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SEEMF 2021: LESSONS LEARNED IN THE PANDEMIC: better communication, conquering disinformation, standing up for quality journalism in South East and Central Europe

by Ralitsa Stoycheva
3-4 November 2021

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Conquering disinformation in times of crisis, communication between media and government as well as pressure on journalists and SLAPP cases were among the most important topics discussed in the 15. South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF) on 3. and 4. November in Belgrade. Around 150 participants – Journalists, Media experts, Politicians and NGO-representatives, came to this year’s Conference. The Media Programme South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is hosting this media event every year together with the South East European Media Organisation (SEEMO) and the Central European Initiative (CEI).

This year’s SEEMF was conducted under the topic “LESSONS LEARNED IN THE PANDEMIC: better communication, conquering disinformation, standing up for quality journalism in South East and Central Europe”. The Forum was opened by Oliver Vujovic, Secretary General of SEEMO, Hendrik Sittig, Head of the KAS-Media Programme, and Barbara Fabro, CEI. “Media is still alive – despite Corona! I would say: Media is more alive than ever. Especially in these times of crisis citizens must receive correct information. Journalists and media play therefore a vital role”, said Hendrik Sittig. “In the current context serious and reliable media are even more important as the current pandemic is also an “infodemic” where a lot of false information is spread.”. There was also a video welcome by Noel Curran, General Director of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and on the second day by Vera Jourova, Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency.

Slavica Trifunovic, representative of the Ministry of Culture and Information of Serbia, took part in the opening of the Forum. She highlighted the Action Plan for the Strategy for the Development of the Public Information System for the period from 2020 to 2025.

 

“Every government has the desire to influence media”

Traditionally the opening panel was dedicated to the media and politics in Serbia. Moderated by Veran Matic, Chairman of the Commission for investigating and killing of journalists in Serbia, the discussion underlined the current developments, developments and deficits in the field of media. Central point of the debate was the dynamics of the communication between media and government representatives. According to most of the panelists, currently one of the biggest problems in Serbia was the preferences of government officials to have interviews with only selected journalists. Furthermore, Gordana Predic, a special advisor at the Ministry on Culture and Information of Serbia, expressed the opinion that “every government has the desire to influence media”. Yet, it was highlighted that one of the conclusions from the discussion is the key role of the media as guardian of the public interest.

 

On the second day of the Forum, the discussion was divided into three main panels. First, how could the dialogue between journalists and decision makers be better as well as the tendencies of one-sided communication. As a logical continuation of the panel in day one, the panelists highlighted the polarization – not only in the region but also globally, and also not only regarding media, but also among societies. Further, media were described as mirrors to society and as serving the public rather than the ruling elites. A panel conducted to disinformation and fake news in times of global crisis followed. According to some participants, often times people don’t want to be listening to facts. Moreover, they agreed that the current COVID crisis showed the speed and volume of disinformation. Thus, nowadays many people speak not only of pandemic but for infodemic as well.

The last panel of the forum was dealing with the persistent and diverse pressure on investigative journalists. The economic dependence of the media as well as some other factors make media representatives more vulnerable to pressure and (self-)censorship. Some panelists said that investments in quality journalism are urgently needed but yet there are not sufficient funds. In this sense, they said that the pandemic also accelerated the tendency that the business model of the media is falling apart – it cannot be sustainable by only using crowdfunding. On the other hand, private investments in media tend to through shadow over the transparency thus, influencing the objectivity of media. Yet, people are searching for more credible media. Therefore, freedom of media cannot be negotiated nor rejected. A main problem remains – there is an increase of hate speech and propaganda and the pandemic makes it more difficult for journalists to defend their rights. The panelist concluded that journalists and media do not have a better partner than the public. In this regard, the key quote of the discussion was “If asked to be silent, be louder.”.

A special place in this year’s SEEMF took the wake-up talk dedicated to the Immersive Journalism and Virtual Reality. According to the speaker Christianne Wittenbecher, by using VR technologies when sharing a story, the journalists would be able to not only present the story, but to make it livable for the public. “If you don’t feel it, you won’t remember it.” turned out to be an appropriate slogan. 

Finally, the organizers announced that the SEEMF will take place in Sarajevo next year.

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