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(2017) PRESS COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT

The work of the Complaints Commission

From January to December 2017, the Press Council received 95 complaints, which is less than in the previous year, when the Council received 126 complaints. The largest number of complaints were filed by citizens, individuals (49), then non-governmental organizations (37), four complaints were filed by the media against each other, three complaints submitted by Commission members and two by bodies or institutions.

Mediation resulted in an agreement in 11 cases, while 24 appeals were rejected for formal reasons, most often because the published content did not refer to the complainant. By the end of the year, the Commission decided on 65 complaints (including three complaints from 2016), and  ruled that the  Journalist’s Code of Ethics was violated in 53 cases, out of which 32 decisions were related to media that do not accept the full authority of the Press Council. These media outlets were issued public warnings. The Commission decided that the Code was not violated only in five cases during 2017. Commission members failed to agree on a decision in seven cases, which is considerably less than in 2016, when it happened as many as 19 times.

Some media outlets still do not respect the obligation to publish the decisions of the Commission: in 2017 this obligation was avoided by “Politika” (which did not publish any of the five decisions), while two decisions were not published by “Blic”, “Večernje novosti”, “Alo” and” Telegraf.rs “, and one by portal “Blic Žena”. From mid 2017 the Council began to regularly inform media outlets about which media did not publish the decisions of the Commission, but, except in one case, when the newspaper published the decision after that, without visible results.

The Complaint Commission held three sessions outside the Press Council premises – at the Faculty of Political Science (in April), at the UNS Press Center (in June) and at the Open University in Subotica (November),  within the framework of projects funded by the Delegations of the European Union in Serbia and the Foundation for an Open Society.

During 2017 the Complaints Commission held regular press conferences to present the most interesting cases considered in the previous period. Video recordings and reports from sessions, panel discussions and press conferences were posted on the Press Council website, as well as on Facebook and Youtube.

Appeals filed from January to December 2017.

