Letter from IREX President Mark Pomar
Dear colleagues:
IREX joins with journalists, press freedom organizations, and media in recognizing World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2004.
Journalists are daily on the front lines, risking their lives to gather and produce news that helps citizens participate in their societies. Press freedom advocates fight for the rights of media to freely report and for the rights of citizens to receive news and information free of government control. Whether reporting from war zones, practicing investigative journalism, or standing up to repressive regimes, they are risking their lives for a right that benefits all citizens.
In 2003, more than 60 journalists lost their lives while on the job. Many more were imprisoned, and thousands were harassed while attempting simply to report or protect rights that we take for granted.
IREX is proud to highlight just a few of the journalists, media outlets, associations, and NGOs with whom we have had the honor to work. They have sought to advance the cause of press freedom through their reporting and their advocacy. IREX has also initiated activities in many of its projects to highlight World Press Freedom Day and the importance of media freedom, independence, and professionalism.
Sincerely,
Mark G. Pomar President
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2004, IREX shares the following stories of media professionals and activities that IREX has supported in promotion of independent media. We also invite you to visit our country-by-country list of IREX activities [15] in support of World Press Freedom Day.
Perseverance in the Russian Heartland
Creating Private Newspapers from the State-owned Press in Ukraine
CCN: Changing the Face of Croatian Television
Osh Media Resource Center: Supporting Journalists in Kyrgyzstan
The Association of Journalists of Macedonia Contributes to Free and Unbiased Media Coverage of Presidential Elections
Moving Towards Freedom of Information in Kosovo
Montenegrin Media, Led by Union of Independent Electronic Media, Pushes for Implementation of Landmark Media Legislation
Vreme: Leading the Way in Training the Next Generation of Serbian Investigative Journalists
Beloruskaya Delovaya Gazeta: Preserving in Belarus
Media Unites to Protect Journalists in Bulgaria
Perseverance in the Russian Heartland
Every edition of the Toliattinskoe Obozrenie newspaper carries a banner counting the number of days since the murder of one chief editor in April 2002 and a second in October 2003—and marking the number of days that those slayings have gone unsolved. That the newspaper continues to be published five days a week is testimony to the resolve of the staff not to be silenced.
“Our journalists are not frightened,” said deputy chief editor Rimma Mikhareva. “We have not missed any issues. Right after the murder there were many calls from readers who expressed their sympathy. Now readers do not call so often … Readers feel our confidence.” Togliatti, a city of 730,000 about 700 kilometers southeast of Moscow, is famous as the home of AutoVAZ, Russia’s biggest car plant, and for being one of the most criminalized cities Russia. Six managers of mass media companies were killed in the city from 1995 to 2003, according to press freedom monitors.
In a letter to President Putin, the regional Union of Journalists called the situation “a criminal war against freedom of the press and the positions of all who protect it.” The slayings of chief editor Valery Ivanov and his friend and successor Alexei Sidorov followed their newspaper’s numerous investigations into crime and corruption in the city. On April 16, just after the six-month anniversary of Sidorov’s slaying in front of his house, the local prosecutor’s office once more prolonged the investigation for another month—as has become the regular practice in the unsolved cases.
IREX supports independent print media in Russia through the USAID-funded Russian Independent Print Media Program.
Creating Private Newspapers from the State-owned Press in Ukraine
Hundreds of newspapers in Ukraine continue to be owned by governmental bodies, which control their content—and thus the information that readers can get—as well as make it difficult for private newspapers, which are not subsidized from government budgets, to compete and thrive.
In the past year, the Ukrainian Newspaper Publishers Association (UNPA) has taken a lead role in the quest to privatize the remaining government newspapers, particularly those owned by municipal authorities. UNPA prepared a draft law on mass-media privatization, which is currently before a parliamentary committee for consideration.
But the association, whose membership is made up of independent newspapers, also has reached out to those municipally owned publications, holding 10 roundtable discussions of the benefits and problems of privatization. About 130 editors of government-owned newspapers have participated, and as a result, the attitude of many of them has changed significantly, with about half now being open to—or even strongly supporting—privatization of their newspapers.
