Journalists as targets of hate
Click to read the article in Turkish
In recent years, the issues of journalist safety and impunity for criminal offences against journalists have become critically important in Central and Southeast Europe. The South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM) explains this as follows:
- From online harassment, of women journalists in particular, to smear campaigns and threats, physical attacks and even attempted murders, journalists face challenges that, coupled with economic and technological pressures, render the profession difficult and often dangerous.
- Many of those offences are motivated by hate and often unfold as part of wider hate narratives.
- While those narratives tend to revolve around victims' identity and/or affiliation, they nearly always serve identifiable political and/or business interests.
- The prevalence of hate in public discourse, coupled with impunity for most hate crimes, undermines public trust in general, trust in the media in particular. In turn, for journalists to work in hateful environments means working in conditions of continuously compromised safety.
- Compromised safety negatively impacts all aspects of journalists' work, even if they are not targeted personally.
Accordingly, with the online event "Journalists as Targets of Hate" organized in collaboration with the IFEX, SEENPM member organizations aim to examine the impact of hate campaigns on the position of journalists and ways in which hate could be successfully countered.
The event will take place on Friday 2 July from 13:30 – 16:30 CET. The language of the event is English.
Three thematic panels on hate and media
Event Program
- 13:30 - 14:20 Hate narratives and media trust
Keynote: Anida Sokol, Mediacentar Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Panelists:
- Nazan Özcan, bianet, Turkey
- Nataša Kovačev, N1 TV, Serbia
Moderator: Brankica Petković, Mirovni Inštitut, Slovenia
- 14:20 - 14:30 Break
- 14:30 - 15:20 Navigating hateful environments - consequences for journalists' safety and independence
Keynote: Jovana Gligorijević, Vreme, Serbia
Panelists:
- Una Hajdari, freelance journalist, Kosovo
- Miroslava Byrns, Sloboden Pečat, North Macedonia
Moderator: Elvira Jukić-Mujkić, Mediacentar Sarajevo, Bosnia
- 15:20 - 15:30 Break
- 15:30 - 16:30 Confronting hate speech
Keynote: Federico Faloppa, University of Reading, United Kingdom
Panelists:
- Vesna Alaburić, Lawyer, Croatia
- Helena Mandić, Communications Regulatory Agency, Bosnia
Moderator: Saša Leković, Fažana Media Fest, Croatia
(PT/SD)