The footage of yesterday’s murder in Podgorica, published in full by the IN4S portal, along with screenshots showing the perpetrator holding a firearm and aiming at the victim, represents the crudest form of sensationalist journalism.
This act violates numerous provisions of both the Code of Journalists and the Media Law of Montenegro. Ethical boundaries have been crossed, the right to privacy has been breached, and the media space has once again been turned into a platform for voyeurism, morbid curiosity, and the exploitation of suffering.
With this publication, IN4S has demonstrated a complete disregard for the victim, her family, and the general public.
This exploitation of tragedy — aimed solely at attracting clicks, views, and likes — demeans the journalistic profession, reflects a lack of editorial policy and moral awareness, and amounts to the monetization of death.
The Media Law of Montenegro clearly stipulates that the media must not publish content that violates human dignity, provokes public anxiety, or infringes on the right to privacy — particularly in cases of tragic events. By publishing this video, these legal provisions have been directly violated.
The Code of Journalists has also been grossly disregarded. It explicitly prohibits the publication of graphic violence, especially when it does not serve the public interest but rather caters to sensationalism and the exploitation of human suffering. The media must not subject victims and their families to secondary victimization through the irresponsible portrayal of death.
The Media Council for Self-Regulation believes that this act has violated the professional integrity of journalism and has caused further, irreparable pain to the victim’s family — who, on top of their loss, must now endure the fact that the death of their loved one is available for public viewing, comment, and sharing.
In a civilized society, the media have a duty to protect human dignity, not to participate in its degradation. By publishing such content, certain portals and social media users have turned death into a spectacle.
We call on all media outlets to refrain from further dissemination of this video, to remove the published content, and — when reporting on such tragic events — to do so with full respect for the victim, her family, and the public.
We especially emphasize that the video remains publicly available on the IN4S portal, which highlights the inability of the relevant institutions to regulate such content. This further undermines public trust in the security and regulatory systems, spreads a sense of insecurity, and negatively impacts citizens’ mental health — concerns experts have been warning about for years.
The greatest danger lies in the desensitization of the public — in the normalization of brutality and the gradual erosion of the moral and ethical values that this society claims to uphold.
Ranko Vujović
Executive Secretary
Media Council for Self-Regulation