Getting the government out of the business of publishing newspapers, and ensuring that privatization is conducted in such a way that newspapers survive and thrive under new ownership without being hijacked by political forces, is a significant step toward increased freedom of the press and freedom of information. UNPA is at the forefront of that effort in Ukraine.
IREX has worked with UNPA through the USAID-funded ProMedia Ukraine project and the USAID-funded U-Media program administered by Internews.
CCN: Changing the Face of Croatian Television
Five years ago, it was only an experiment. Nobody really believed in its survival. What had been said was: let them try, let them cover the (1999) elections, then...
But a group of dedicated journalists persevered an d did change the face of Croatian television. Turning down higher pay and less stressful work in state or politically-affiliated broadcasters, the CCN network’s core team developed the best television news in Croatia.
But the station that OSCE monitors called the “most professional” in 2000 is not alone and faces strong competition. It is not the competition that has undermined CCN; it is rather CCN that has changed the competition. Winning numerous awards from the Croatian media community for outstanding news, CCN set the example of the type of news citizens could and should expect. The competition had to respond.
Now nearly 50 journalists trained in CCN are working throughout Croatian media. They joined CCN as young, inexperienced journalists in a harsh, almost hostile environment. They developed into professionals and will be the backbone of the Croatian journalism for the next 20, or even 30, years.
IREX supported the development of the CCN network through the USAID-funded ProMedia Croatia project.
Osh Media Resource Center: Supporting Journalists in Kyrgyzstan
On February 4, 2004, at approximately 3:00 am, two unidentified masked men broke into the office of the Osh Media Resource Center (OMRC) and assaulted a security guard protecting the premises. OMRC is a civic association of over 120 journalists founded in 1995 with the mission of supporting and strengthening the independent media sector in southern Kyrgyzstan.
Security guard Hosanbai Hodjamberdievich, on duty the night of February 4, was beaten and tied up with adhesive tape. Hodjamberdievich reported: “At about 3:00, I heard some noise and thought that it was somebody who had stayed late at the office and went to check it out. In the corridor, I found two men in masks, who began to beat me with something hard. Then they threw me on the floor and began to threaten, ‘we will show them, those journalists who write about us constantly, especially that Russian guy with a moustache.’”
Only one journalist at the OMRC matches that description—Alexei Sukhov, editor of OMRC’s website www.fergana.org [16]. For six years, Sukhov worked for the independent Bishkek-based newspaper Respublika, which was beleaguered by a high level of interference by the state as a result of regular publication of articles critical of the Akayev administration. OMRC reports that there has been no information from authorities on the present state of the investigation.
IREX has supported the Osh Media Resource Center with private funding and through the US Department of State, Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
The Association of Journalists of Macedonia Contributes to Free and Unbiased Media Coverage of Presidential Elections
The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) played a key role in creating a peaceful atmosphere that kept media bias of the recent April 14 presidential elections to a minimum. The OSCE and other international observers declared the first round of Macedonia’s snap presidential elections to be generally calm. The OSCE reports: “The media provided extensive and generally unbiased coverage of electoral issues.”
Following the tragic death of President Boris Trajkovski on February 26, the AJM rapidly set up a countrywide tour to inform journalists about relevant laws and the role of the media during elections. Seminars were held from March 16 to 19 in AJM’s six regional centers (Bitola, Kumanovo, Tetovo, Ohrid, Strumica and Stip) as well as in Skopje on March 22. A panel of local and international expert journalists led the seminars. The AJM’s general secretary, Robert Popovski, moderated the meetings. Key laws and responsibilities were outlined, such as the media’s obligations during the 24-hour election silence period, as well as how to provide citizens with real information and deal with the issues behind the elections.
