DOCSLIB.ORG

Protection of Public Interest and Media Pluralism in Serbia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Protection of Public Interest and Media Pluralism in Serbia Working Paper PROTECTION OF PUBLIC INTEREST AND MEDIA PLURALISM IN SERBIA Working Paper PROTECTION OF PUBLIC INTEREST AND MEDIA PLURALISM IN SERBIA Rade Đurić, Jasmina Dobrilović Belgrade, January 2019 This Working Paper was prepared for the conference "Civil Society for Responsible Authority", to be held on February 4th and 5th in Belgrade. Working Paper will provide a basis for participants' dialogue in this area, identification of key problems and the formulation of specific recommenda- tions. Conferences conclusions will be used in the preparation of the Final version of this Paper. This preparation of this Paper was done with the support of the British Embassy in Belgrade. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the British Embassy in Belgrade. Protection of public interest and media pluralism in Serbia 0 Working Paper CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 3 CONTROL MECHANISMS OVER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MEDIA LAWS ............ 6 What should be ensured in order to have good monitoring? ............................... 7 Arranging procedures of control and monitoring in media laws ........................... 9 MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND INFORMATION ...................................................... 9 Defining monitoring ............................................................................................... 9 Monitoring mechanism ........................................................................................ 10 Monitoring over public media broadcasters ....................................................... 15 Transparency of data on activities ....................................................................... 16 The mutual relationship between the monitoring authority and the Regulator 17 REGULATORY AUTHORITY FOR ELECTRONIC MEDIA .......................................... 18 Defining regulation .............................................................................................. 18 Conditions for ensuring good regulatory work .................................................... 19 Status and position in the legal framework of Serbia .......................................... 20 (In)dependence of the Regulator ......................................................................... 21 REM Council ......................................................................................................... 23 “Control” of the controller ................................................................................... 25 Determining regulation ........................................................................................ 25 Basic functions of the Regulator .......................................................................... 27 Consideration of applications .............................................................................. 27 Ambiguities in the process of submitting applications ........................................ 29 Measures provided for by the Law ...................................................................... 31 Obligation to impose measures without delay .................................................... 33 Conclusions and issues related to (non)application of measures ....................... 33 Filing misdemeanour charges by the Regulator .................................................. 35 Internal organisation of activities during the process of monitoring .................. 36 Transparency of activities .................................................................................... 38 Negative consequences ....................................................................................... 38 PRESS COUNCIL ................................................................................................ 39 How the Council operates .................................................................................... 40 Transparency of activities .................................................................................... 41 Filing complaints through the application ........................................................... 42 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 42 1 Protection of public interest and media pluralism in Serbia 2 Protection of public interest and media pluralism in Serbia INTRODUCTION With the adoption of the Strategy for the Development of the Public Information System (hereinafter referred to as “Media Strategy”) in September 2011, the Republic of Serbia initiated the media reform and set up the foundations of "information system in the Republic of Serbia and parts of that system to ensure that the development of the freedom of the media and the media market contributes to the strengthening of democratic relations in society". The Strategy should have provided the basis for the coordination with previously inconsistent regulations in monitoring the implementation of regulations in the field of public information system, which, as noted, used to cause legal uncertainty in practice. The Strategy for the first time introduces the public interest in the field of public information, with a following definition: ”The production and publication of the following content in the public media in the Republic of Serbia shall be in public interest: general news media content, specialised media content on politics, culture, education, religion, economy, entertainment and other issues of relevance to the lives and work of the citizens, general news and specialised media content of relevance to the lives and work of citizens in local and regional communities, media content for children and youth, media content of relevance to the preservation of cultural heritage and media content promoting cultural and artistic creativity and the work of cultural institutions, investigative journalism content and other complex journalistic forms, original audio-visual and radiophonic works in the Serbian and national minority languages in use in the Republic of Serbia, provided that the production and publication of such content is relevant to the realisation of the right to information in the Serbian and national minority languages in use in the Republic of Serbia, preservation and advancement of media pluralism and media content diversity, development of media literacy, preservation of the cultural identities of the Serbian nation, national minorities and ethnic groups living in the Republic of Serbia, media creativity and creativeness, development of science and advancement of education at all levels, including adult education, promotion of the rule of law and social justice, the principles of civic democracy, human and minority rights and freedoms and adherence to European principles and values”. 