Media Monitoring
As part of the Media Watchdog – Monitoring for Ethical Reporting on Human Rights Violations project, we are currently implementing activities that will lay the foundation for a detailed monitoring of how the media report on human rights. This monitoring is a crucial step in understanding the accuracy, ethics, and quality of reporting, with the goal of identifying patterns of misinformation, bias, and inadequate reporting.
Considering the complexity of the media landscape in Montenegro—marked by political influences, editorial pressures, and limited resources—the analysis focuses on how journalists report on violence and human rights. The initial findings indicate that, although different media outlets have varying approaches, in-depth analysis and investigative journalism covering a broader range of human rights issues are often lacking.
Through daily monitoring of the four most-read online news portals in Montenegro, it has been observed that news about domestic violence, particularly violence against women, is the most prevalent. While informativeness and objectivity are generally satisfactory, sensationalist headlines are frequently used, distorting the perception of events. Additionally, reader comments on news portals often contain politically incorrect and offensive statements.
Reporting on LGBT rights and peer violence is significantly less frequent, mostly limited to isolated incidents. Media outlets predominantly relay official statements from the police or state institutions instead of conducting deeper investigations into the state of human rights.
This activity will be fully implemented in the second year of the project, culminating in a comprehensive monitoring report on human rights reporting in Montenegro. Based on the collected data, we will develop a final report containing concrete recommendations for improving media accountability and ethical standards. The project “Media Watchdog: Monitoring for Ethical Reporting on Human Rights Violations”,
This project is implemented by CEDEM in partnership with SOCEN, with the financial support of the European Union and co-financing by the Ministry of Public Administration.