Each of the six regional centers was established as a communication center linked to the AJM’s head office in Skopje. Each center provided access to a media lawyer to advise journalists and editors on their rights and obligations. The regional centers successfully ensured the immediate reporting of incidents involving intimidation of local journalists to the main office in Skopje, which in turn would alert election officials and the national media. In one case, the Kumanovo regional center intervened when unknown people tried to prevent a TV Festa crew from reporting in the village of Opae. Election board officials were quickly notified and the crew was allowed to continue its work.
The AJM’s preparations were well publicized leading up to election day, with AJM representatives appearing on all major broadcasters and many leading daily papers, including the dominant Dnevnik and Utrinski Vesnik. That publicity may well have contributed to the fact that incidents of intimidation were so low in number. The AJM will provide the same media support system in the second round of the presidential elections on April 28, 2004.
IREX supports Macedonian independent media, including organizations such as the AJM, through the USAID-funded ProMedia/Regional program.
Moving Towards Freedom of Information in Kosovo
When Koha Ditore investigative journalist Fatmire Terrdevci requested documents from the Ferizaj municipality for her story about competitive bidding, she hit a brick wall. There was nothing in Kosovo law that compelled public officials to provide the documents. “I was asking the ministry of finance for weeks to see this project proposal and they never came back to me. I had no other choice than to publish my story without it.”
Today Terrdevci and other Kosovar Journalists have a way to fight back. A new freedom of information law has been passed, thanks to the efforts of a number of Kosovo NGOs and the Association of Professional Journalists of Kosovo. According to former IREX media law advisor Filoreta Bytyci, who assisted with the drafting and passage of the law, “We had a hard time persuading the Kosovo Parliament and government to finalize the draft law, and then to get UNMIK head Harry Holkeri to sign it.”
The new law specifies what documents are public and how they must be made available to journalists and others. The next step will be training journalists how to use the law and showing bureaucrats how to abide by it. It’s a learning process and a legal process that promises a new era of freedom in Kosovo’s emerging democracy. APGK, Kosovo’s journalists, and other NGOs will be at the forefront of ensuring that the law is implemented and used to promote transparency in government.
IREX supports Kosovo’s independent media sector through the USAID-funded Kosovo Independent Media Program.
Montenegrin Media, Led by Union of Independent Electronic Media, Pushes for Implementation of Landmark Media Legislation
In 2002 the Union of Independent Electronic Media (UNEM) succeeded in gaining passage of three landmark media laws that liberalized Montenegro’s media laws. Since implementation of the laws began in 2003, UNEM, cooperating with international donors, NGOs, and the Montenegrin media community, has remained at the forefront of the effort to implement the laws.
The set of three new media laws scrapped unreasonable restrictions of press freedom, provided for government-owned print media to be privatized and for reform of the state broadcaster to become a public service broadcaster, and established a truly independent broadcast regulator. Imprisonment for libel offenses was also abolished, but fines remained as punishment.
International donors in March 2004 agreed that Montenegro’s media reform was on track but needed speeding up to avoid disappointment to citizens. Participants in the conference included IREX, OSCE, the Podgorica US consulate, USAID, PressNow, the Council of Europe, the European Agency for Reconstruction, and representatives of the governments of Norway and Germany.
Regarding two major changes, namely, transforming the former state broadcaster RTCG into public service and holding the first free and fair frequency tender by the independent Broadcasting Agency (BA), the donors encouraged both organizations to take swift action. Streamlining of RTCG could now proceed at full steam with all necessary regulations and a new management in place, the donors said, adding that the RTCG council should set clear reform objectives for visible program improvement and organizational downsizing.
The donors regretted the repeated delays in the preparation for the licensing of existing and new broadcasting services by the new regulator of the broadcasting industry and called on the BA to hurry the country's first free and fair frequency auction on the basis of the nonprotectionist open skies principle.
The privatization of Pobjeda, the former state-controlled daily, was behind the schedule stipulated by the media law, and donors called for a progress report. In contrast, the transformation of local broadcasting services was nearing completion, they said.
On the self-regulation of the media and legislation on free access to information, the donors noted that efforts to achieve these objectives were well under way or were completed. They agreed that international donors should stay part of the process to translate these reforms into reality, as both processes were essential for the improvement of professional standards of journalism. The self-regulatory body in particular was encouraged to intensify its activities.
