Media literacy in Montenegro is not at a satisfactory level, and with a more serious approach in the education system, informal education and active participation of the media, citizens would be more media literate.
This was assessed at the conference "Improving media literacy in Montenegro," organized by the non-governmental organization Juventas and the news agency MINA.
Chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy in Montenegro, Judy Kuo, said that the development of media literacy among young people is one of the best ways to fight the modern challenges of the modern age.
"Young people today are very pliable and susceptible to media manipulation. I will name a couple of the main ones that spread lies and propaganda - Sputnik, which is directly under the Russian Government, then portals such as IN4S and Borba, which are very closely connected with directives coming from the Kremlin." , Kuo said.
They, as she said, are active and coordinated and those campaigns are intended to mislead the public, create disorder and problems among societies.
"They deliberately presented false stories about the establishment of NATO bases in Montenegro and claimed that Montenegro received military equipment that will be used against Serbia and Russia," said Kuo.
The goal of publishing such lies, she believes, is to divide people.
"We believe that educating the public, especially the youth in Montenegro, is key to the information they receive and can use their own thinking to process information that comes as propaganda," said Kuo.
She called on everyone to unite and double their efforts in order to ensure that Montenegro, a country that demands high quality journalism.
"It is the right way to fight against foreign influences and it is the way to create capable generations who are capable of securing the future of journalism in Montenegro," concluded Kuo.
The executive director of the non-governmental organization Juventas, Ivana Vujović, said that the media manage information, and thus they can manage the truth.
"We can improve quality control, through a certain degree of regulation and self-regulation of media content, while at the same time dedicatedly fighting for the independence of the media. We can also influence the economic viability of the media, and thus their quality, by choosing the content," said Vujović.
As she said, for both approaches, especially the second one, it is necessary that the rules on the media market are public, fair, equal and that there are no politically privileged parties.
"In order to establish quality control, we need to secure independent institutions and bodies, such as in the case of the RTCG Council and the Electronic Media Agency. For both approaches, we need a media-literate, thoughtful citizen," said Vujović.
And such a citizen, she said, is created through educational, formal and informal programs and civic actions and projects.
"Montenegro was fortunate to be more resistant than some countries in the environment to ubiquitous, heavy forms of media propaganda, but the recent past has left numerous examples that indicate that we are not immune, and that we should be afraid of the phenomenon of collective numbing that can be produced by controlled media scene," stated Vujović.
She added that this is why a more serious approach to the regulation of media content is needed, which is not reduced to individual interests.
"The method of electing the members of the RTCG and AEM councils is clearly compromised and appeals, advice, and invitations have been sent from many addresses to start an urgent change of the situation, which is unsustainable if we are committed to the rule of law and European integration based on the rule of law," she said. Vujović.
She said that media literacy in Montenegro is not at a satisfactory level.
"When it comes to the education system, in the ten years since it was introduced into the curriculum, only about 800 students studied this optional subject. We are witnessing that the education system is not able to keep up with the intense and rapid changes in the media world," she said. is Vujović.
She believes that media houses do not invest enough effort in promoting that skill, that is, there is no desire to create a media-literate audience.
"We note the lack of training for journalists in fact-checking, the use of new technologies, and the decreasing number of journalists specializing in narrow fields. It is important to note that the media and journalists face financial difficulties, as well as challenges in terms of freedom and independence," she said. is Vujović.
As she said, the Montenegrin media scene lacks a single self-regulatory body, "and it is important to say that we are impatiently waiting for the adoption of a set of media laws that are necessary for our society".
"A shift has been made compared to the previous period - several researches in this area have been carried out, a significant number of projects, initiatives and public campaigns have been implemented. It is also necessary to praise the moves of the competent authorities, such as the introduction of a pin code for the protection of TV content that is not adapted minors," Vujović announced.
Generally speaking, she added, progress is noticeable, but there is still much room for improvement.
"It is necessary that all interested actors, especially the state, show a clear will to improve media literacy," said Vujović.
The executive director of the MINA agency, Jaša Jovićević, said that the need for media literacy is something that is becoming a social imperative.
