Serbia: Bad media practices despite the new media laws

Practice of media production and distribution unchanged by the new legislative solutions

Saša Gajin points out the discrepancy between the positive normative solutions within the new media laws in Serbia on one hand, and the practice of media production and distribution on the other.

In Gajin’s view, the legal framework, although seemingly accorded with democratic norms, has proven to be incapable of subverting bad media practices. He mentions for example inflammatory speech, disrespect for the right to privacy and personal dignity or “massive and serous assaults against public moral” in media content, but also the failures in implementation of the clauses on autonomy of PSB given that the mechanism of collection of RTV fee is still not assured. Something else is needed for better media practices, he indicates but leaves an open question as for what that something might be.

Media Integrity
Media Policy and Reforms
Public Service Media