Media Landscape in Montenegro - Article

A survey of the challenges faced by media professionals in Montenegro through the lenses of three themes: media capture, legal threats, and the safety of journalists

By Sava Mirković

2024 Rule of Law Report - Country Chapter Montenegro - Reports

Montenegro adopted a comprehensive legislative package in June 2024 to bolster media pluralism and freedom in line with EU standards. The legislative packages aim to grant the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services (AAVMS) greater autonomy and enforcement power. Improvements have also been noticed in how the authorities respond to reported violence against journalists, but there remains a lack of effective judicial action, specifically in past cases

Kosovo’s media law enables political capture of regulatory body - Article

OBCT and Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners express deep alarm over the passage of a new media law by the Kosovo Parliament and call on the Constitutional Court to repeal the bill

Digital security in Serbia: another challenge to media freedom - Article

Media outlets in the country are increasingly exposed to cyber attacks, online threats and manipulations. We talked about digital security and its impact on independent journalism in Serbia with Bojan Perkov, digital policy coordinator at SHARE Foundation

By Serena Epis

Originally published on OBCT , also available in ITA 

Croatia: Faktograf journalist Melita Vrsaljko assaulted twice in a week - Article

OBCT and the undersigned organisations express deep concerns about the physical attacks targeting Melita Vrsaljko, a journalist working for the Croatian fact-checking website Faktograf.hr and the Climate Portal

France: Media freedom coalition condemns Vivendi’s disinformation campaign against Reporters Without Borders - Article

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners strongly condemn the cyber disinformation campaign against the press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

An ever-tightening net: Restrictions on Online Expression in Africa, the Middle East, and Türkiye - Reports

The report analyses how cybercrime laws and online content regulations are used to silence dissent, marginalised groups and stifle digital activism

North Macedonia, media and public funds - Article

In view of the upcoming political and presidential elections, the Macedonian government has reintroduced forms of public funding for the media. However, the country's media organisations argue that the move may aggravate the influence of political interests on news outlets

By Aleksandar Samardjiev 

Originally published by OBCT, also available in ITA

Serbia: escalating threats and attacks against journalists in Novi Sad - Article

The escalation of threats and violence suffered by journalists in Novi Sad, northern Serbia, has reached an unprecedented level in the past fortnight. OBCT joins the undersigned organisations in urging the Serbian authorities to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the persistent attacks on journalists and ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted accordingly

Türkiye: Big tech should protect free speech and resist state censorship - Article

Ahead of Türkiye’s municipal elections on 31 March 2024, 22 rights groups and journalists’ organisations jointly call on social media platforms to uphold the free expression rights of their users and resist state censorship. They should also fully disclose all government requests to restrict accounts or content, and be transparent about informal government pressure to restrict content on their platforms.