  1. Branislav Vajda – Blic – Code violated 
  2. Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Informer – public warning
  3. Center for Social Work “Solidarnost” – Pančevac – Code violated 
  4. Kristina Kovač – Blic – Code violated  – the paper did not announce the decision
  5. Kristina Kovač – Kurir- Code violated 
  6. Miroljub Radojević – Žiginfo – the applicant withdrew  
  7. Telemark systems – Voice of Western Serbia – public warning
  8. Miroljub Radojević – Žiginfo (II) – public warning
  9. Aleksandar Bobić, Milan Đurić, Ivan Rašković, Dejan Todorović – Politika – Code not violated 
  10. Boris Mukulić -Evršac.rs- complain rejected  – the applicant was not personally damaged
  11. Gorana Stojković – Evcršac.rs – complain rejected  – the applicant was not personally damaged
  12. Olgica Lukač-Evršac.rs – complain rejected  – the applicant was not personally damaged
  13. Olgica Lukač-Evršac.rs (II) – complain rejected  – the applicant was not personally damaged
  14. Marko Zivkovic – Informer – public warning
  15. Gay lesbian info center – Sandžaklive – complain solved by mediation – text removed
  16. Gay lesbian info center – Srpski telegraf – complain rejected  – the applicant was not personally damaged
  17. Gay lesbian info center – Večernje novosti – complain solved by mediation – response published
  18. Gay lesbian info center – Politika – complain solved by mediation – response published
  19. Gay lesbian info center –  Srpski telegraf – public warning
  20. Gay lesbian info center – Informer – public warning
  21. Whistle – Politika – Code violated  – the newspaper  did not announce the decision
  22. Jovan Gligorijevic – Politika – complain rejected  – the applicant was not personally damaged
  23. The Center for Non-Violent Action – Alo – Code violated – newspaper did not announce the decision
  24. Vladimir Đukanović – Danas – complain rejected  – the applicant was not personally damaged
  25. Tamara Skrozza – Srpski telegraf – public warning
  26. Tamara Skrozza – Politika – The Commission did not agree on the decision
  27. Ljiljana Colic – Politika – The Commission did not agree on the decision
  28. Marina Madžarević – Informer – complain rejected  – the applicant was not personally damaged
  29. Network of children’s organizations of Serbia – Blic – complain rejected  – the applicant was not personally damaged
  30. Human Rights Organization “Equality” – Dnevni žurnal – Public warning
  31. Severina and Sebastian Kniep – Blic – Code violated   
  32. Veran Matić – Politika – Code violated   – newspaper did not announce the decision
  33. Dejan Djokic – Epodunavlje.rs – public  warning
  34. Gay lesbian info center – Telegraf.rs – Code violated – portal did not announce the decision
  35. Marija Tešević – PP Media – public warning
  36. “To know” association – Srpski telegraf – public warning
  37. Autonomous Women’s Center- Večernje novosti – Code violated   – newspaper  did not announce the decision
  38. The Autonomous Women’s Center – Alo – Code violated   – newspaper  did not announce the decision
  39.  Autonomous Women’s Center – Informer – public warning
  40. Marinika Tepić – RTV Pančevo – complain rejected – the media is not under the authority of the Council
  41. Marinica Tepic – Srpski telegraf – public warning
  42. “To know” association – Kurir – The Commission did not agree on the decision
  43. “To know” association – Tabloid – public warning
  44. “To know” association – Express – public warning
  45.  Association “Da zba” – Informer – the Commission did not agree on the decision
  46. ​​Miroslav Bogićević – Politika – Code violated – the newspaper  did not announce the decision
  47. Egal – Peščanik – public warning
  48. South news – Gradski portal 018 – public warning
  49. Bojan Mitic – Epodunavlje.rs – the applicant withdrew
  50. Dragana Matović – Politika – Code violated – newspaper  did not announce the decision
  51. Autonomous Women’s Center – Politika  – The Commission did not agree on the decision
  52. Autonomous Women’s Center – Politika (II) – Code violated – the newspaper  did not announce the decision
  53. “To know” association – Tabloid – public warning
  54. “To know” association – Afera – public warning
  55. Pero Simic – Danas – the commission did not agree on the decision
  56. Association “To know” – Informer – public warning
  57. The “To Know” Association – Pravoslavlje – The Code has not been violated
  58. Andreas Kaufman- Politika – Code violated  – newspaper  did not announce the decision
  59. Dragana Janković – Srpski telegraf – complain rejected – filed after the expiration of the deadline of 90 from the publication of the text
  60. Human Rights Organization “Equality” – Informer – public warning
  61. Association “To know” – Nova srpska politička misao – the Commission did not agree on the decision
  62. “To know” association – Srpski telegraf – public warning
  63. “To know” association – Svedok  – complain rejected – the applicant was not personally damaged
  64. “To know” association – Ekspress – complain rejected – the applicant was not personally damaged
  65. Dana Vujkov – Informer – complain rejected – the applicant was not personally damaged
  66. Gay lesbian info center – Politikin zabavnik  – Code not violated
  67. Gay lesbian info center – Sloboda – Code not violated
  68. Saša Paunović – Informer – public warning
  69. Saša Paunović – Embargo.rs – public warning
  70. Saša Paunović – Evršac.rs – public warning
  71. Mihailo Alić – Blic- complain rejected – the applicant was not personally damaged
  72. Sanela Jenkins – Blicžena.rs –  Code violated – portal did not announce the decision
  73. The Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republika Srpska – Blic- Code violated – newspaper did not announce the decision
  74. Saša Paunović – Srbijadanas.com – complain resolved by mediation – removed text
  75. Branka Mitrović – Alo – the applicant withdrew from the appeal
  76. Branka Mitrović – Espreso – the applicant withdrew from the appeal
  77. Branka Mitrović – Informer – the applicant withdrew from the appeal
  78. Branka Mitrović – Kurir – the applicant has given up his appeal
  79. NGO  “Men’s safety – security for all” – Blic – complain rejected – no consent secured  from NGO representatives
  80. Hajrudin Šerifović – Palež – public warning
  81. “To know” association – Srpski telegraf  – public warning
  82. Gay lesbian info center – Srpski telegraf  – public warning
  83. Aleksandar Kostić – Alo – complain resolved by mediation – removed text
  84. Aleksandar Kostic – Telegraf.rs – Code violated   – portal did not announce the decision
  85. Aleksandar Kostić – Informer – complain resolved by mediation – removed text
  86. Aleksandar Kostic – Srbijadanas.com – complain resolved by mediation – removed text
  87. Aleksandar Kostić – Naissus – complain resolved by mediation – removed text
  88. Jan Kanja – Danas – complain rejected – the applicant was not personally damaged
  89. Ivica Smolić – Kurir – Code violated
  90. Nataša Mijušković – Informer – public warning
  91. Snežana Terzić – Blic –   Code not violated
  92. Aleksandar Kostić – Republika – complain resolved by mediation – removed text
  93. Sonja Popović – Danas – complain rejected – the applicant was not personally damaged
  94. Turkijan Redžepi – Vecernje novosti – Code violated (resolved in January 2018)
  95. Petar Jeremić – Srpski telegaf  – public warning (resolved in January 2018)


OTHER ACTIVITIES

Monitoring of daily newspapers and portals

The Press Council has, for the third year now, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, monitored the compliance of eight daily newspapers with national coverage with the Journalist’s Code of Ethics . This year monitoring was done in the period March – November 2017. Members of the Complaints  Commission Tamara Skrozza and Petar Jeremic recorded 5292 texts in which the Code was violated during this period, which indicates a continuous increase in violation of ethical rules of the profession. The Code, like in previous years, was most often violated in Chapter IV (Responsibility of Journalists), paragraph 3 (violation of the right to presumption of innocence) and 7 (PR or marketing content presented as informative).

