Author: birnEU

IPI Congress and SEEMO Regional Conference in Belgrade in June

Gordana Igric, BIRN’s regional network director will moderate the opening session of the South East European Media Organisation’s, SEEMO, regional conference entitled “Media, Marketing and Business” which will take place on June 18 in Belgrade.

The session will be devoted to “Political influence, ownership, regulation and editorial independence: Opportunities for developing professional journalism and high quality content,” and participants will include some of the leading media professionals from the region and abroad – Veran Matic, Zeljko Ivanovic, Nadezda Gace, Sandra Bašić Hrvatin and Aidan White.

The SEEMO conference will be organised as a regional gathering on the margins of the International Press Institute, IPI World Congress and General Assembly which will take place from 14 to 17 June in Belgrade.

The IPI Congress, which this year will be hosted by Belgrade’s Media Centre, is an exceptional opportunity for Serbian and regional media experts to exchange views and experience with leading editors, managers, journalists and world opinion makers.

To register for any of these events, the SEEMO regional conference and the IPI congress, please visit www.mediacenter.org.yu or apply here.

BIRN prepares Pristina Insight

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network is finalising a new project in Kosovo – an English-language newspaper entitled Pristina Insight.

After the successful publication of Belgrade Insight, this newspaper comes as BIRN continues in its effort to promote self sustainability.

A special edition of the paper will be printed and distributed free on June 15, when Kosovo’s constitution enters into force and when the European Union’s new law and order mission, EULEX, begins speeding up its deployment in Kosovo.

The 16-page newspaper will contain Balkan Insight produced news and analysis from Kosovo and the region, accompanied with a guide of Kosovo must-sees, the best hang-outs as well as reviews, commentary and insider’s tips on how to make the most of your stay there.

This Thursday, Life in Kosovo debates on the Kosovo official holidays

The current-affairs televised show Life in Kosovo will discuss this Thursday about the official holidays and other laws that were a required part of the Ahtisaari package.

How many holidays does Kosovo have and how many does it need?
Should also November 28 be an official holiday or only February 17 – the day when Kosovo declared Independence? How do the Kosovo MP’s and civil society representatives? Why was there too much ado by the side of those deputies who initially voted pro Ahtisaari package?

Government representatives, Assembly deputies as well as members of civil society and journalists will be discussing on these and other related issues.

Life in Kosovo is a co-production between Kosovo Public Television, RTK, and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN. The show is broadcast every Thursday, starting from 20:15

Romanian Fellow Awarded

Magda Munteanu, Romanian Fellow of the Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence, on May 27 won the prize for “Best Financial Journalism” in a contest organised by the Romanian Press Club.

Magda was awarded for an investigation “Behind ARLO’s gate”, which looked into the main Romanian aluminum smelter, owned by a Russian company. The investigation was published by Romanian Business Week news magazine.

Cezar Ion, the president of the jury praised Magda’s investigation as having been written according to Anglo-Saxon journalism standards.

On her part, Magda said: “I am very proud of this prize. I believe that economic reporting is still a minor journalism genre in Romania so, there, I will continue to publish such articles and to better promote them.”

Romanian Press Club is the country’s main press organisation.

BIRN Holds Annual Network Board Meeting

The board of the regional Network held its annual meeting in Skopje between 19 to 22 May to discuss results achieved in 2007 as well as further development of the Network and its member organisations.

On the first day of the meeting, Gordana Igric, Regional Network Director, presented the regional organisation’s annual activity; directors of member organisations presented their activities and plans for the following period.

BIRN regional also presented the impact of the self-sustainability strategy launched in November 2007, with further options for development of commercial activities of the Network.

Representatives of member organisations adopted the annual report as well as several decisions on the future activities of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.

BIRN Launches Belgrade Insight Newspaper

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network has launched a new project under plans to promote our self sustainability.

