Vranje, September 12, 2011. (Pravda) - As of January 1, TV Vranje will not be receiving funds from the city budget anymore and it will have to be privatized in two years period at the latest. According to the Draft Media Strategy of the Ministry of Culture, apart from RTS and RT Vojvodina, several public service broadcasters will be owned by the state - in Belgrade, Nis, Zajecar, Novi Pazar, Kragujevac and Uzice.  

Kikinda, September 10, 2011. (Dnevnik) - On the occasion of its birthday, Radio Kikinda is organizing a music event. Famous Kikinda musicians VIS "Dekice" will be first on stage. After that, songwriter and Anita Ilicic and two rap bands MBC and "Stolea i Devla" and "Super confusion" will perform . "Studio Alektik" from Novi Sad is the special guest.

Ljig, September 8, 2011. (Pravda) - Councilors of the ruling majority in the Ljig Assemly brought the decision on stopping the direct TV broadcast of local Assembly sessions.

The proposal of this decision has been presented by Miodrag Stracevic Mikela, the president of SO Ljig and the local leader of socialists.

This is the second time that direct broadcasting of the Assembly sessions has been stopped. Citizens will be enabled to watch only censored video on TV Ljig which has no broadcasting license. The decision will be implemented till the end of the election period.

Novi Sad, August 30, 2011 (NDNV) - The Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV) will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the "Prozor" protest on September 2. The longest and largest protest against repression of the freedom of speech in the history of journalism in Serbia took place two decades ago in Novi Sad. The protest was a response of independent, pacifistic journalists to the warmongering propaganda of the state TV and other media controlled by the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. The protest lasted for a month and more than 100 of most prominent politicians, intellectuals, artists and journalists from all parts of the country took part in it. The protest took a form of an alternative to the TV news programme aired by the Channel 1 of Radio-Television Serbia (RTS).

Belgrade, August 16, 2011 (Vecernje Novosti) - The economic crisis has lowered the living standard of Serbian citizens and contributed to decrease in sales of newspapers. The only auditing agency in the country, "ABC Serbia", analyzed the circulation of newspapers during six months and pointed out that the drop (compared to the first six months of the last year) amounted to no less than 6.5 percent, and that the circulation of eight daily newspapers was 400,000 copies lower than previously. If we take into account the fact that some of the newspapers did not want to be audited, it could be assumed that the decrease was even more serious.

Belgrade, August 13, 2011 (Danas) - Pre-election campaign for the forthcoming parliamentary elections is slowly gaining pace, and political parties in Serbia will use internet as one of the more popular means to win voters. Penetration of the internet in Serbia is quite considerable and is growing each day. "Around 45 percent of the population uses the web regularly or occasionally. One million sold 'smartphones' proves that a large number of people is on the internet at all times."

Pozarevac, August 8, 2011 (Vecernje Novosti) - Local media outlets from Pozarevac will receive three million dinars from the city Fund for Environmental Protection in accordance with public contests for informing and education related to ecology and management of communal waste. The sum will be allocated to 12 media outlets, with the biggest amount - slightly more than a million dinars - going to TV Sat.

Belgrade, August 7, 2011 (Blic) - TV Prva Srpska intends to buy TV Pro from Montenegro, a station that possesses a broadcasting license but has no own production. The owner of TV Pro has delivered the Montenegrin Agency for Electronic Media a letter about intention to change the ownership structure of the media outlet.

Belgrade, June 28, 2011. (Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, GOPA) - Within the Support to Civil Society Project, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia awarded grants 43 civil society organisations at today's official ceremony which took place in Belgrade Dom Omladine. The grants to the civil society have been awarded within the public call for proposals published in December 2010 providing four (4) million EUR in total for the support to selected civil society organisations.

On this occasion Mr. Ferenc Simon, Head of Operations in the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, Ms. Ivana Ćirković, Director of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society, Government of the Republic of Serbia and Vladimir Jovanović, Head of Info Unit in the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, addressed the participants at the ceremony.

The ceremony is organised to publicly recognise the winners of call for proposals, in which 284 non-governmental organisations, cultural foundations, associations of consumers, business associations and trade unions participated. The European Union allocated the overall amount of EUR 4 million, from IPA 2009 and IPA 2010, for grants to civil society organisations.  For achieving the project goals the winners will work in partnership with other civil society organisations, cultural and educational institutions and local authorities from Serbia, the EU member states or other neighbouring countries. The grants awarded selected projects are between EUR 50,000 and EUR 150,000 while the duration of supported projects is up to 12 months.

