UNESCO supports launching of the Balkan Network for Trusted Media

30 prominent media outlets from South East Europe and Turkey established the Balkan Network for Trusted Media, as result of a three-year programme to strengthen good media governance and to introduce the principle of media ethical audits. The network was officially launched at a regional conference organised by UNESCO project partner the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), in Belgrade on 22 March 2019 and within the framework of the UNESCO EU-funded project Building Trust in Media in South East Europe.

“As a matter of urgency, we believe that independent and professional voices of media need to come together to support a regional movement in support of ethics, good governance and self-regulation. We believe that in a world where internet business models are not designed to support the core values of journalism, there needs to be a new and sustainable framework to support public interest journalism,” said the members of the Network in their inaugural statement in Belgrade.

The Network is made up of news media and journalists who agree to work together in support of media pluralism and independent journalism exercised according to the following principles: transparency in the exercise of journalism and media management; ethical journalism as set out in codes and guidelines for media staff; good governance in the ownership and management of media; partnership with the public and active engagement with the media audience.

The Network is a flexible and inclusive community also open to media support groups including journalism training schools, press councils, press freedom bodies, and media monitoring groups. All media on all platforms of journalism, including online portals, may join the Network providing that they support the principles set out above and subscribe to the core values of ethical and professional journalism, which include accuracy and fact-based communications; editorial independence; impartial news gathering; humanity and respect for others; and accountability to the public through transparency.

The aims and objectives of the network are:

1. To share information and to co-operate on common actions designed to strengthen journalism and to strengthen public confidence in news media;
2. To consider and develop together new models for funding for journalism and news media;
3. To consider and prepare joint actions in support of national and regional projects that will improve the professional capacity of news media and journalists;
4. To examine how technological tools and computational journalism can be developed specifically for Balkan media;
5. To work together on programmes of support particularly for young journalists and new entrants to the profession;
6. To organise workshops at regional and national level for improving the skills of newsroom staff; to strengthen transparency in media management; and to promote media solidarity around principles of ethics, self-regulation and good governance.

The new network will reach out to media support groups to create a broad movement in support of sustainable journalism built upon respect for ethics, governance and self-regulation.

The full Declaration and Inaugural statement can be found here.