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Central regional conference of the SEE Media Observatory. “ Media and journalism in South East Europe – Captured by particular interests or turning to serve the public?” Tirana, 12-13 June 2014. Session 5.
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Central regional conference of the SEE MediaObservatory “Media and journalism in South East Europe – Captured by particular interests or turning to serve the public?” Tirana, 12-13 June 2014
Session 5 • Journalists - Victims or constituents of structures and relations which obstruct democratic role of the media? • Presentationbyspeaker: Balazs Weyer, President, HungarianEditors Forum, Budapest
Public • The trusttowardsjournalism is athistoricallow (since 1990) • The expectationstowardsjournalismarelaw • Don’tbelieve the media • Seeitas a part of the establishment and the polarizedpoliticalfield • is itselfpolarized, disillusionedorignorant • won’tvalue the media • won’tpayforjournalism
Owners • Ownerswith a transparentmissiongraduallyreplacedbyoligarchs and otherownerswithshadymotivations • Can’tmakemuchmoneyany more sotheyusetosupportotherkinds of businesses • Ownership is growinglyintransparent (strawmen) • woulddo almost anythingforrevenues, more thanbefore • arevulnerablethemselves • haveshorttermsurvivalstrategies
Advertisers • Arevulnerablethemselves • Follow the government’sadvertisingpatterns • Seekgoodtermswith the government • Want the chinesewallbetweenadvertising and editorialcontentbeendemolished • Increasinglyspendonnon-journalisticmedia, likeFacebook, Google, events, etc. • wouldtakeadvantage of media’svulnerability
Government/regulator • Makeslawstomakemedia more vulnerablebothlegally and financially • Becomes an ever more importantadvertiser • distinguishesbetweenfriendly and non-friendly (meaningindependentandreallynon-friendly) media • Managespublicmediaasown • Putspressureonindependent and non-friendlymediatowithholdstories • Usesadvertisingagencies and middlementosendmessagestonewsrooms
Don’tbelieveinthemselves, aren’tproudto be one • Areincreasinglypolarized • Valueopinion over facts, personalityovermediabrands, speedoveraccuracy • Don’torganizethemselves, no unions, nosolidarity • Lackjobsecurity • Don’ttrustanyone, includingeachother • Don’tfindtheirjobrewarding • Don’thave a longtermvision(defensivestrategies) • Areunderallkinds of pressure • Journalists