30 Percent More Breaches of Code of Ethics in Newspapers During July

Newspapers front pages (Photo: Beta / Nenad Petrovic)

In July the staff of newspapers in Serbia committed 30 percent more violations of the journalistic code of ethics than last year in the same period, while the bulk of the breaches consisted of untruthful reporting, the Council for the Press warned on Aug. 12.

A statement said that during July ten newspapers (Politika, Novosti, Danas, Blic, Nova, Alo, Kurir, Informer i Srpski Telegraf) violated the code of ethics 1,361 times as opposed to 959 times in the same period the year before.

“Incorrect and unprofessional reporting can lead to a further increase in tensions, the spread of hate speech and aggressive behavior, as well as the violation of the dignity and privacy of the individuals being reported on, which is especially dangerous in times of social crisis,” the Council for the Press said.

The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) and the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) condemned on Aug. 12 threats to the Danas newspaper as well a physical attack on journalist Marko Dragoslavic, saying that threats and attacks on journalists needed to be punished.

The threats to Danas, the organizations said in a joint statement, ensued after the publishing of a caricature by Predrag Koraksic Koraks of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, while journalist Marko Dragoslavic was physically assaulted while taking photographs from a public space of a banned construction site.