The Media Council for Self-Regulation congratulates the media and the journalists on the Journalists' Day in Montenegro.
Nevertheless, we do not welcome this date as a holiday for the profession, but above all as a reminder of the deep and long-lasting crisis in which journalism in Montenegro is. Instead of an environment that would enable free, safe and dignified work, journalists continue to work in conditions of constant insecurity, political pressure and economic uncertainty. Attacks on the media are getting normalized, relativized or reduced to alleged political conflicts, thereby erasing their real weight and consequences.
Data from the Media Union of Montenegro show that there was no substantial improvement during 2025. There were recorded 28 attacks and threats against media workers, making this year one of the worst in the last decade. It is of our particular concern the fact that in most cases the targets were female journalists, exposed to continuous harassment, threats, sexist attacks and online lynching. Violence against female journalists in Montenegro is no longer a sporadic phenomenon, but a recognizable and systemic problem.
It is additionally worrying that a significant part of the pressure comes from public office holders and political officers. When high officials publicly target, discredit or insult journalists and the media, it is not a matter of freedom of expression, but an open abuse of political power. Such behavior directly threatens the safety of journalists, encourages new attacks and sends the message that professional journalism is a legitimate target. A society in which political power creates fear among journalists cannot be considered democratic.
The economic position of journalists remains one of the weakest pillars of media freedom. The wages in the media are still below the national average, labour rights are insufficiently protected, and the media industry is still without a sectoral collective agreement. The European Commission clearly recognizes these problems, but despite this, there is a lack of political will to systematically change the situation. The economic insecurity of journalists today is one of the most subtle, but also the most dangerous forms of pressure on media freedom.
A special challenge for journalism in Montenegro is the growing influence of organized disinformation campaigns and foreign interests, which take advantage of political polarization, institutional weakness and a decline in trust in the media. The spread of manipulative narratives, conspiracy theories and coordinated disinformation, especially through the digital space and social networks, aims to undermine trust in professional media, relativize facts and discredit journalists working in the public interest.
The fight against disinformation must not be an excuse for restricting freedom of expression, nor an alibi for institutional inaction. The answer must be based on strengthening professional and responsible media, transparency of ownership and financing, development of media literacy and clearly defined responsibility of digital platforms, in accordance with European standards of media freedom.
Institutional instability further erodes confidence in the system. Obstruction of the election of members of the Council of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services, open questions related to the management of the public service RTCG and continuous attempts to influence the regulatory bodies by politics clearly show that the independence of media institutions is still not sufficiently protected.
In such an environment, self-regulation remains one of the rare mechanisms for preserving professional standards and public interest. However, self-regulation cannot and must not be a substitute for state responsibility. Without clear, consistent and unambiguous protection of journalists, without an end to the practice of political targeting and without real improvement of working and economic conditions, any declarative support for media freedom remains an empty form.
The Media Council for Self-Regulation says that the attack on the journalist is not a private incident, but an attack on the public's right to know. The normalization of threats, the relativization of violence, the tolerance of misinformation and the political trade in media freedoms represent a direct threat to the democratic order.
The Journalists' Day in Montenegro must not be just a symbolic date, but a moment of serious confrontation with the responsibility of those who have the power to change the situation - and who too often use that power against the media, instead of protecting them.
Ranko Vujović
Executive Secretary
Media Council for Self-Regulation
