20. 11. 2009

THE FIFTH REPORT ON LEGAL MONITORING OF SERBIAN MEDIA SCENE

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There are several reasons why you should read this Fifth Monitoring Report for the month of October 2009. First, you will find an overview of all major developments in the media sector from October 1 to 31, 2009, all in one place. Second, this Report is carried out by an expert team, so it contains not only listed facts, but expert explanations, analysis and evaluation of all important media issues that marked this period. Third, this Report will help you to better understand the causes and consequences of key events on the media scene in the reporting period.

The monitoring has been conducted for 6 months in a row by the Law Office team, "Zivkovic & Samardzic", in cooperation with ANEM and with support from USAID and IREX Serbia. Reports are the result of that monitoring.

October monitoring showed the following:

Freedom of expression was affected in different ways. The Report presents some typical cases (e.g. a bomb thrown at RTV Pink; obstructed broadcasting of Radio Kontact Plus from Kosovska Mitrovica; theft of commemorative plaque from the murder scene of the journalist Slavko Curuvija, etc..), as well as examples of judicial practice showing that the sentences have been pronounced symbolically or not pronounced at all, in cases of journalists and the media being exposed to pressures and attacks. Why and to what extent they all are violating freedom of expression, read in the Report.

The Report deals with the implementation of existing laws, namely: the Law on Public Information, Broadcasting Law and the Law on Protection of Personal Data. What (non)entering in the Register of public media means for their founders; what are the obligations of broadcasters in relation to program content and how the RBA acts when broadcaster violates them; why is it important the National Strategy for the protection of personal data - the Report provides answers to these questions.

As for the new law, the Report deals with the Law on Classified Data and the Law on Electronic Communications which will affect the regulatory framework for the media, each in its own way. The first is important for all media and it is on agenda of current Parliament's session. The second is significant for broadcasting and new media and it passed the public debate during October.

Monitoring also followed the work of relevant bodies and organizations, and the Report shows at what extent the activities of the competent authorities have improved, or not, the position of the media in this period. We underline the most important: the Parliament has not elected any of the proposed candidates of media and journalists' associations for members of the RBA Council; development Strategy of the media sector has not gone far away from the mere announcement; the regulation of cable broadcasting, which is long overdue on the activity list of the RBA, has been set off, but not initially by this regulatory body.

Some improvements were made in the process of digitization. In the reporting period, the Government adopted the Decision on the establishment of Public Company "Broadcasting Equipment and Communications". This company was established by separating the broadcasting equipment from the Broadcasting Institution of Serbia, which was the necessary precondition for an array of tasks that must be dealt with in order to digitalize terrestrial broadcasting. The process of media privatization is still a source of confusion. In October, after a two-year break, the Privatization Agency scheduled an auction for 12 media companies for December 11, 2009. However, what will happen with other not privatized media, which take advantage of colliding norms in the existing regulation, is still unknown, because the Government has not taken any official position on this issue.

The development of any democratic society depends on relations between Government and media. What is that relationship in our society at this moment and how it reflects on the development of media sector, remains the question, which the monitoring team deals with in the Conclusion of this Report.

Read this Fifth Monitoring Report, in which you will find more about all above. The Report can be downloaded, fully or partially, with click on selected down listed section:

Section FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION here
Section MONITORING OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING LAWS here
Section MONITORING OF THE PROCESS OF ADOPTION OF NEW LEGISLATION here
Section MONITORING OF THE ACTIVITIES OF REGULATORY BODIES, AUTHORITIES AND COLLECTIVE SOCIETIES here
Section MONITORING OF THE DIGITALIZATION AND PRIVATIZATION PROCESSES here
Section OVERALL CONCLUSION here
The COMPLETE REPORT can be downloaded here