The economic and social position of journalists is still characterized by poor material status, pressures, overload and fear, which, among other things, leads to leaving the profession in a large number of cases.
This was concluded in the draft of the first media strategy, which, as "Vijesti" has unofficially learned, the Government sent to the Council of Europe for an expert opinion for the second time last week.
This document, together with the Action Plan, should provide answers to many questions, among others, about the socioeconomic position of journalists and their safety, the media market and media sustainability, regulation and self-regulation, public service and local public services, hate speech and misinformation, media pluralism and literacy...
"Vijesti" has unofficially learned that the strategy indicated that private media should be strongly encouraged to engage in dialogue with the national union, because the draft collective agreement for media activities has been ready for a year, but the employers are not taking any further actions, nor are they reacting. The goal of the strategy is to strengthen the position of the media, as well as journalists, and to, among other things, respect and properly apply the rights of journalists from work and on the basis of work.
By amending the Law on Media, it is planned to achieve better protection of the rights of journalists in Montenegro, it is also foreseen to introduce the employer's obligation that the number of employees in the media cannot be reduced for a period of at least six months before applying for the allocation of funds from the Fund for Media Pluralism, which was increased by the draft law to 0,2 percent of the budget.
The goal is to improve the status and working rights of employees in the media by adopting the new Branch Collective Agreement, and by linking the seniority of journalists, photojournalists and videographers in those media companies that were bankrupt or whose companies were liquidated, to improve the material and legal position of these persons.
In the draft strategy, as it was unofficially announced to "Vijesti", the definition of coefficients for employees in the media is announced, as well as a benefited seniority for journalists and other media workers who deal with jobs with an increased degree of risk.
The first media strategy also deals with the problem of attacks on journalists, given that according to "Safejournalists" data, from February 2019 to June 2022, there were a total of 34 recorded cases of attacks on journalists, namely 24 threats, eight attacks and one stoning of a vehicle. RTCG.
Thus, it is recalled that 11 cases of attacks on journalists were recorded last year, which were not brought to light, and the work of the competent bodies did not prove to be effective, because there was no verdict, while not a single case was initiated before the Disciplinary Commission of the MUP since its formation in September 2021. proceedings against police officers due to ineffectiveness in investigating attacks on journalists.
An additional problem on the media scene, recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Media and members of the working group that worked on the strategy, is hate speech and misinformation, and the state has not dealt with it in any strategic document so far.
The media strategy should also lead to the improvement of media literacy, given the fact that according to the index of the global Open Society Foundation for 2019, Montenegro was ranked at the bottom of the list of countries in which the measurement was made, i.e. in 31st place out of 35 countries.
As "Vijesti" unofficially learns, the document indicates that media literacy should be strengthened, especially in schools.
Media literacy was introduced as an optional subject in the Montenegrin education system in high schools in 2009, but it was chosen by only 200 high school students, and it is planned to be introduced in the older classes of elementary schools as well.
Last week, the government announced the drafts of three media laws, the implementation of which in the future should lead to the improvement of the position of journalists and the information of citizens, the increase of the independence of the public service, the suppression of hate speech and the increase of allocations for the media from the state budget...
Draft laws on media, public media service and audiovisual media services will be in public discussion for 40 days.
"Vijesti" announced last week that the draft law on media included for the first time a provision defining a journalist, as well as the introduction of a media inspector...
The article of the law that is the most criticized by the public, which concerns the protection of sources, is also being changed, so it is foreseen that only on the basis of the decision of the competent court it is possible for a journalist to reveal the source of information, and when it is necessary to protect the interests of national security, territorial integrity and health protection...
The draft prohibits the publication of information in the media that represents hate speech, but in relation to all national and ethnic communities, not only minority ones.
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