OSIJEK OSIJEK, May 27 (Hina) - President of the Croatian Journalists' Society (HND) Dragutin Lucic said at a round-table conference on the freedom of the media in Osijek on Tuesday that freedom of the press was a precondition for
other liberties. However, he added, the media must not take freedom to mean anarchy or the power to do what they wanted, but realise that freedom also entailed responsibility.
OSIJEK, May 27 (Hina) - President of the Croatian Journalists'
Society (HND) Dragutin Lucic said at a round-table conference on
the freedom of the media in Osijek on Tuesday that freedom of the
press was a precondition for other liberties. However, he added,
the media must not take freedom to mean anarchy or the power to do
what they wanted, but realise that freedom also entailed
responsibility. #L#
At a round-table entitled "Freedom of and Manipulation of the
Media" that was organised by several Osijek non-government
organisations, Lucic said that a dispute between the public's right
to information and the right to protect one's privacy still existed
in Croatia.
"The biggest problem in Croatian media is the lack of adequate self-
regulation and the issue of professional ethics. Efforts are being
invested in this regard, but changes are occurring slowly," Lucic
said.
He assessed that Croatia was still lagging behind most developed
countries as far as freedom of the press was concerned, but was
ahead of other countries in transition with the exception of
Slovenia.
(hina) sp lml