07. 03. 2014

INDEPENDENCE OF MEDIA REGULATORS AT ODDS WITH LAWS

07. 03. 2014 (NUNS; by Svetozar Rakovic) - In the countries of the region in recent years changes of laws have been diminishing the independence of regulatory bodies in the field of broadcasting, the regional conference "Indicators of independence of media regulatory bodies" warned, held on 6-7 March in Tirana and organized by the Council of Europe (CoE).

At the conference it was recommended to governments and parliaments of the states in the region to improve conditions for the unhindered functioning of independent regulators in the field of broadcast media.

Conference "Indicators of independence of media regulatory bodies" brought together more than 60 representatives of parliaments, governments, independent regulatory bodies, media and journalists' associations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo.

Kristina Irion, expert from the University of Amsterdam, pointed out that there is no accepted methodology for measuring the formal ("de jure") and real ("de facto") independence of regulatory bodies. However, according to her, it is obvious that the real independence of regulators depends on the expertise and the authority of the members of executive organs of regulators, their fluctuation, dependence on the parliamentary elections, competitiveness of the media markets... The basic dimensions of formal and actual independence of regulatory bodies are: the status and authority; financial independence; autonomy of decision-making; professionalism, transparency and accountability.

Snezana Trpevska, professor at the Skopje High School of Journalism, presented an analysis of the independence of broadcasting regulatory bodies in Macedonia. This research has shown that there is a large gap between the formal and the real independence of the Macedonian regulator - the Agency for Electronic Media. In particular, there is a large gap between the normative and practical financial independence.

Trpevska believes that the situation is more or less similar in other countries, and that there is a common problem in that regulators themselves in their work and implementation of legislation do not recognize the public interest.

It was pointed out in the discussion that in the last ten years the field of regulation of broadcast media has certainly improved in all countries of the region, but that problems do remain in practice. Different interests, particularly the influence of political and economic centers of power, continue to pose major challenges for the media and regulators themselves. It was noticed that in recent years the changes in the laws bring into question the first, major advances in the regulation of broadcasting and the work of regulatory bodies.