3 Working Paper With a delay of more than a year, in 2014, a set of media laws defined by the Strategy were adopted: Law on Public Information and Media (hereinafter referred to as “LPIM”), as an umbrella regulation in this area, then Law on Electronic Media (hereinafter referred to as “LEM”) and Law on Public Service Broadcasting (hereinafter referred to as “LPSB”). The modalities are being defined regarding the realization of public interest through the establishment of public media broadcasters (hereinafter referred to as “PMB”) at the national and provincial levels, the establishment of a citizen information institution in Kosovo and Metohija, enabling of establishing institutions, companies that would be media outlets, as well as foundations "in order to achieve the general objective of improving public information in the language of the national minority" and by means of co-financing projects in the field1. On the other hand, Article 5 of the Law defines the obligation of the media to respect the right of citizens to be accurately, fully and timely informed about issues of public importance. In Article 6, the Law defines the protection of media pluralism and the prohibition of monopolies in the field of public information. The Law on Public Service Broadcasting in Article 7 prescribes "the public interest realized by the public service broadcaster", and in that sense, the public interest, pursuant to the law that governs the field of public information, which the public service broadcaster achieves through its programme content, includes the following: 1. truthful, timely, complete, impartial, and professional provision of information for the citizens and facilitation of freely formed expressions of opinions of listeners and viewers on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, autonomous province and local self-government; 2. respect for and representation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, democratic values and institutions, and advancing the public dialogue culture; 3. respect for privacy, dignity, reputation, honour, and other fundamental human rights; 1 Article 15, Law on Public Information and Media, Official Gazette of RS, No 83/2014, 58/2015 and 12/2016 – authentic interpretation 4 Protection of public interest and media pluralism in Serbia 4. respect and promotion of pluralism in political, religious, and other ideas and facilitation of the public’s familiarity with those ideas, without serving the interests of individual political parties or religious communities, or any other individual political, economic, religious or similar positions or interests; 5. fulfilment of the informational needs of all
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Media Pluralism Monitor: Conceptualizing Media Pluralism for the Online Environment Elda Brogi
    The Media pluralism monitor: Conceptualizing media pluralism for the online environment Elda Brogi How to cite this article: Brogi, Elda (2020). “The media pluralism monitor: Conceptualizing media pluralism for the online environment”. Profesional de la información, v. 29, n. 5, e290529. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2020.sep.29 Invited manuscript received on 18th October 2020 Elda Brogi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2682-0528 Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom European University Institute Via Boccaccio, 121/111 50133 Florence, Italy [email protected] Abstract Media pluralism is an essential feature and pillar of contemporary democracies. It is a corollary of the right to freedom of expression, as guaranteed by European national constitutions, as well as by theConvention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms (art. 10) and by the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union (art. 11). Ensuring a plural media environment is a precondition for democracy and may be seen as a policy goal. The availability and accessibility of diverse information and views create the conditions for citizens to form and express their opinions and participate in the democratic debate in an informed way. Due to technological developments and the rapid rise of digital platforms intermediating online content, the concept of media pluralism has been reinterpreted at both academic and policy level, taking into account the recent structural changes in the media sector. The Media pluralism monitor is a methodology to assess the risks to media pluralism, based on a set of 20 indicators covering a broad definition of media pluralism and, therefore, having a holistic perspective.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Disinformation on Democratic Processes and Human Rights in the World
    STUDY Requested by the DROI subcommittee The impact of disinformation on democratic processes and human rights in the world @Adobe Stock Authors: Carme COLOMINA, Héctor SÁNCHEZ MARGALEF, Richard YOUNGS European Parliament coordinator: Policy Department for External Relations EN Directorate General for External Policies of the Union PE 653.635 - April 2021 DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EXTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT STUDY The impact of disinformation on democratic processes and human rights in the world ABSTRACT Around the world, disinformation is spreading and becoming a more complex phenomenon based on emerging techniques of deception. Disinformation undermines human rights and many elements of good quality democracy; but counter-disinformation measures can also have a prejudicial impact on human rights and democracy. COVID-19 compounds both these dynamics and has unleashed more intense waves of disinformation, allied to human rights and democracy setbacks. Effective responses to disinformation are needed at multiple levels, including formal laws and regulations, corporate measures and civil society action. While the EU has begun to tackle disinformation in its external actions, it has scope to place greater stress on the human rights dimension of this challenge. In doing so, the EU can draw upon best practice examples from around the world that tackle disinformation through a human rights lens. This study proposes steps the EU can take to build counter-disinformation more seamlessly into its global human rights and democracy policies.
