SERBIA'S MEDIA SCENE IN OCTOBER 2023
ANEM monitoring report for October 2023 on freedom of expression, old and new regulations and analysis of SLAPP lawsuits
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 expression
The Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists (PWG), which consists of representatives of the prosecutor's office, the police and six media and journalist associations, published the first quarterly bulletin containing data on attacks on journalists in the period from July to September 2023. According to the updated data of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, from the beginning of 2023, ending with the month of October, seventy cases of threats and attacks against journalists were recorded. The report for the month of October deals in more detail with the case of the RTS newsroom, the case of the JUGPress newsroom, the case of Miljko Stojanović, a journalist from the Danas newsroom, and the case of the KRIK newsroom.
Monitoring of the process of adoption of new laws
In October, a public discussion was concluded and two media laws were adopted, which caused divided opinions among the professional public. Among the current topics related to the adopted legal solutions was the issue of enabling the state to indirectly own the media, as well as the possibility of journalists and media workers not having to answer the employer's calls during their annual and weekly vacation. When it comes to the Law on Electronic Media, the key issue was the organization of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM). The news is the establishment of new REM bodies, and after the end of the mandate, the election of new REM members can be expected.
Implementation of existing regulations
In 2024, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications will have 8% more funds available for the realization of public interest in the field of information than was determined for that purpose in the budget for 2023, during which nine tenders were announced for the co-financing of media projects in the field of public information. In the monitoring report, an analysis of the total amounts determined for the co-financing of media projects for the current year, as well as the budget lines for the following year in this area, was performed.
SLAPP lawsuits directed at journalists and media
The report of the Council of Europe on Serbia was analyzed, which dealt with the case of the attack on the editorial office of the newspaper "Danas", death threats to journalists Jelena Obućina and Brankica Stanković, physical attack on Fonet reporter Marko Dragoslavić, intimidation of N1 correspondent Milan Nikić, as well as threats to podcast authors "The Good, the Bad, the Evil" Marko Vidojković and Nenad Kulačin. The report also reminds us that the three murders of journalists are still without an epilogue.
According to official data from competent institutions in Serbia, 32 physical and 41 verbal attacks on journalists were registered in the period from 2020 to 2022. As positive examples of the reaction of competent institutions to attacks on journalists, the first-instance verdict for burning down the house of journalist Milan Jovanović, as well as the final verdict against a local businessman for threatening the editorial staff of Vranje's OK radio, were noted. From the SLAPP lawsuits, the lawsuits of Vladimir Đukanović, an official and deputy of the Serbian Progressive Party, are cited, and the proceedings of the lawsuit filed against Danas by Dejan Đorđević, the alleged buyer of Megatrend University, are also analyzed.
Media monitoring was published with the financial support of the European Union and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications. 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 Telecommunications.
This Monitoring Report was prepared by ANEM's expert monitoring team from the law office "Živković & Samardžić" in cooperation with ANEM, and the entire report can be found at this link.