This, as he stated, is not only a struggle for better and more professional media, but for the improvement of each individual and the creation of his abilities for better and better navigation in social and political life.
"Today, it is not a challenge to publish information. The key challenge today is how to use information," Jovićević said.
He called on all Montenegrin media to contribute to the improvement of media literacy.
"I believe that it is first in our interest. In this way, we always push ourselves to work on professionalization and the application of ethical standards, and therefore we also give our readers an example of what quality content is," added Jovićević.
As he stated, in addition to the fact that tabloids have never established themselves in Montenegrin society in the long term, it must be noted that we are exposed to a huge amount of content every day.
Jovićević explained that the essence of the project is "Rereading - Rewriting. Improving media literacy in Montenegro", which was conducted by the agency MINA and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Juventas, with the help of the Embassy of the United States of America (USA) in Podgorica, to raise the level of media literacy.
"We concentrated on the generation of high school students, and in more than 30 schools, workshops were organized in which more than 600 high school students participated," said Jovićević.
He said that high school students participated very well and actively in those workshops and showed that their knowledge of media literacy is not insignificant.
Jovićević said that during the project work was also done on the education of the teaching staff, because the development of that ability is also one of the imperatives.
He said that two surveys were conducted as part of the project, a survey among the high school population and a survey of the general population on the topic of media, perceptions and trust in the media.
"During the project, the MINA agency was intensively involved in the production of media content on these topics, with a special focus on the problems of professional and ethical reporting, the presence of media literacy in schools," stated Jovićević.
As he added, a very detailed study was also done in cooperation with the representative of the Media Center, Dusko Vuković, and that document covered all aspects of the media scene in Montenegro.
"That document was very important for the realization of the project, and I believe it has lasting value," added Jovićević.
He said that in cooperation with the Faculty of Political Sciences (FPN), a one-day training was organized for second- and third-year students on the topic of agency journalism, media literacy and mobile journalism.
Jovićević added that four students did an internship program at the MINA agency, where they wrote their first texts, gained their first experiences in the field and got to know the way the agency works.
"Within the project, a mentoring process was organized for student and student media, from six high schools in Montenegro and two student media, where young journalists were enabled to improve their journalistic techniques," Jovićević said.
The State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Aleksandar Mitrović, said that media literacy in the 21st century has acquired a completely new meaning.
"New in terms of the quantity of information that is obtained, but also its quality. Due to so much information, a large number of media, the emergence of social networks, we have a completely new picture of the flow of information," explained Mitrović.
Such an image, he added, has both advantages and disadvantages.
"The advantages are that information is easily available, and when we talk about the disadvantages of social networks, information is obtained without a wider journalistic context, which is extremely educational for all of us, especially young people," added Mitrović.
He said that, regardless of the type of media, whether it is traditional or electronic, fake news, half-hearted and distorted information represent a danger that is lurking for young people all over the world.
It is clear, as Mitrović pointed out, that not only the family, but the entire educational system has a responsibility to help young people discern what is real information.
"Today's children have great advantages, since they can be well informed about social events, regardless of their age, material, social or other status. But at the same time, they have a great responsibility to navigate the onslaught of information that is imposed on them in large quantities every day Mitrovic said.
As he stated, that is exactly why the education system deals with that topic.
Mitrović said that media literacy is already a one-year optional program in the Gymnasium, in the second and third grades.
He added that teachers in other subjects and fields can insist that the free part of the teaching curriculum, within each lesson, be dedicated to that topic.
Media literacy, as he said, can also be found as a cross-curricular topic in various subjects, such as sociology, civic education, individual in a group.
"Who published the information, how can it be verified, how to read the title and which text? How was the news and when was it published? – all of this needs to be taken into account so that you can say for yourself that you have the right information." Mitrović pointed out.
As he emphasized, this is why media literacy is a topic that requires an educational, but also broader social context and the support of the media and the civil sector, which will improve legislation with relevant institutions and institutions, work on projects in the course of which young people could become familiar with the meaning media.
"This is the only way we will create a thinking society that will make a decision to be informed, not misinformed, critical, not sleepy," concluded Mitrović.
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