New Media Strategy: Government, Professionals Clash over Draft's Key Provisions

medijska-strategija-betaweek

The authorities in Serbia reacted strongly to the criticism the European Commission voiced in its annual country report, as well as concerning remarks by the Freedom House, a non-governmental organization promoting the freedom of the media. One of the fundamentals of the government’s defense is that a draft version of the national media strategy has been passed as the result of a joint effort by the authorities and associations of media and journalists.

The Serbian government did pass the document, but after some of the key provisions had been left out, despite insistence by representatives of the media community involved in the drafting process. In the eyes of the associations and organizations of journalists, this has undermined the validity of the new Media Strategy.