Radio Television of Montenegro avoided informing the public about the fact that Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović criticized the actions of the national public broadcaster during her official visit to Montenegro.
RTCG ombudsman Danijela Popović proposed to the Public Service Council to accept the complaint of the non-governmental organization Media Centar, which pointed out that the professional standard "objectivity" was violated in the central news program of Television of Montenegro (TVCG) Dnevnik 2.
"In the central news program Dnevnik 2, there was no information about the official stay of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatović, in Montenegro, and thus her critical assessment of the management behavior of the national public broadcaster RTCG. According to the announcement about her official stay in Montenegro, Mrs. Mijatović said that "the non-implementation of the decisions of domestic courts on the appointment of the director of RTCG raises questions regarding respect for the rule of law, which is an issue that also needs to be urgently resolved"...", Media stated. of the center in the complaint.
They also stated that it is not the first time that TVCG avoids informing its viewers about reasoned criticisms of the management of the national public media service, which violates the basic principles of the journalistic profession, which are stated in the Code of Journalists of Montenegro, as well as its own Rulebook on Program Principles. and professional standards.
The media center claimed that, when it comes to that RTCG Rulebook, the professional standard of "objectivity" was violated - "...Creators of radio and television programs violate professional standards if they hide, ignore, or in an inadequate context put (market) information with which they are personally do not agree."), as well as the professional standard "credibility" -"...Journalists and editors are responsible not only for what they publish but also for what they keep silent and that is of interest to the public...".
The editorial office submitted a response to Ombudsman Popović, in which they stated that in the official information that was available to them in the media in Montenegro and that they also received on the official email of the television, which referred to the visit of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Dunje Mijatović did not mention RTCG to our country in any context.
"In support of this, we also provide you with links where you can see the content of the conversations that took place during the meeting of Mrs. Mijatović with Montenegrin officials, and which were delivered to the media through a press release... If you carefully review all the links in this answer, you will see that there is no mention of RTCG" , the editors stated in their response and provided links to texts from several different media related to the Commissioner's meetings with officials.
They pointed out that, when it comes to the complaint of the NGO Media Centar that they did not provide information in which Mijatović criticizes the behavior of the management of the Public Service, "such a statement was not sent to the mail after the visit" and that "therefore we did not have any information about to that".
In her opinion, which "Vijesti" had access to, Popović concluded that by reviewing the links to which the editors referred, RTCG was not really mentioned, but that with a simple search of online media, she came across several texts in which Mijatović's opinion on the functioning of RTCG was conveyed.
"However, what everyone should refer to is the official report of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Dunja Mijatović, which is available on the website of the Council of Europe, and was published on March 22, 2024," emphasized Popović.
It was the Council of Europe, in a statement delivered to the Montenegrin media on the afternoon of March 22, that Mijatović warned during a meeting with officials that the non-implementation of domestic court decisions on the appointment of RTCG directors raises questions regarding respect for the rule of law, which is also , should be urgently addressed.
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