"This report, which follows the Council of Europe’s list of “Indicators for Media in a Democracy”, intends to provide an analysis of the current media situation based on the standards upheld by this list. The aim of this report is to raise awareness on the status of affairs in the media scene ...for an array of actors, such as policymakers, government representatives, media professionals, professional associations, media experts, and civil society. The report is based on methodology that uses varied instruments and feedback from different relevant actors that affect legal, political, economic, and professional environment for media operation. Apart from collecting and classifying statistical data from publicly available sources, existing research, and surveys, the primary research consisted also in legal analysis conducted for the purpose of comparing Council of Europe standards to domestic legislation, carrying out of surveys with stakeholders, and in-depth interviews with key players in the media fi eld, judges, government representatives, parliament, and public institutions. Using a specially designed questionnaire, a survey was conducted on a sample of 110 editors-in-chief, media owners, and journalists of different media outlets across the country, including representatives from minorities. In-depth interviews were conducted with media owners, media managers, and editors of mainstream media outlets, as well as with other actors with direct input and knowledge on media scene, such as the Audiovisual Media Authority, public broadcaster RTSH, journalist trade union, professional associations, the Media Council, journalists from various media, etc." (Introduction, p.7-8)
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"Trust in the media varies across the region, with citizens in BiH, Serbia and North Macedonia divided in around half of those that trust and half of those that distrust the media, and a higher number of citizens in Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania having trust in the media. The highest trust is expre...ssed by citizens in Kosovo (64% of citizens trust and 35% distrust the media) and the lowest in BiH (48% of citizens that trust, compared to 49% that distrust the media). Similarly, trust in the public service broadcaster varies across the region, being the highest in Kosovo (76%) and the lowest in BiH and Montenegro (in BiH between 32% for RTRS and 43% for RTVFBiH, and 48% in Montenegro). In some countries of the region, there is a clear division of trust-distrust in the public service broadcaster indicative of an ethnic and/or political divide." (p.19)
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"The visual presentation of the Serb accused in TV news was based on iconic images of the accused combined with symbolic images of the state and its power, with nearly complete absence of visuals of atrocities and victims. In contrast, the visual presentation of the Croatian, Bosniak and Albanian de...fendants draws meaning mainly from sequences of images displaying victims, war destruction or attacks as “palpable” proof of crimes. This supports a sentiment of collective victimhood of the Serb population and creates the impression of the indicted persons’ guilt even after their acquittals by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Since the research project has been limited to three Serb TV channels, comparative work on TV media in other states of former Yugoslavia would be required in order to assess how ’special’ the case of Serbia is regarding these visual strategies. The much disputed legitimacy of the ICTY and the important role of media have also become obvious in focus groups interviews with students in Serbia: The students displayed a striking lack of knowledge about war crimes; nonetheless, they strongly rejected the ICTY as a biased institution. At the same time, they were perceptive of new facts and interpretations, showing that they have a genuine need to understand the past and obtain objective information. A major problem is that in their perception there are few, if any, objective, neutral institutions which to put trust in. The expert interviews, conducted in Belgrade and The Hague, underlined the critical state of mainstream TV media in Serbia: They were assessed as not really independent, driven by entertainment formats, suspect to governmental pressure and failing in their watchdog functions. The interviewees also expressed a widespread disappointment about the state of affairs of transitional justice in Serbia." (Summary)
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"This books draws a comparative balance of twenty years' international media assistance in the five countries of the Western Balkans. The central question was what happens to imported models when they are transposed onto the newly evolving media systems of transitional societies. Albania, Bosnia-Her...zegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia undertook a range of media reforms to conform with accession requirements of the European Union and the standards of the Council of Europe, among others. The essays explore the nexus between the democratic transformation of the media and international media assistance. The cross-national analysis concludes that the effects of international assistance are highly constrained by the local context. From today's vantage point it becomes obvious, that scaling media assistance does not necessarily improve outcomes. The experiences in the region suggest that imported solutions have not been very cognitive in all aspects of local conditions but international strategies tent to be rather schematic and lacked strategic approaches to promote media policy stability, credible media reform and implementation. The book offers valuable insights into the nature and effects of media assistance and the strategies deployed by international aid agencies, local political forces, media professionals, civil society organizations and other actors." (Publisher)
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