In October and November, a pilot project of monotoring of the eight most visited online media, which do not have printed editions, was conducted. Research was  co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia. The monitoring, conducted by a four-member team of graduate students of the Faculty of Political Science, led by Assistant Professor Jelena Surčulija Milojević, showed that in only nine weeks the Code was violated as many as 4345 times, mostly due to lack of naming of information sources,  violating the right to privacy by displaying the identity of victims and suspects, along with frequent violations of the presumption of innocence.


Seminars and training

At the beginning of the year, the Press Council began a two-year Council of Europe JUFREX project, in which four seminars for journalists  are planned, four inter-professional seminars for journalists and representatives of the judiciary, and two lectures for students. During 2017, a lecture was held at the Faculty of Political Science for 140 students of journalism about the standards of the Council of Europe in relation to journalistic ethics and about  the work of the self-regulatory body. In April and June, seminars for journalists “Freedom of Expression, Right to Privacy and Media Ethics” were held in Vrdnik and Novi Sad, where journalists from 20 Belgrade and 20 Vojvodina’s media outlets were involved. Interprofessional training “Media Reporting on Judicial Proceedings” for journalists and representatives of the judiciary was held in October in Kragujevac and was attended by thirty trainees.

Within the projects funded by the Open Society Foundation and UNESCO, Complaints Commission members held a training session for minority language media professionals during November in Subotica,  and in the same month training was held for 37 editors and journalists of the Adria Media Group in Belgrade.

Member of the  Complaints Commission Petar Jeremić was a lecturer in Valjevo, and Stojan Marković in Kragujevac at the round tables “Application of Photography Ethics and Media Laws in Practice”, within the framework of the Photography Festival “Visualizer”.

In February 2017, a “Journalistic Ethics in Online Media” seminar was  held where the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Code of Journalists of Serbia in the Online Environment were presented, and the present journalists and editors participated in the simulation of the work of the Press Council Complaints Commission pertaining to complaints against  online media.


Other

In May 2017, Slavisa Lekic, president of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia, was elected as the new President of the Managing Board of the Press Council. Lekic replaced the previous president of the NUNS – Vukasin Obradovic. At the same meeting, the Board of Directors elected Zorica Višnjić, President of the Local Press, as Deputy President.

The Press Council has also developed an Android application through which citizens can file complaints. The application for mobile phones is also intended for editors and journalists who can now always have with them the texts of the  of Journalist’s Code of Ethics and the Guidelines for applying the Code in the online environment. The application also contains a short test of meda ethics, instructions to the media that want to become members of the Press Council, and instructions to local governments to use the Press Council data when conducting a competition for co-financing media content of public interest. Android applications can be downloaded free of charge from the Internet (Play Store) and is already being used by students of journalism at universities in Belgrade, Nis and Novi Sad.

In October in Kragujevac, a round table with citizens “Tabloid monsters  and citizens’ complaints against untrue reporting” took place, in which citizens were introduced to complaints about media, the responsibilities of local and online media, and how they can complain  to the Press Council .

Members of the Managing Board of the Press Council met in July with the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Jankovic. This is the second meeting with the Commissioner in the last two years, and the participants emphasized the importance of respecting thef Journalists Code of Ethics  when reporting on very sensitive issues such as gender-based violence, faced by persons with disabilities, LGBT populations and national minorities.

During 2017, the Council provided answers to 68 requests from local self-governments and government bodies about compliance with ethical standards of 837 media outlets that sought government grants. Unfortunately, the Council has no feedback on whether the commissions and to what extent, in the allocation of funds, have respected the criterion that financing is available only for media  outlets that respects the ethical standards of the profession. In few cases, we were informed that the money was allocated to media outlets which were found to be in multiple violations of  the Code by the Press  Council.


International activities

Secretary General of the Press Council Gordana Novaković participated at the annual assembly of the Alliance of Independent Press Councils of Europe (AIPCE), held on October 12 and 13 in Budapest.

The member of the Complaints Commission Tamara Skrozza and the Secretary General participated at the regional conference in Tirana, EU-Western Balkans Media Days: Strengthening Media in the Western Balkans, November 8-9.

Tamara Skrozza, Petar Jeremic and Gordana Novakovic met on November 15 with representatives of the EU expert mission with whom they discussed media freedom in Serbia and the work of the Press Council.