Press Council: Journalists’ Code of Ethics Breached 5,551 Times in Six Months

Press Council (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

In six months, from July 1, 2023 to the end of last year, the Press Council registered 5,551 violations of journalists’ code of ethics in Serbia, along with observation that media outlets largely covered for negative things for the regime, while anonymous social media accounts were used for “bashing opposition.” 

At the presentation of the Serbian journalist’s code of ethics report, it was said that in the same period, the Council had received only 50 complaints.

Journalist Vera Didanovic said it was observed that “most media outlets were in detail reporting about the regime’s plans and activities, while fully covering for or selectively reporting on negative things for the regime. She added that tabloid reports on the opposition were “mainly negative,” with a huge number of typically unsigned articles containing false information about opposition parties and their leaders. 

A member of the Complaints Commission, Tamara Skrozza, said that most code of ethics breaches related to presumption of innocence, also pointing to massive violations of the right to privacy. She added that novel breaches related to Chapter to 1 of the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics – truthful reporting, primarily due to the election campaign. 

“Our champion by the number of beaches over a year period is Belgrade daily Alo. Also, another Belgrade daily, Politika, has dropped in the rankings, for frequent code violations during the election campaign,” Skroza said. Speaking about negative examples, she also mentioned hoard of articles about the minor boy who had committed mass murders in Belgrade Elementary School Vladislav Ribnikar last year.