By The Ombudsperson of the Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG), Ivan Ivanović, has partially upheld a complaint filed by the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM) after the public broadcaster ignored the presentation of the Media Freedom Indicators and the Journalists’ Safety Index, the only research of its kind conducted in Montenegro.
The Ombudsperson found that the topic was clearly of public interest and should have been covered by the public broadcaster, at least in the form of a news item. He also referred to previous complaints filed by TUMM that had been upheld and earlier shortcomings identified in RTCG’s reporting, concluding that the Union “has legitimate grounds to question the Public Broadcaster’s professional approach towards the organisation.”
The editorial teams of the RTCG Portal and the First Channel rejected TUMM’s allegations, invoking editorial independence and arguing that there had been no breach of professional standards or unprofessional treatment of the Union.
At the same time, RTCG does not dispute that TUMM is a relevant stakeholder. It is therefore difficult to explain why the Union continues to be overlooked whenever issues directly related to its work are covered.
The Ombudsperson did not uphold the part of TUMM’s complaint alleging that the Union receives disproportionately limited coverage on RTCG. Accepting the editors’ argument that the selection of topics and interviewees falls within editorial discretion, he concluded that the complaint did not contain sufficiently specific evidence to demonstrate that TUMM had been systematically sidelined.
This was not, however, the first time TUMM had turned to the Ombudsperson over RTCG’s treatment of the Union. Ivanović’s opinion itself refers to two previous complaints filed by TUMM that were upheld and in which shortcomings in the Public Broadcaster’s reporting were established. For that reason, the Ombudsperson called on the editorial teams of the RTCG Portal and the First Channel to address these concerns through their future reporting and demonstrate that TUMM is treated as a relevant stakeholder.
TUMM President Radomir Kračković said that the Union represents the largest number of media employees in Montenegro and has consistently worked to improve their labour, professional and social rights.
He also noted that TUMM’s research and findings are regularly cited in reports published by relevant European and international institutions.
“TUMM’s relevance is not measured by the number of times we appear on the Public Broadcaster’s programmes, and we are neither seeking privileged treatment nor expecting to feature in every report. However, when the same pattern continues despite several upheld complaints and established shortcomings, it is legitimate to ask whether these are isolated editorial decisions or part of RTCG’s established approach towards the Trade Union of Media,” Kračković concluded.
