"Your work is very important and contributes to democracy. Journalists today face various political and economic pressures, disinformation, and problems, and the task of the Ministry of Culture and Media is to protect you from that," said Minister Tamara Vujović, congratulating her on the Day of Journalists in Montenegro.
She spoke at the opening of the conference Media in Montenegro - Achievements and Challenges.
"Trust in the mainstream media has been deeply shaken, many have failed the test of trust. A news story that says a female person was killed is like the fact that a girl was killed. Do we really care about the truth and can we bear it or do we agree to compromises to make it easier to bear," Vujović said.
He adds that the emergence of artificial intelligence and little quality content complicates the situation, especially for citizens who are not very media literate.
She thanked the media for their professional reporting after the tragedy in Cetinje.
"I appeal to the rare media outlets that have resorted to shallow sensationalism not to repeat those mistakes," said Vujović.
As she said, this is the second deadliest year for journalists in the world with more than 104 deaths, more than half of them killed in Gaza and Israel.
"In Montenegro, according to the Media Union, 2024 attacks on journalists were recorded in 19. The journalist safety index recorded a drop to 3.33. The attack on Ana Raičković and the threats to Dragana Šćepanović led to a rapid reaction and processing of the cases," said Vujović.
Ivanovic: The media are the pillar of democracy
Montenegro's Journalists' Day reminds us of the rich tradition of Montenegrin journalism and provides an opportunity to review the achievements and challenges facing journalism in Montenegro, said Deputy Prime Minister Filip Ivanović.
"Despite numerous challenges, the media remain a pillar of democracy."
He stated that in this time, mutual trust must be strengthened to ensure that journalists freely seek the truth.
"The Government of Montenegro remains committed to improving the conditions for the free operation of the media. We have adopted a set of media laws and adopted the Media Strategy, which resulted in the closing of the chapter. We are aware that we still have work to do. We will continue to improve the environment so that journalists and media organizations can achieve the purpose of journalism in accordance with the highest standards," said Ivanovic.
Satler: Montenegro must have zero tolerance for violence against journalists
The Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Montenegro, Johan Sattler, said that media freedom is the lifeblood of democracy, especially in a country that, like Montenegro, wants to join the EU.
"Without it, countries are not free. This conference is a good opportunity to look back on Montenegro's progress. For the first time, the European Commission Report could say that you have made progress in this area," said Sattler, praising the adoption of media laws and the Media Strategy.
"We hope that this approach will be the same in other areas and will be applied to electoral reform."
Satler emphasizes that Montenegro must have zero tolerance for violence against journalists.
“Montenegro recently witnessed a serious case of violence against journalist Ana Raičković and the institutional responses… We will continue to monitor the cases. Montenegro needs to ensure that justice knocks on the door of old cases of attacks, such as the attack on Olivera Lakić and the murder of Dan editor Duško Jovanović. Journalists must be free to work freely without any kind of violence. Laws must be implemented, not just adopted,” said Satler.
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