In order to fill in the need for an English-language newspaper in the region, we have launched a weekly newspaper entitled, Belgrade Insight.

The pilot issue was published as a special edition ahead of the Eurovision song contest held in Belgrade. The newspaper contained an overview of the Eurovision contest, the participants, as well as a guide through Belgrade sights, night life and the latest news and analysis from Serbian political and economic life.

The newspaper will be distributed free of charge in Belgrade on a weekly basis, with the first issue to be published soon.

To view and download the pilot of Belgrade Insight follow this link :
http://www.birn.eu.com/apps/Belgrade_Insight_Special_Edition.zip

BIRN held workshop on investigative reporting in Tirana

The group comprised reporters who have become regular BIRN contributors. Participants in the workshop included journalists from the dailies Koha Jone, Korrieri, Shqip, and Albania, MAPO magazine and the TV stations News24 and Top News.

The workshop was conducted by BIRN Executive Director Gordana Igric, BIRN Kosovo Editor Krenar Gashi and BIRN Albania Editor Besar Likmeta.

Special attention was given to the issues of sources and interviews – finding the right people, checking their reliability, building a network, using anonymous sources and protecting them, dealing with individuals in positions of power and confronting interviewees with relevant information and arguments.

Editors worked with journalists on the preparation of articles dealing with specific subjects, such as corruption in the health service, politicians’ declarations of wealth etc. Several investigative articles were commissioned and outlined.

The workshop was organized with the help of the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy, a private, not-for-profit foundation.

Fellows Start Three Months of International Research

On May 1, after an initial seminar in Berlin, ten journalists taking part in the 2008 programme of the Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence started their research.

Selected to pursue their own story ideas within the broad theme of ‘energy’, each of the reporters from Southeast Europe devised local, regional and European research agendas before embarking on a summer of chasing stories, sources and statistics.

Under the supervision of their individual mentors – the editors who make up the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN – they came up with a range of interesting approaches to their chosen investigations.

Fellows will have to overcome many difficulties in their pursuit for stories, and to test their organisational capabilities and adventurous spirit. This year they will travel not only to their neighboring countries and EU, but their stories will also take them to further and less known destinations such as Russia, Georgia and Abkhazia.

To learn more about their experiences and impressions read the fellows’ blogs,  and in addition you can check the fellowship gallery  for 2008.

Fellows’ reports will be published in a book and on BIRN’s Balkan Insight after the Fellowship’s Selection Committee announces the winning result in late November at a closing ceremony in Vienna.

The Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence is an initiative of the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the ERSTE Foundation, in cooperation with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.

BIRN-Justice Report editor at Global Inter-Media Dialogue

BIRN – Justice Report Editor Nidzara Ahmetasevic took part in the third conference on Global Inter-Media Dialogue. The conference was held in Bali, Indonesia, from May 6 to May 9 this year.

The theme of the Conference was “Ethical Journalism in Extreme Conditions: The Challenge of Diversity.” More than 130 journalists, editors, producers and representatives of international journalist organisations took part in this year’s Conference.

The BIRN – Justice Report Editor presented at the plenary session a talk on “Reporting on Minorities in Zones of Tension.” The focus of Ahmetasevic’s presentation was media reporting on minorities who live in Bosnia, with particular emphasis on the rights of the Roma population. Last year Justice Report published a text on “Victims – Forgotten by Everybody,” focusing on the suffering of Roma in the course of the war in Bosnia. Not much research has been invested in the subject and nobody has been tried for those crimes as yet.

This theme generated much interest by the participants. The presentation was followed by a two-hour discussion on the current state minority rights and the present political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Besides Ahmetasevic, Institute for War and Peace Reporting associate based in Afghanistan, Said Yaqub Ibrahim, gave a presentation at this session.

Media professionals from India, Afghanistan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Norway, New Zealand, Macedonia, USA among others also participated in the Conference.