    [Show full text]
  • Jurisdictional Review of Plurality Policies, Guidelines, Practices and Rules
    Jurisdictional Review of plurality policies, guidelines, practices and rules. Prepared on behalf of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) Deirdre Kevin, Commsol Ltd March 2018 1 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction and outline of report .............................................................................................. 12 Note on methodology .................................................................................................................. 14 Section I: the European and international context ............................................................. 15 Chapter 1. Placing the pluralism debate in a market context ......................................... 16 1.1 Traditional media ...................................................................................................................... 16 News sources, trust and reliability .................................................................................................... 17 1.2 The new digital media world..................................................................................................... 17 Digitisation, proliferation of TV channels and their distribution ...................................................... 17 New online players in the provision and delivery of news ................................................................ 18 Enhancing understanding of new forms of access to news .............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: 2017/2018 Global Report
    Published in 2018 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 7, place de Fontenoy, 7523 Paris 07 SP, France © UNESCO and University of Oxford, 2018 ISBN 978-92-3-100242-7 Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repos- itory (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). The present license applies exclusively to the textual content of the publication. For the use of any material not clearly identi- fied as belonging to UNESCO, prior permission shall be requested from: [email protected] or UNESCO Publishing, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP France. Title: World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: 2017/2018 Global Report This complete World Trends Report Report (and executive summary in six languages) can be found at en.unesco.org/world- media-trends-2017 The complete study should be cited as follows: UNESCO. 2018. World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: 2017/2018 Global Report, Paris The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authori- ties, or concerning the delimiation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparative Analysis of Media Freedom and Pluralism in the EU Member States
    DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS CIVIL LIBERTIES, JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS A comparative analysis of media freedom and pluralism in the EU Member States STUDY Abstract This study was commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee. The authors argue that democratic processes in several EU countries are suffering from systemic failure, with the result that the basic conditions of media pluralism are not present, and, at the same time, that the distortion in media pluralism is hampering the proper functioning of democracy. The study offers a new approach to strengthening media freedom and pluralism, bearing in mind the different political and social systems of the Member States. The authors propose concrete, enforceable and systematic actions to correct the deficiencies found. PE 571.376 EN ABOUT THE PUBLICATION This research paper was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and commissioned, overseen and published by the Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs. Policy Departments provide independent expertise, both in-house and external, to support EP committees and other parliamentary bodies in shaping legislation and exercising democratic scrutiny over EU external and internal policies. To contact the Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs or to subscribe
    [Show full text]
  • Assessment of the Risks to Media Pluralism 3
    Media Pluralism Monitor 2016 Monitoring Risks for Media Pluralism in the EU and Beyond Country report: Spain Written by Pere Masip, Carlos Ruiz, Jaume Suau, Ángel García Castillejo Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom TABLE OF CONTENT 1. About the Project 1 2. Introduction 2 3. Results from the data collection: assessment of the risks to media pluralism 3 3.1. Basic Protection (35% - medium risk) 4 3.2. Market Plurality (42% - medium risk) 5 3.3. Political Independence (54% - medium risk) 6 3.4 Social Inclusiveness (41% ‒ medium risk) 7 4. Conclusions 9 References 10 Annexe 1. Country Team 11 Annexe 2. Group of Expert 11 1. ABOUT THE PROJECT 1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is a research tool that was designed to identify potential risks to media pluralism in the Member States of the European Union. This narrative report has been produced within the framework of the first pan-European implementation of the MPM. The implementation was conducted in 28 EU Member States, Montenegro and Turkey with the support of a grant awarded by the European Union to the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) at the European University Institute. 1.2 METHODOLOGICAL NOTE The CMPF cooperated with experienced, independent national researchers to carry out the data collection and to author the narrative reports, except in the cases of Malta and Italy where data collection was carried out centrally by the CMPF team. The research was based on a standardised questionnaire and apposite guidelines that were developed by the CMPF.