Namely, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia launched the Support to Civil Society Project in October 2010 with the overall goal to support active civil society participation in Serbia's EU-integration. The specific objectives of the project are defined as:

• building social cohesion and overcoming discrimination in Serbian society by promoting tolerance and cultural diversity, and
• active civil society participation in the socio-economic development.

For example, pursuing the combat against discrimination, cultural and educational institutions together with civil society actors will work on promotion of intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity. Music concerts, theatre plays, festivals of young contemporary writers and other specific events will be organised to explore issues of concern in the region and make specifics of diverse communities known to the general public.

Age discrimination, quality standards in education and services sectors, mediation are also in the focus of the supported actions. Through the implementation of the awarded actions, civil society organisations will contribute to raise social inclusion in Serbia by establishing and improving community based services for people with disabilities and applying public policies addressing homeless people and street children.

Together with local authorities, some of awarded civil society actors will strengthen the human resources capacities in rural tourism and stimulate women entrepreneurship. Several actions will ensure the effectively implementation of a number of well-planned local strategies, while others will contribute to the protection of Serbian environment. Consumer protection, prevention of harassment at workplace and enhancement of social dialogue are also within the objectives of certain awarded projects.

Belgrade, June 8, 2011 (Pregled) - SES Astra, a part of the SES company, has signed a contract with Telecom Serbia regulating the distribution of Serbian public media services, RTS Sat and Radio Belgrade in the territory of Serbia via the Direct-to-Home system. Since June 1, the channels are being distributed for free using Astra's orbital position.

Valjevo, June 3, 2011 (Blic Online) - For the first time, the city administration has allocated four million dinars for co-financing of private electronic media outlets in Valjevo. The largest share of the funds was given to the regional TV Vujic - 1.5 million dinars. Regional Radio Patak received 800,000 dinars, while local TV Valjevo and Radio 014 received 600,000 dinars each. A Roma Radio Tocak, Radio Kula and Radio Istocnik - radio station of the Valjevo Eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church - received 200,000 dinars each.

Internet access is a human right, according to a United Nations report released on Friday.

"Given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human progress, ensuring universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all states," said the report from Frank La Rue, a special rapporteur to the United Nations, who wrote the document "on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression."

La Rue said in his report that access to the Internet is particularly important during times of political unrest, as demonstrated by the recent "Arab Spring" uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, among other countries.

From the report:

The Special Rapporteur believes that the Internet is one of the most powerful instruments of the 21st century for increasing transparency in the conduct of the powerful, access to information, and for facilitating active citizen participation in building democratic societies.

Indeed, the recent wave of demonstrations in countries across the Middle East and North African region has shown the key role that the Internet can play in mobilizing the population to call for justice, equality, accountability and better respect for human rights.

 The report notes that while the Internet has been in existence since the 1960s, it is the way people now use the Internet, across the world and across age groups, with "incorporation into virtually every aspect of modern human life," that makes the Internet an unprecedented force.

DOCUMENT: Read the United Nations report

"According to the International Telecommunication Union, the total number of Internet users worldwide is now over 2 billion," the report said, also pointing out the huge growth in the number of active users on Facebook, which has surged from 150 million in 2009 to 600 million this year.

La Rue also urges governments to eschew laws that allow for people's access to the Internet to be blocked.

From the report:

The Special Rapporteur remains concerned that legitimate online expression is being criminalized in contravention of States' international human rights obligations, whether it is through the application of existing criminal laws to online expression, or through the creation of new laws specifically designed to criminalize expression on the Internet.

Such laws are often justified as being necessary to protect individuals' reputation, national security or to counter terrorism. However, in practice, they are frequently used to censor content that the Government and other powerful entities do not like or agree with.

La Rue describes the Internet as "revolutionary" and unlike any other communication medium such as radio, television or printed publications, which are "based on one-way transmission of information."

The Internet, on the other hand, is an "interactive medium" that allows not only for the sharing of information, but also "collaboration in the creation of content," which makes people "no longer passive recipients, but also active publishers of information."

As such, the Internet can be a tool of empowerment and aid in the protection of and access to other human rights -- as well as contributing to growth economically, socially and politically -- benefiting mankind as a whole.

From the report:

Such platforms are particularly valuable in countries where there is no independent media, as they enable individuals to share critical views and to find objective information.

