooded earlier this year, when some Boza Galiot has been given a new house, Kurir claimed that Galiot had seized two Serbian houses in Knin, while in the village of Jasa Tomic his house was the first to be renovated. The photo of foundations for the new house was accompanied with a headline “First for Ustasha”. The article was based on assertions made by several residents of Jasa Tomic. The journalist made no effort to check these claims using other sources, including the police and authorities. It is intolerable and contrary to the basic rules of journalism to use neighborhood gossip as crucial arguments in attack against someone. In the end, I would like to note that this analysis didn't mention examples from the daily newspaper Nacional. Articles which most brazenly violate all professional standards of journalism are completely dominant in this paper. It is therefore no wonder that Nacional is the only newspaper that has openly supported Ilic's attack on journalists. Nacional consists of the combination of vulgar pornography, photographs of brutal scenes of violence and butchered human bodies without any informational value and articles in which it is difficult to distinguish between author's imagination and reality. Nacional is quite simply a proof that chaos and anarchy are dominant in the Serbian media scene – an environment where everything is allowed. And that's not freedom, because freedom entails adherence to rules. Special Rapporteur for Media Ethics MediaCenter's Media Watch Special Research Group Dragan Janjic