UNESCO publications
Freedom of connection, freedom of expression: the changing legal and regulatory ecology shaping the Internet
This report provides a new perspective on the social and political dynamics behind the threats to expression. It develops a conceptual framework on the ‘ecology of freedom of expression’ for discussing the broad context of policy and practice that should be taken into consideration in discussions of this issue.
Freedom of expression and broadcasting regulation
This study, written by international experts, Toby Mendel and Eve Salomon, provides content for reflection on the centrality of regulation for the protection, promotion and guarantee of the right to receive, seek and impart information, ideas and opinions.
Freedom of information: a comparative legal survey; 2nd edition
The importance of the right to information or the right to know is an increasingly constant refrain in the mouths of development practitioners, civil society, academics, the media and governments.
Global survey on internet privacy and freedom of expression
This publication seeks to identify the relationship between freedom of expression and Internet privacy, assessing where they support or compete with each other in different circumstances. The book maps out the issues in the current regulatory landscape of Internet privacy from the viewpoint of freedom of expression. It provides an overview of legal protection, self-regulatory guidelines, normative challenges, and case studies relating to the topic.
Professional journalism and self-regulation: new media, old dilemmas in South East Europe and Turkey
This publication compiles articles authored by distinguished experts and covers Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey as well as Kosovo (as defined by Security Council Resolution 1244).
Story-based inquiry: a manual for investigative journalists
This manual provides a guide to basic methods and techniques of investigative journalism, and it consciously fills a gap in the literature of the profession. The majority of investigative manuals devote a lot of space to the subject of where to find information. They assume that once a reporter finds the information he or she seeks, he or she will be able to compose a viable story.
The Importance of self regulation of the media in upholding freedom of expression
This study, written by Andrew Puddephatt, focuses on different angles of self-regulation applied to the media sector. It summarizes the intersections of the theme with the practice of journalism, the editorial principles and strategies for corporate social responsibility.
World trends in freedom of expression and media development
World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development offers a new look at recent evolutions in media freedom, independence, pluralism and journalist safety. These areas are explored at the international level and with respect to gender and global media.
Partner publications
Legal Leaks toolkit
A detailed guide on how to file freedom of information requests and how to appeal refusals, the Legal Leaks toolkit was used during the series of trainings that took place in June 2014 in five countries of South East Europe. The toolkit was adapted to the local legal framework of each country and translated into local languages. Download the local versions of the Toolkit used in training seminars in: Tirana, Sarajevo, Podgorica, Belgrade, Pristina.
Freedom of speech in South East Europe: media independence and self-regulation
The publication represents the findings of a research project of the South East European Network for Professionalization of the Media (SEENPM) conducted by the Media Development Center (Bulgaria), in 2006. The project aimed at improving media self-regulation in the countries of South East Europe and at promoting their role of a public watchdog and strong pillar of civil society.
The media in South-East Europe: a comparative media law and policy study
This publication is the result of a research project commissioned by the Friederich Ebert Foundation. It presents detailed country reports highlighting the main characteristics of the media sector and providing some details about media regulation. The report not only focuses on the present situation in 10 Balkan countries but also propose some remedies to improve the situation for media freedom in the target countries.
Media landscape of South East Europe
This book is published under a research project, mapping regional media landscape, implemented by ACCESS-Sofia Foundation within the South East European Network for Professionalization of the Media (SEENPM). The study was conducted in 2003 in eleven countries in South East Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.
Reporting diversity
This guide provides a point of reference for further thought on one still very disputable field in South East Europe: how to report diversity. It builds on the expertise of a unique forum of the 18 independent media organizations which are members of the South-East European Network for Professionalization of the Media (SEENPM) from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.
Editorial Ethics Guidelines
The following guidelines are the result of two courses organised by the Media Centar Sarajevo in 2006 and 2008. The participants, selected by the project’s sponsor, SEENPM, the South Eastern European Network for the Professionalization of the Media, and represented 12 countries in the region. The courses involved face-to-face sessions in Sarajevo either side of months of distance learning course work.
The aim of the guidelines is to provide journalists in the region with the tools to navigate the complex ethical issues involved in delivering responsible, robust, accurate, fair, balanced, impartial and objective journalism in the region in order to inform the public debate so that the audience can make educated choices.
The following guidelines, which cover accuracy, diversity, taste, decency, offence, fairness, privacy, consent and engaging the audience, are underpinned by the fundamentals of all journalism, which are balance, impartiality, integrity and independence.
Ethical Journalism
The News York Times handbook of values and practices for the news and editorial departments.
In this book one can find The New York Times guidelines of writing and standards of behavior that generally apply to all members of the news and editorial departments whose work directly affects the content of the paper, including those on leaves of absence. They include reporters, editors, editorial writers, photographers, picture editors, art directors, artists, designers, graphics editors and researchers.
Freedom and Accountability: Safeguarding Free Expression Through Media Self-Regulation
The principal aim of this report is to provoke discussion, exchange of information and experience about the benefits, viability and practical implementation of media self-regulation in South East Europe.
The transformation in the media in the former communist countries of Eastern Europe in the past 15 years has been dramatic, posing entirely new challenges to individual journalists and their profession. On the one hand, the crude forms of state censorship and monopoly of the printed and broadcast word have been overturned, while on the other, more subtle forms of pressure and influence from political and commercial elites have undermined the development of truly independent media.
The report is published in the framework of the project: “Towards Free and Independent Media through Legal Reform and Self-regulation,” commissioned by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA) and funded by the Federal Republic of Germany within the scope of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe.
Media: The Business of Ethics, the Ethics of Business
This book is published under a SEENPM research project on the good and bad practices of the media business, implemented in the period April-September 2005, by Center for Independent Journalism, Bucharest in cooperation with the Media Development Center, Sofia.
The study is focused on Media Accountability Systems in 11 SEE countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, FYROM / Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia), where the owners and/or publishers are committed either by having initiated such systems themselves, or by any kind of formal acceptance.
The Media Self-Regulation Guidebook. All questions and answers.
Practical guidebook that aims to promote media self-regulation, boost the quality of journalism and help improve the overall situation of media freedom in the OSCE area.
This guidebook is composed of questions and answers on a wide range of practical questions like how the existing self-regulatory mechanisms work, what challenges they face, how to establish or enhance them and many others of such sort.
Each chapter highlights practical aspects of media self-regulation, including the role of codes of ethics and various accountability mechanisms, such as ombudspersons or press councils.
The idea is that every reader finds solutions that one can tailor to their countries’ conditions.
To Tell You the Truth
The book is published under IFJ Ethical Journalism Initiative and is an introduction to the background and some of the key themes to consider in building an ethical environment for journalism.
It provides support for journalists who are keeping an ethical flame alive in the profession. In these pages are many warnings about the dangers. There is also encouragement for those who are ready to stand up for journalism and confirmation, in the age of convergence of traditional and new media, that the act of journalism as a public good will not survive on any platform without commitment to ethics and values.