The Conference was co-organised by the Governments of Indonesia and Norway, with the help from the Government of New Zealand. The Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hassan Wirajuda, and State Secretary, Wegard Harsvik, on behalf of the Norwegian Ministry for Culture and Church opened the Conference.

The dialogue, which was jointly arranged by the Government of Norway and Indonesia, was initiated in the wake of the controversy regarding the cartoon of Prophet Mohammed. The theme and agenda of this year’s Conference was determined by members of a working group, composed of media professionals from those two countries.

The first Conference was held in Bali three years ago. The second one was held in Norway last year. The Justice Report Editor was one of the speakers at that Conference.

The Conference organizers would like to encourage cooperation between journalists from all over the world and thus develop a continuous dialogue and facilitate a discussion on the issues, which are of interest to all professional journalists.

BIRN Debates Elections In Presevo

As a regional network of investigative reporting, BIRN will discuss this week about the problems and challenges in the Presevo Valley. This week, three debates will be shown both in Kosovo and Serbia, aiming to inform the citizens of Presevo Valley about the platform of the political parties who run in the parliamentary and local elections in Serbia on May 11.

Few days before local and parliamentary poll takes place, BIRN will discuss with Albanian and Serb representatives from the fields of politics, economy and civil society about the main problems of both Albanians and Serbs living in southern Serbia

Has the Presevo Valley politics a self-identity or it is influenced by Pristina and Belgrade? Do local representatives have concrete projects for bettering the life of the Valley citizens? Why isn’t there potable water yet? Are there enough investments in this region? Why are Albanian and Serb youngsters leaving the valley? What is the perspective of the youth?

The debates will be broadcast in Presevo’s ALDI TV in the last week before the elections take place, in both Albanian and Serbian languages.

In addition, the same debates will be broadcast in the Kosovo public broadcaster, RTK. The debate on local elections in Presevo will be broadcast on Wednesday, May 7, whereas the debate on local elections in Bujanoc will be broadcast on Friday at 23:15.

The debate on parliamentary elections in Serbia and accountability of the local Albanian politicians towards their electorate will be broadcast on Thursday, May 8, 20:15 in RTK.

The following panellists will discuss on these debates:

The following panellists will participate in the general elections debate:

Ragmi Mustafa – Mayor of Presevo
Nikolla Llaziq – Editor of Vranjske Novonine from Bujanoc
Jonuz Musliu – Deputy Mayor of Bujanoc
Andrej Nosov – Youth Initiative for Human Rights
Baki Rexhepi – from SPEKTRI television channel and
Riza Halimi – Head of the election list from Party for Democratic Action and current member of the Serb Parliament

The following panellists will participate in the debate for local elections in Presevo:

Skender Destani – Democratic Union of the Valley, BDL
Dragolub Filipovic – ‘Serb List for Presevo’ Coalition
Riza Halimi – Party for Democratic Action, PVD
Naser Haziri – Citizens’ Group
Orhan Rexhepi – National Albanian Movement, LKSH
Basri Mehmeti – Democratic Alliance, AD and
Ragmi Mustafa – Albanian Democratic Party, PDSH

The following panellists will participate in the debate for local elections in Bujanoc:

Shaip Kamberi – Party for Democratic Action, PVD
Miodrag Milkovic – Citizens’ Group (Grupa Gradjana)
Nenad Mitrovic – Coalition for a Better Tomorrow (Koalicija za bolje sutra)
Jonuz Musliu – Democratic Progress Movement, LPD
Sali Salihu – PDSH- PDK Coalition (Albanian Democratic Party and National Democratic Party)
Dalibor Stanojkovic – Democratic Party of Serbia, DSS
Goran Taskovic- Democratic Party, Election List for Bujanoc – for a European Serbia – Boris Tadic
Mejdi Zeqiri – Albanian Democratic Union, UDSH

These debates have been endowed with the assistance of Youth Initiative for Human Rights, ALDI TV, a local television channel from Presevo, and Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.