    [Show full text]
  • Independent Study on Indicators for Media Pluralism in the Member States – Towards a Risk-Based
    Independent Study on Indicators for Media Pluralism in the Member States – Towards a Risk-Based Approach Prepared for the European Commission Directorate-General Information Society and Media SMART 007A 2007-0002 by K.U.Leuven – ICRI (lead contractor) Jönköping International Business School - MMTC Central European University - CMCS Ernst & Young Consultancy Belgium Preliminary Final Report Contract No.: 30-CE-0154276/00-76 Leuven, April 2009 Editorial Note: The findings reported here provide the basis for a public hearing to be held in Brussels in the spring of 2009. The Final Report will take account of comments and suggestions made by stakeholders at that meeting, or subsequently submitted in writing. The deadline for the submission of written comments will be announced at the hearing as well as on the website of the European Commission from where this preliminary report is available. Prof. Dr. Peggy Valcke Project leader Independent Study on “Indicators for Media Pluralism in the Member States – Towards a Risk-Based Approach” AUTHORS OF THE REPORT This study is carried out by a consortium of three academic institutes, K.U. Leuven – ICRI, Central European University – CMCS and Jönköping International Business School – MMTC, and a consultancy firm, Ernst & Young Consultancy Belgium. The consortium is supported by three categories of subcontractors: non-affiliated members of the research team, members of the Quality Control Team and members of the network of local media experts (‘Country Correspondents’). The following persons have contributed to the Second Interim Report: For K.U.Leuven – ICRI: Prof. Dr. Peggy Valcke (project leader; senior legal expert) Katrien Lefever Robin Kerremans Aleksandra Kuczerawy Michael Dunstan and Jago Chanter (linguistic revision) For Central European University – CMCS: Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • A Comparative Analysis of Media Freedom and Pluralism in the EU Member States
    DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS CIVIL LIBERTIES, JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS A comparative analysis of media freedom and pluralism in the EU Member States STUDY Abstract This study was commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee. The authors argue that democratic processes in several EU countries are suffering from systemic failure, with the result that the basic conditions of media pluralism are not present, and, at the same time, that the distortion in media pluralism is hampering the proper functioning of democracy. The study offers a new approach to strengthening media freedom and pluralism, bearing in mind the different political and social systems of the Member States. The authors propose concrete, enforceable and systematic actions to correct the deficiencies found. PE 571.376 EN ABOUT THE PUBLICATION This research paper was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and commissioned, overseen and published by the Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs. Policy Departments provide independent expertise, both in-house and external, to support EP committees and other parliamentary bodies in shaping legislation and exercising democratic scrutiny over EU external and internal policies. To contact the Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs or to subscribe
    [Show full text]
  • The Illusion of Pluralism. Regulatory Aspects of Equality in the New Media
    Chapter 8 The illusion of pluralism Regulatory aspects of equality in the new media Judit Bayer This chapter examines some normative regulatory aspects of furthering equality in the media. From the perspective of legal regulation, equality is a normative concept that is dependent on many social and economic factors. Legal regulation alone may achieve only limited results in this area. This chapter focuses on various aspects of pluralism and diversity as factors that have the potential to advance equality in the media. To approximate this ideal, the efforts of all actors in society are needed, including the us- ers themselves,1 journalists, state regulators and international policy makers. A new set of actors emerged in the era of Web 2.0 media: platform providers as facilitators and gatekeepers of spontaneous citizen communication. Equality in publishing and accessing information online raises issues regarding the rights and responsibilities of gatekeepers. The roles and responsibilities of these actors have not been crystallized yet. Freedom of expression is one of the prerequisites of democracy. Deliberative democ- racies cannot operate without open, public discussion of social matters. To pursue valuable public discussions, access to public information is also needed, along with the possibilities and capacities to exercise these rights. Participation in discussions on common-interest matters must be wide enough and citizens need to be well informed to achieve a meaningful level of discussion. The media traditionally did not provide the possibility for everyone to publish their ideas, and this produced regulatory theories regarding the responsibility of the media to be representative of all sides in society, which became part of the concept of media pluralism.
