Mass media in Kosovo
[7] A law on the protection of journalistic sources was passed in 2013 by the Kosovo parliament, based on Belgian standards, deemed among the most advanced in Europe.
Each ministry has an official that is tasked with dealing with access requests, though implementation is uneven and overloaded courts are not a viable avenue for redress.
The 2013 Code of the Press Council of Kosovo includes guidelines for online journalism, e.g. on responsibility for monitoring and control over published materials.
[4]: 32 The main issue with Kosovo's legislation, rather than its broad alignment with EU standards, is its uneven implementation, due to the lack of experience of the policy and judiciary and the challenges of interpreting a fragmented anc growing corpus of laws.
It defines a journalist as "each natural or legal person, who is engaged regularly or professionally to contribute directly in the gathering, editing, production and dissemination of information to the public through the media".
Investigative journalism is mostly lacking, as journalists end up reporting on protocol news, and no media has dedicated lawyers.
[4]: 34 Self-censorship is on the rise, due to the "permeability of editorial independence in the face of advertisers, political pressure through the close links between media owners and politicians and the global dwindling media revenues, particularly in the written press", according to the Kosovo NGO INDEP[10] Although several journalists' associations exist, there is no officially recognised professional trade union.
[10] Private print and broadcast media have to register with the Kosovo Business Registration Agency and disclose their ownership structure.
[4]: 33 Although ownership transparency rules are effective, the real backers of several print media remain opaque.
Dependence on big advertisers - particularly the public or state-owned ones - often leads media to self-censorship when their interests are at stake.
[4]: 33 In the analysis of advertising market in the Republic of Kosovo by Independent Media Commission[13] 44% of the budget of public companies goes for advertisements in national televisions, 10% in local televisions, 8% in national radios, 9% in local radios, 11% for daily newspapers and 18% for other media.
political party (including the annual meeting of the ruling Kosovo Democratic Party) as opposed to the short and misleading coverage of opposition Vetvendosje 2012 protests, which was deemed "a major signal of state financing putting the editorial independence of public television at risk" (IREX, 2013b).
Political pressures aside, RTK maintains an untapped potential thanks to good equipment and professional editors and journalists.
[10] They include: Express, a newspaper best known for its front page on the day when Kosovo declared independence, since March 22, 2013 exists only online.
According to OSCE[18] there are between 25.000-35.000 copies sold every day, which is a low number compared with Kosovo's population (around 2 million).
[34] As IREX[12] points out, web news portals are constantly becoming more useful and attractive, in proportion with the growing of the internet usage.
[26] The Independent Media Commission regulates the range of broadcasting frequencies in the Republic of Kosovo and other related issues.
The new IMC Board Chairman failed to disclose its previous activities in local government, which would have disqualified him from eligibility.
The organisation recorded the persistence of political interference, financial pressures, and high media ownership concentration.
[43]: 21 The Kosovo interior minister Bajram Rexhepi told HRW in 2014 that they take crimes against journalists seriously and that the police is doing a good job, shifting the blame towards prosecutors and the judiciary.
[43]: 23 The police told HRW that they do not differentiate among victims, but that cases involving vulnerable groups (journalists, children, women, minorities) are treated as priority.
[1] "Political intimidation can thrive" in Kosovo, the OSCE concluded in June 2014, due to the small size of the country and the dependency of media professionals on public employment.
[52] The public service broadcaster RTK is particularly vulnerable to direct and indirect political interference, often seen as "a mouthpiece of the government".
[55] In the 2016 progress report, the European Commission (EC) expressed worries about the lack of transparency regarding media ownership in Kosovo.
[56] The implementation of measures to provide for transparent information on media ownership is among the recommendations made by the EC for the years to come.
[58] If in the case of print media, the owners are de facto largely known due to the fact that they publish information about ownership and editorial staff, and to the small size of the market and social interaction, this does not apply to electronic media which sector lacks proper regulation resulting in the complete lack of registration and of information on ownership, finances and human resources.
[59] According to some experts, this has contributed to an environment enabling fictive online portals to be established as political propaganda tools and to exert pressure on professional media outlets.
[60] The television and broadcast sector also remains heavily problematic in terms of media ownership transparency.
This, together with direct and indirect political and financial pressures and interference,[62] creates repercussions on journalist and editors, with overall issues for the independence of the media sector.
[6] Afërdita Saraçini-Kelmendi, her husband Florin Kelmendi, and her brother Eugen Saraçini, controls Company 21, owning TV21, Radio 21 and other media outlets.