Furthermore, producers of traditional media can also use the Internet to greatly expand their audiences at nominal cost. More generally, by enabling individuals to exchange information and ideas instantaneously and inexpensively across national borders, the Internet allows access to information and knowledge that was previously unattainable.

This, in turn, contributes to the discovery of the truth and progress of society as a whole.

But while La Rue argues that Internet access is a basic human right, he also notes that giving people that right isn't yet always feasible in every nation. But that shouldn't stop governments from trying to give their people affordable access to the Web.

From the report:

Given that access to basic commodities such as electricity remains difficult in many developing States, the Special Rapporteur is acutely aware that universal access to the Internet for all individuals worldwide cannot be achieved instantly.

However, the Special Rapporteur reminds all States of their positive obligation to promote or to facilitate the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression and the means necessary to exercise this right, including the Internet.

Hence, States should adopt effective and concrete policies and strategies -- developed in consultation with individuals from all segments of society, including the private sector as well as relevant Government ministries -- to make the Internet widely available, accessible and affordable to all.

Source: LA Times

 

 

If you're in need of B-roll for your next YouTube opus, you're in luck. YouTube is adding tons of Creative Commons content to its video editor. The new feature goes live today at noon ET.

YouTube's editor tool, which launched last year, has been steadily adding features to make the process of creating videos fuller, says YouTube Product Manager Jason Toff.

You can access more than 10,000 videos (from C-SPAN, PublicResource.org, Voice of America, Al Jazeera and others) via the CC tab on the editor. You can also tag your own content as Creative Commons, so that other users can incorporate it into their videos.

All content can be used and remixed at will (for commercial use as well), as long as it's attributed. Links to the original CC videos will be listed underneath the video that they're included in.

Toff believes that this addition will help YouTubers get even more creative with their content - in a manner that protects the rights of all content creators (obviously, you can only mark your own content as Creative Commons, and anyone who tries to circumvent that rule will be subject to YouTube's copyright protection services).

Source: mashable.com

Subotica, June 2, 2011 (Danas) - The election procedure of director of Radio Subotica it is about to end. As this media announced, its Managing Board proposed Acting Director Toni Bedalov for the top position. He was appointed Acting Director from the position of the head spokesman for the mayor and the head of his press service. The only counter-candidate competing for the position of general manager of the city's main radio station was Ljubisa Stepanovic, journalist of Suboticke novine.

Radio Subotica Managing Board decided on Bedalov appointment, after having requested an opinion from the city administration about a possible conflict of interest in his case, since he have owned a private marketing agency "Tauer" until recently. The city administration has given its opinion and confirmed that Toni Bedalov may well be appointed as director of public company Radio Subotica, since the management rights of his company have been transferred to another person. MB decision needs yet to be confirmed by the City Assembly.

Kraljevo, May 31, 2011 (Pregled) - A Russian businessman, Vladimir Yevgenievich Yemelianov, now owns 50 percent of the company Radio-Television Kraljevo and Ibarske Novosti d.o.o., confirmed Davor Cicic to the Tanjug news agency. Cicic's company, Kemo, had previously been the sole owner of the media house. The sales contract was signed in the premises of the regional TV Kraljevo in the town of Konarevo near Kraljevo, but financial details are not known. TV Kraljevo has a regional frequency, while Radio KV has a local frequency. Weekly magazine Ibarske Novosti is distributed in the city. In June of the last year, the company that was in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings was bought for 12 million dinars by the Kemo company owned by Davor Cicic. Around 40 people now work in the company RTV Kraljevo and Ibarske Novosti.

Belgrade, May 31, 2011. (Tanjug) - The European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) announced Monday that Tanjug General Director Branka Djukic had been awarded the 2011 Award for Excellence in News Quality.

The release states that Djukic managed to modernise and reorganise Tanjug in an impressive way, so the EANA board was unanimous in their decision to award Djukic.

"Ms Branka Djukic and her team have performed an impressive modernisation and reorganisation of Tanjug with a focus on both economic results and creation of editorial multimedia content," says the release.

"It is this significant transformation that the EANA Jury wants to observe as the Jury sees sound economic performance as one of the prerequisites of quality in news reporting."

EANA President Mika Pettersson, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of the Finnish news agency STT Lehtikuva will hand the award at the Annual General Assembly in Geneva next September.

The EANA gathers 27 leading news agencies, including the German DPA, France Presse and others.