IREX supports Montenegrin media through the USAID-funded Montenegro Independent Media Program. IREX has supported UNEM and its efforts to reform media law.
Vreme: Leading the Way in Training the Next Generation of Serbian Investigative Journalists
Serbia’s leading political weekly, Vreme, has long won an unimpeachable reputation for speaking truth to power. Founded in October 1990, at the height of Slobodan Milosevic’s hold over the hearts and minds of the Serbian population, Vreme took on the then-uncontested ruler without fear or trepidation, exposing him to fearless but fair criticism.
The Milosevic era has waned, but Vreme has continued its scrutiny of authorities, regardless of the ideological colors they adhere to. A bastion of independent journalism in Serbia, two years ago it founded a Center for Investigative Journalism, a magnet for graduate students and aspiring young journalists who help the weekly’s experienced staffers research and write major stories.
The Vreme trainees are coached by the best professionals in the field, have the opportunity to get their first byline in a prestigious national publication, and, as a small but cherished bonus, are allowed to carry Vreme press passes for the remainder of the year. Vreme has now trained 58 young reporters—the next generation of investigative reporters that will work throughout Serbian media.
IREX has supported the Vreme project through the USAID-funded ProMedia Serbia program. See Vreme at www.vreme.com [17].
Beloruskaya Delovaya Gazeta: Persevering in Belarus
When the repressive government of Belarus launched another massive media crackdown last year, one of the first targets was Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta, a leading independent daily that is considered perhaps the most balanced and credible newspaper in the country.
After exhausting all its appeals in a rigged court system, Belaruskaya Delovaya Gazeta defied government orders to shut its doors for three months. Instead, publisher Pyotr Martsev and his journalists continued producing their newspaper against all obstacles, first with the help of other independent papers in Belarus and then by printing in Russia and bringing in issues across the border.
Despite having print runs seized, despite being denied access to printing presses and sales outlets, and despite wide-ranging and ongoing government harassment over the past year, Martsev and his staff have continued their struggle to produce a politically independent newspaper with trustworthy and fair reporting. Their unwavering commitment continues to make them a target in a country in which nearly every day brings fresh attacks against the free press.
IREX no longer operates in Belarus after a government of Belarus decision not to renew IREX’s registration.
Media Unites to Protect Journalists in Bulgaria
Twelve leading Bulgarian media representatives, including key newspaper publishers and editors, media lawyers, and champions of human rights and press freedom, cofounded the Help for Journalists Foundation, a voluntary fund for the protection of journalists in Bulgaria, in July 2003.
With the development of investigative journalism, Bulgarian journalists have often become the victims of harassment, institutional pressure, and, sometimes, violent attacks. Journalists working for smaller independent media outlets and media outside Sofia are the most vulnerable to such pressure. Reporters, especially those who cover the judiciary and the police or investigate corruption, are hindered in their work, have little legal protection, and often end up exercising self-censorship.
Journalists and media outlets have inadequate legal training and hardly any access to advice or defense in defamation and slander cases. The Help for Journalists Foundation
1. financially supports prosecuted or convicted journalists by covering legal fees, fines, and other relevant expenses;
2. provides legal advice and consultancy to prosecuted or convicted journalists;
3. organizes awareness activities and provides legal training to journalists;
4. carries out public campaigning to support prosecuted or convicted journalists and in favor of improving the legislation and the enforcement of the relevant laws.
The IREX/ProMedia Broadcast Training Center supported the founding of the organization, and together with its Bulgarian partners, like the Association of Bulgarian Broadcasters and the Bulgarian Media Coalition, the Center is upholding this endeavor by providing the legal training to reporters, helping them avoid charges for libel or defamation, and providing legal support to prosecuted journalists. The Center also plans to train reporters how to avoid violent attacks and how to protect themselves against institutional pressure and intimidation.
The ProMedia Bulgaria project is supported by USAID and implemented by IREX.