The institution of the Ombudsman, in connection with reactions to the column “Rules of the brothel” published in Vijesti daily and a new article after the reaction of public, pointed to “a specific continuity in the absence of a consistent stance on certain issues of public importance in Montenegro”.
“In addition, for the umpteenth time, a sharp division in the media sector is obvious, which just contributes to confusion in understanding and applying the standards of journalism in Montenegro”, Bakovic said in his statement, reports MINA.
He said that the reason why author of the article addressed the public is certainly in the sphere of general public interest, and that rogue journalistic oversight or intent, gross negligence or just an error which discredits journalistic professionalism, is not something that could be characterized as permitted.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first case of morally discrediting women from Montenegrin media, in Montenegrin media”, Bakovic said.
Bakovic added freedom of the media often forgets something very important – the responsibility for publicly spoken word, especially that of professionals and those who create editorial policy, and thusly shape the media scene of Montenegro.
“As an institution, we deeply believe that the article in question touched way over the line and interfered in private life, offended dignity of a woman and did not contribute to building of ethical standards of the profession”, he said.
All the more, explained Bakovic, because this was not artistic or critical work accessible and understandable to a confined number of persons with appropriate ability to understand the context of the spoken or written word.
“Because this was published for the average reader of one of the most popular dailies in Montenegro, one gets an ugly and amoral picture of female journalists, regardless of possible abuse or mistakes they do in their work”, he said.
According to Bakovic, wording in the disputed column does not give the impression of clear distancing from insulting a woman.
Ombudsman’s institution also called on the entire media sector to homogenize in assessing, or condemning, such behavior.
Bakovic added particular attention should be paid to women as one of the vulnerable groups, as defined in a number of international documents.
