Statement

The Managing Board of the Press Council condemns attacks and unfounded accusations imposed in recent days in public at the account of the members of the Complaint Commission, the Managing Board, and the work of the Council itself.

Representatives of the Press Council are exposed to incomprehensible pressure and disqualifications because of a possibility to accept a request by the editor of daily Danas to give an opinion whether the paper violated the Code of Journalists of Serbia by publishing an interview with actor Goran Goratić. The disproportion between the strength of the attack and the cause is especially surprising, and it causes additional doubt in the actual reason for the confrontation with the self-regulatory body.

The Press Council has been suffering pressures and attacks for years because of decisions not liked by individuals, and are particularly intensified in the process of adopting the media strategy and preparation of new draft laws, with an obvious intention of discrediting and marginalizing the council. Never in the past was such a fierce attack launced before a decision was made. 

Before the session was scheduled to possibly discuss the request of the editor of Danas, the Press Council was accused with political allighnment  and corruption, in such a way of fully  make meaningless its previous work and criminalize members of the Commission, the Secretariat and managing Board. Of course, and pre-disqualified any future decision of the Complaints Commission.

The Press Council has been building a reputation of independence and impartiality, insisting that decision-making is exclusively done to ethical standards of the profession, as well as in the personal and professional integrity of members of the Complaints Comision. The confirmation of independence are previous decisions of the Commission, which has repeatedly decided that the Serbian Journalist’s Code was violated by media outlets edited by the members of the Managing Board, and even the Commission itself. It is also very easy to notice that members of the Commission are deciding only and exclusively in their own name, using their own knowledge, experience and morality, and that often the representatives of the same (founding) organization have vote differently. Therefore, claims that they all decide on someones instructions are meaningless and very insulting, and even more terrible are defamations that they are corrupt.

It is difficult to list all untruths and nonsense said recently about the work of the Press Council, but primarily because of citizens who complain and for whom we exist, we are obliged to respond to false charges.

First of all, the request of the editor that the Complaints Commission of the Press Council declares whether Danas has violated the Code is no precedent. The Council received such requests in the past, and the Complaints Commission then first declared whether it would give an opinion or not, and is the way it will be. In addition, the editor of the portal Danas.rs Bojan Cvejić is a member of the Complaints Commission, and on that basis can submit ancomplaint. Of course, the final decision if it will decide about this request, the Commission is yet to make.

When it comes to the work of the Complaints Commission, it is completely public and everyone at the Council’s web site can read the content of complaints, discussion and decisions of the Commission. The members of the Commission have the right to initiate proceedings, ie to submit complaints and in that case, of course, do not participate in the discussion and decision-making about that complaint. This possibility was introduced, primarily, due to cases in which it is not possible to determine who is personally damaged  so they coul odge a complaint, and the Commission member has assessed that one’s right was violated, readers were deceive or the public was upset. This possibility is used by some members of the Commission more often than by others, but in any case it is about sporadic cases. Intentionally or not, it is misrepresented that these complaints increases the number of violations only for certain media outlets.

 Monitoring daily newspapers with national coverage, which the council has carried out for seven years and whose data is also used by international institutions, has nothing to do with complaints decided by the Complaints Commision. The results of monitoring show, for example, that the smallest number of violations are made by newspapers of various editorial policies – Danas and Politika, therefore claims that the Council “protects”, or “punishes” media outlets depending on their relationship towards authorities are pointless. The same is visible from the decisions of the Complaints Commission.

The Managing Board of the Press Council decisively rejects all unfounded accusations and insults said against the representatives of that body and expresses regret that members of the Complaints Commission and the Secretariats exposed to such pressure and disqualifications due to work they carry out responsibly and conscientiously.

Managing Board of Press Council:

Zeljko Bodrozic, President (Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia)

Zivojin Rakocevic, Deputy President (Association of Journalists of Serbia)

Stevan Ristic (Media Association)

Marija Obrenović (Local Pres)

Zoran Sekulić (Media Association)

Belgrade, October 16, 2022.