Montenegro's progress in the World Index, media freedom threatened by political interference, unpunished attacks...

The Montenegrin Constitution and laws guarantee freedom of speech and expression, but the freedom of the media is still threatened by political interference, unpunished attacks on journalists and economic pressures, it is stated in to the World Index of Media Freedom for 2023, published by the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), on the occasion of May 3 - World Press Freedom Day.

Montenegro has made significant progress, moving from 63rd position to 39th place on the list of 180 countries.

Of the countries in the region, only North Macedonia is ranked better than our country, in 38th place. They are followed by Croatia (42), Slovenia (50), Kosovo (56), Bosnia and Herzegovina (64), while the lowest ranked are Serbia (91) and Albania (96).

The organization states that the pressures of the authorities and attacks on journalists have somewhat decreased after the departure Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) from power in 2020, but that the new government is still trying to control certain media and journalists. Moreover, there is concern that foreign owners of some media will influence the editorial policy "to serve the interests of other governments (Serbian, for example) or the interests of their local political favourites", the report points out.

"Despite its small population (620.000 inhabitants), Montenegro has more than 150 registered media, including three daily newspapers, four TV broadcasters with national frequencies – including the public service, RTCG – and one news agency. Three of the four television networks with national coverage are partially or completely in foreign ownership, mostly companies from neighboring Serbia," RSF said.

It is reminded that freedom of speech is guaranteed and defamation is decriminalized. "Despite having undergone several changes in recent years, the legal framework still has gaps in terms of free access to public information and protection of the confidentiality of journalistic sources, which means that the independence of the media is insufficiently protected from political and economic influences. The same applies to RTCG which is not spared from political pressures despite the adoption of the new legal framework in 2020," the report notes.

As the main advertiser, according to RSF, the state has distributed most of its funds to "loyal" media in recent decades. "While RTCG and local public broadcasters are mostly financed from the state budget, private media are largely subject to the influence of advertisers and market instability. After the terrible economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on the media, the government provided them with financial support that proved insufficient to ensure their sustainability ", they indicate.

The report also assesses that Montenegrin society is deeply divided on ethnic, religious and political grounds, in addition to the "authoritarian political culture inherited from the past". "In such an environment, the media are often accused of working for foreign interests and betraying the nation or the church. Campaigns against professional journalists are often led by politicians from the ruling and opposition parties," he said.

The RSF also states in the report that almost all attacks on journalists that occurred in the last year have been solved, but that many of those that occurred in the past, many remain unpunished, despite the promises of the government that came to power in 2020. that he will take steps to resolve them. "One of such cases is the murder of editor-in-chief Duško Jovanović and the attempted murder of investigative journalist Olivera Lakić. In 2023, after seven years of proceedings, journalist Jovo Martinović was finally acquitted of unfounded accusations of belonging to a criminal group," the report recalls.