ZAGREB, Nov 28 (Hina) - The Council of Europe's media department and the Zagreb-based Institute for International Relations (IMO) on Friday organised a round-table discussion on the promotion of media pluralism and the limiting of
monopoly and media ownership concentration.
ZAGREB, Nov 28 (Hina) - The Council of Europe's media department and
the Zagreb-based Institute for International Relations (IMO) on
Friday organised a round-table discussion on the promotion of media
pluralism and the limiting of monopoly and media ownership
concentration. #L#
The event was held at Zagreb's Journalists' House under the title
"Challenges and Prospects for Media Diversity and Pluralism:
Concentration Control and Transparency".
Participants in the discussion said that the media in European
countries, Croatia included, were no longer exposed to pressure by
authorities and politicians, but that their autonomy was
increasingly threatened by monopoly and the concentration of media
ownership in the hands of some corporations.
Opening the discussion, Culture Minister Antun Vujic said that the
main problem of media independence was the pressure exerted on
journalists by their employers and different interest groups.
Vujic believes that this is a more complex problem than the need to
separate the media from politics. He also pointed to the need for
the journalistic profession to accomplish internal autonomy.
Vujic said that the Croatian legislation significantly protected
the independence of the media and the journalistic profession,
especially through laws on the media and electronic media and the
Law on Croatian Television.
The head of the IMO's culture and communications department,
Zrinjka Perusko, said the basic way to protect media pluralism was
the restriction of ownership concentration and the prevention of
monopoly, as well as direct and indirect media subsidising.
An advisor with the media department of the Council of Europe, Mario
Oetheimer, said that the EU member-countries had not managed to
reach agreement on obligatory measures for media pluralisation,
and that they had given recommendations which encouraged media
transparency and limited media ownership concentration.
Oetheimer believes that media pluralisation should be ensured
through monitoring by independent agencies and the provision of
financial assistance.
(hina) rml