Belgrade, May 30, 2011. (EuroDIG) - A conference dedicated to managing the Internet, EuroDig 2011, will be held on 30 and 31 May in Sava Centre, Belgrade. A wide range of topics will be open for discussion at the conference apart from exchanging attitudes on issues related to managing the Internet.

EuroDig (European Dialogue on Internet Governance) is a European initiative launched in 2008 by representatives of the civil society, business sector, technical and academic community, as well as European Governments, institutions and organisations.

This conference is the fourth of its kind to be held in a row, having previously been hosted by Madrid, Geneva and Strasbourg so far. Belgrade is the first city outside Western Europe which has the honour to host participants of this prestigious conference.

EuroDig 2011 will be dealing with topics related to the policy of developing and regulating the Internet, such as: security, privacy and identity protection, the role and responsibility related to the use of new media, social networks, blogs, new economic models and business trends, along with the implementation of the Internet in education and public services.

Over 300 participants from Serbia and abroad are expected to attend the conference: representatives of the European Commission and Parliament, the Council of Europe and competent ministries of European states, regulatory agencies, EuroISPA (a pan European association of European Internet Services Providers Associations), telecom carriers, Internet companies (Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Skype), vendors (Cisco, Ericsson), Internet addresses registries, media associations, academic institutions, non-governmental organisations and networks, as well as Internet communities (ISOC, ICANN).

The EuroDig 2011 conference is organised by Digital Agenda, the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOМ), the Council of Europe and DiploFoundation, with the support of the Republic Agency for Electronic Communications (RATEL), the European Broadcasting Union, the Government of Finland and so on.

The conference will be sponsored by the Serbian National Register of Internet Domain Names (RNIDS), Telenor, EUnet, Ericsson, Switch, Microsoft, Cisco, Google, Skype, etc. Apart from the central conference programme, a series of workshops will be organised.

Valjevo, May 28, 2011 (Politika) - In accordance with court verdicts, a part of equipment was again confiscated from a local TV station in Valjevo (TVA) because of unpaid salaries, confirmed sources from the station to Beta news agency. The temporary representative of the capital, Branko Trifunovic, tried to reach an agreement with former employees and convince them to only make an inventory of equipment and wait for better circumstances for payment of late salaries, but they refused. Bankruptcy proceedings will be initiated if the TVA station is not taken over by the City Assembly again, which should be decided by members of the Assembly and approved by the Ministry of Economy of Serbia.

Pristina, May 23. 2011. (OSCE Serbia, KosovaLive) - OSCE Mission in Kosovo, in cooperation with the OSCE mission in Serbia, organized a two-day seminar with journalists from Pristina and Belgrade on investigative reporting of organized crime and corruption.

This was a follow up to the visit of a group of journalists from Pristina to Belgrade which took place in November 2010.  The aim of the seminar was to  provide a platform for exchanging experience and forming professional networks.

London, May 18, 2011. (journalism.co.uk) - Social media is being used more and more in newsrooms as a tool for newsgathering and verification, according to a new study.

The fourth annual Digital Journalism Study, published by the Oriella PR network, polled 478 journalists from 15 countries and found that 47 per cent of them used Twitter as a source, up from just 33 per cent last year.

The use of Facebook as a source went up to 35 per cent this year from 25 per cent in 2010.

The report also suggests an increasing number of journalists are turning to social media for verification, with a third using Twitter and a quarter Facebook.

Only 4 per cent of respondents cited Twitter, Facebook or blogs as their first port of call when researching a news story however, with just over 20 per cent saying they turned to corporate spokespeople and just over 21 per cent citing the press release in-tray.

And despite the increasing reliance on social media, PR remains the dominant source for news stories, with 61 per cent citing the use of agencies in sourcing leads.

This year's report also reflects the increasing popularity of online media, with the proportion of respondents who claimed their offline print or broadcast outlet had the biggest audience fell to 50 percent for the first time.

The report suggests an increase in the use of Twitter for distributing content, as well as a greater number of journalist-authored blogs and more online video.

Kate Day, social media and engagement editor for Telegraph Media Group, said: "There is no doubt that social media has become a vital tool for journalists of all types - as a source of information; as a way of getting their stories out there; and as a way of building digital audiences."

Giles Fraser, co-head of the Oriella PR Network said the study "demonstrates the fast-growing acceptance of social media in the newsrooms.

"Whereas in previous years, media outlets viewed social media as an experimental platform, they now view it as a bona fide source."