The Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) initiated 20 procedures against 11 broadcasters regarding irregularities related to media representation during the election campaign for the extraordinary parliamentary elections held on June 11.
These data, as reported by Mediabiro, were presented to the public at today's presentation of the Final Report on media representation during the election campaign in Podgorica.
"One procedure is particularly characteristic, because it was initiated due to the broadcast of a program without previously adopted rules, which is an obligation according to the law. Other cases were initiated due to the use of minors for political purposes, one due to the deployment of political advertising before or after a children's show, 13 were initiated due to covert and unmarked media presentation, one due to covert presentation within the entertainment program, one due to paid political marketing outside the block of political advertising and one for not indicating whether political advertising was paid for or not," said AEM director Sunčica Bakić.
She specifically referred, as reported by the Mediabiro, to the impact of the "Do Kwon" case on media coverage during the election. During the last week of the election campaign, public attention was captured by claims that the arrested South Korean citizen Do Kwon financed the election campaigns of the Europe Now Movement.
"Given that the reporting on this case included statements by representatives of electoral list applicants, who at the same time perform state functions, there was interference between media representation and the activities of state bodies and officials. Almost a third of the reports referred to media appearances and statements of political representatives of the list It counts bravely, dominantly from the positions of the state functions they perform," it was announced at today's press conference.
Special emphasis was also placed on media representation in foreign electronic media programs, with a focus on Happy and Pink M televisions, both under the jurisdiction of Serbian regulatory authorities.
"When we talk about editorial content, it is clear that up to a certain limit, it is legitimate for the media to follow election processes in other countries. Nevertheless, the question of the legitimacy of reporting can be raised if it can be considered a mechanism of interference in the internal affairs of another country, which aims to achieve illegitimate influence", said Bakić.
The conducted media campaign highlighted the importance of a systemic approach in formulating legal solutions that specify the rights and obligations of the media, competent law enforcement authorities and all other entities that are directly or indirectly involved in the election process and media representation during it, the conclusion of the Agency's report .
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