A free press is a bedrock of a free society.
When journalists are free to report accurately, honestly, and impartially, the truth thrives, disinformation crumbles, and democracy is strengthened for all of us.
Yet in the Western Balkans, reporting the truth is easier said than done.
Much of the region’s media is a mouthpiece for powerful political and business elites. The upshot is a news environment riddled with disinformation, which threatens the very fabric of democracy.
When people are exposed to manufactured fear and manipulated facts, trust in the media erodes, elections lose their integrity, civic engagement can transform into blind rage, and the foundations of our societies crumble under the weight of lies.
That’s why ARTICLE 19 is working with journalists across the Western Balkans to counter fake news and defend the truth.
Below, the winners of our Ethical Journalism Awards 2024 share their experiences of reporting in the region, the struggles they face, and why ethical journalism is the key to unlocking a freer, fairer future for us all.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abusing the law to silence journalists
Dragan Makismović, a journalist living and working in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), won an Ethical Journalism Award for his investigation into the social and environmental impacts of coal exploitation in Medna, a village in the municipality of Mrkonjić Grad.
Read Dragan's award-winning story
Yet across the region, it is becoming increasingly difficult for journalists to undertake this kind of investigative work – especially when, as in Dragan’s award-winning story, it exposes the wrongdoings of big business.
Last year, defamation was criminalised in Republika Srpska (one of the two entities that makes up BiH), a move that Dragan describes as ‘the first step towards total control over the media and civil society’.
The authorities are also seeking to adopt a so-called ‘foreign agents law’, which will enable them to target non-profit organisations and journalists who receive foreign funding. This could have devastating effects, Dragan told us in June 2024 on a week-long study trip awarded to all the winning journalists.
Dragan Makismović
Dragan Makismović
Serbia
Safe houses and smear campaigns
Our Serbia winner, Ivana Milosavljević, was awarded for her exposé of a large secret call centre set up by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to illegally sway voters in the December 2023 elections.
Through this undercover investigation – the first of its kind in Serbia – Ivana and her co-authors, Teodora Ćurčić and Vladamir Kostić, uncovered a scheme involving vote-buying, the misuse of citizens' personal data, and unidentified sources of money.
Read Ivana's award-winning story
At an ARTICLE 19 event in London, Ivana revealed that, when working on her award-winning article, she left her home and stayed in a safe house until the post-publication controversy died down.
Unfortunately, Ivana's fears are entirely understandable. Too often, rampant disinformation and attacks against journalists go hand in hand.
Journalists in Serbia are regularly targeted by smear campaigns, including strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), with the intention of silencing them.
Ivana Milosavljević
Ivana Milosavljević
Montenegro
No justice for murdered journalists
Djurdja Radulović won an Ethical Journalism Award for her story about Montenegro health clinics offering hymenoplasty: an unnecessary, harmful, and sexist surgical procedure in which the hymen is reconstructed so that women can ‘prove’ their virginity on their wedding night.
Read Djurdja's award-winning story
In an exclusive op-ed for ARTICLE 19, Djurdja explores the ongoing problem of impunity for violence against journalists in Montenegro – like the murder of Duško Jovanović, the chief editor and owner of the newspaper Dan, which at the turn of the millennium reported on organised crime involving cigarette smuggling.
Many of these attacks took place under the three-decade rule of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). Yet while the situation has improved – in recent years, there have been almost no physical attacks against journalists – these historical crimes remain unsolved.
Djurdja Radulović
Djurdja Radulović
Kosovo
Women journalists doxxed, threatened, and harassed
Dardan Hoti won an Ethical Journalism Award for his story about image-based sexual abuse in Kosovo, produced with co-author Aulonë Kadriu.
Read Dardan and Aulonë's award-winning story
In an op-ed co-sponsored by ARTICLE 19, the authors explore the challenges facing women journalists. They highlight the cases of 3 female journalists who faced doxxing, threats, and harassment – including 2 whose phone numbers were published in a Telegram group in which men shared intimate images of girls and women, as retaliation for reporting about that group.
That’s why, the journalists write, ‘it is impossible to have a discussion about the state of journalism without integrating a feminist approach’.
In their op-ed, the authors suggest how this can be done – starting in the newsroom.
We agree that an intersectional feminist approach is needed to enhance the safety of all women journalists, everywhere.
Dardan Hoti and Aulonë Kadriu
Dardan Hoti and Aulonë Kadriu
What’s next for journalism in the Western Balkans?
In a climate of disinformation perpetrated by both foreign and domestic actors, alongside the rise of clickbait, public distrust towards journalists and the media is increasing and the independent media’s ability to flourish is stunted.
It's clear that structural change is needed.
Discussions about Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina joining the EU are currently underway. Joining the EU would mean having to abide by the Anti-SLAPPs Directive and European Media Freedom Act, enabling civil society and journalists to hold their governments accountable for press freedom.
But journalists in the Western Balkans can’t wait.
The challenges explored by our award winners are already causing great damage – not just to the media, but to democracy itself.
As Dragan, our winner from BiH, explains:
‘[The authorities] target investigative journalists and those who uphold professional and ethical standards in journalism. ... Currently, there is no critical mass within the profession to counteract the descent into the clickbait culture that most have succumbed to.’
Civil society and journalists must unite to create this critical mass.
Now more than ever, the Western Balkans needs beacons of light – like the winners of our Ethical Journalism Awards – to dispel the darkness of disinformation and build a brighter future.
That’s why ARTICLE 19 has launched #CheckItFirst: a new campaign to promote ethical journalism and prevent fake news in the Western Balkans.
We are working alongside journalists and media professionals to improve the accuracy of news reporting and boost media literacy among the public in the region.
Because when journalists are free to create media that is accurate, honest, and impartial, they build a landscape where disinformation crumbles, truth thrives, and democracy flourishes.
(Photo: Mr TACT HILL/Shutterstock)
(Photo: Mr TACT HILL/Shutterstock)
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