    [Show full text]
  • 1. Media Pluralism : a Complex Issue
    Contribution to the EU public consultation on media pluralism and democracy July 2016 Media pluralism is paramount for a functionning democracy and for a free and open society. Access to a plurality of editorial lines and analyses is essential for citizens to be able to confront ideas, to make their own informed choices and to conduct their life freely. 1. Media pluralism : a complex issue Two definitions of pluralism Media pluralism can either mean a plurality of voices, of analyses, of expressed opinions and issues (internal pluralism), or a plurality of media outlets, of types of media (print, radio, TV or digital) and coexistance of private owned media and public service media (external pluralism). Global trend of ownership concentration in the mass media RSF can report a global trend of ownership concentration in the creative industries, including mass media. Alongside this development comes a concentration of control over public opinion in fewer and fewer hands, year after year, which results in a decline of media pluralism almost everywhere. As an outcome of our analysis, we can offer a few indications for possible reasons: 1. Business models vanish : In a highly regulated, analogue environment of the past, the scarcity of distribution channels secured viable businesses. The abundance of offer in our digital world has demolished most of them. 2. Emergence of new players : The subsequent, precarious state of the media has turned it ripe for unfriendly take-overs by all sorts of investors, trying to secure their interests by control over public opinion. Given the tremendous wealth and power of some local oligarchs, seamlessly mixing very profitable businesses of all sorts – organized crime in some cases, political activities and media operations, the development of pluralistic media landscapes stalls or even falls back.
    [Show full text]
  • World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development
    World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: Regional overview of AFRICA Communication and Information Sector United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: Regional overview of AFRICA Communication and Information Sector United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Published in 2014 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France © UNESCO 2014 ePub ISBN 978-92-3-100008-9 This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. This publication was supported by Sweden. Editor: Courtney C. Radsch, PhD Associate Editor: Rachel Pollack Graphic design: UNESCO Cover design: UNESCO Illustrations: Ben Stanford, UNESCO Typeset: UNESCO Table of contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 5 AFRICA: MEDIA FREEDOM ................................................................ 6 AFRICA: MEDIA PLURALISM ............................................................. 12 AFRICA: MEDIA INDEPENDENCE ....................................................
    [Show full text]
  • ENPA Media Pluralism Paper
    PRESERVING PLURALISM IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING MEDIA MARKET October 2011 Introduction The newspaper and news media publishing sector is one of the main sources of cultural diversity and pluralism in Europe. In every Member State, newspapers are present in the different local, regional and national markets. They are now also accessible from a wide variety of platforms and devices from printed to digital formats. The editorial content of newspapers covers a wide diversity of topics. Newspapers on all platforms encourage and enable their readers to participate actively in democratic debate through blogs, opinion forums, and other new tools which increase the level of democratic participation, diversity and pluralism in the European media landscape. The newspaper and news media sector is currently going through a crucial restructuring phase shaping the future of the press from a print environment to todayʼs multi-channel world. Publishers are investing heavily in new business models to provide citizens with an incredible range of news, views and information in both print and digital formats. While the print edition of newspapers is still the engine room driving the creation of professional news content, publishers are also providing readers with a choice of attractive offers via websites, smart phones and tablet applications. These investments are being made at a time when advertising revenues for newspapers have declined in many countries due to the economic downturn and when the digital environment for both content and advertising has yet to yield significant returns. Furthermore, newspapersʼ growth in the digital market is challenged by news aggregators and search engines which develop their activities by using publishersʼ content without investing in the development of content and negotiating properly with publishers.
    [Show full text]