The authorities should finally punish attacks on media workers

The authorities have all the necessary regulations at their disposal to adequately punish attacks on media workers, and they should use them, as this is the only way to send a clear message against impunity – this was stated at the Forum organized by the Media Trade Union (TUMM) ahead of Montenegro Journalists’ Day.

He stated that pressures on media workers have also intensified over the past year and that there has still been no progress in resolving old and serious cases of attacks on journalists, such as the murder of the editor-in-chief of Dan, Duško Jovanović.

Journalists Ana Raičković and Dragana Šćepanović spoke about the attacks they were subjected to, both involving the same perpetrator, businessman Zoran Bećirović. While he physically attacked one, he continuously targeted the other through his online portal.

“The state lacks mechanisms to prevent someone from creating a portal just to destroy another person’s life,” said Šćepanović, who also spoke about the unique challenges faced by correspondents, who often work in isolation from newsrooms and colleagues.

Raičković stated that she has not and will not give up on criminal prosecution against the attacker who targeted her and her family. She added that she still does not know if her safety is at risk and is awaiting the scheduling of a trial and access to the indictment.

Journalist Salaries Still Below Average

Kračković noted that the economic status of media workers has slightly improved over the past year due to salary increases across Montenegro. However, a significant number of colleagues still earn below-average wages or just slightly above it.

He pointed out that the difficult position of media workers is further complicated by the fact that wages are still owed in some local public broadcasters and that employers continue to reject the Media Trade Union’s proposals related to the Branch Collective Agreement.

“Nonetheless, we will not give up on improving the position and working conditions of all journalists and media workers in Montenegro,” Kračković emphasized.

Around 30 media workers at the forum agreed that solidarity among colleagues needs to be strengthened, as it is often lacking. They also stressed that editors-in-chief must be more involved in the news production process and advocate more for journalists while resisting increasingly aggressive PR tactics from public administration’s PR departments.

“For the first time at this event, we photojournalists have been publicly acknowledged as journalists. The problem is that our work is judged based on which media outlet we currently work for, but it shouldn’t be that way—we belong to the readers, not the newsrooms,” said photojournalist Stevo Vasiljević.

The event also highlighted the near-daily challenges faced by teams covering the work of Montenegro’s Parliament.

TUMM Organizes Exhibition of Montenegrin Photojournalists

Ahead of Montenegro Journalists’ Day, SMCG organized an exhibition of Montenegrin photojournalists titled “From Frame to Frame: Stories of Journalism.” Visitors can view the exhibition at KIC “Budo Tomović” until February 1.

The exhibition features 30 photographs by Boris Pejović, Stevo Vasiljević, Dobrilo Malidžan, Filip Filipović, Jovan Radulović, Lazar Ružić, Luka Zeković, Risto Božović, Savo Prelević, Dragan Nikolić, and Darko Vojinović.

At the official opening of the exhibition, SMCG Vice President Marijana Camović Veličković highlighted that Montenegro has around 230 media outlets, yet only 15 photojournalists.