"The following conclusions can be drawn from the data analysis:
• The socio-economic status of journalists should be continuously advanced via improvement of working conditions in newsrooms and greater acknowledgement of labour rights on the part of media owners and the state.
• Rapid technologi
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cal and information changes impose the need for adapting the ethical and professional standards to the new digital environment, as well as creating specific guidelines for the media and journalists in terms of the use of artificial intelligence.
• The interest of young people in studies in journalism, communications, and media is drastically decreasing due to the weak link between studies with the labour market, the poor economic situation in media, and the inherent risks to this profession. It is necessary to modernize the study programmes and curricula which should be in line with the newly emerging environment, as well as making it possible to interlink with the media industry.
• Disinformation and non-compliance with ethical standards are often evident in online media, thus there is already a wide discussion in the media community about the legal definition of the status and functioning of the online media.
• Ownership transparency in broadcast media is at a high level, which is not the case in internet media, as the latter are outside the legal scope. The legal solution for pluralism in media ownership does not correspond to the new digital environment, therefore changes are needed that will enable development of the media market and industry consolidation.
• Funds from the state budget for paid political advertising during elections and public interest campaigns have increased in recent years and represent a significant source of funding for many media outlets. The above increases media dependence on state funds, as well as the possibility of corruption and media clientelism.
• Professional media organizations and the civil sector support the idea of establishing a fund for the development of media pluralism, to serve as an independent mechanism for developing projects and contents of public interest. Such approach will encourage diversity, quality, and independence in the media industry.
• In the media landscape, there are not enough media and/or programmes that represent ethnic groups, marginalized groups, and persons with disabilities, while non-profit media is one of the most underdeveloped segments therein. Trust in institutions, including in the media, is very low, due to the high level of systemic corruption, disinformation, non-transparency, and weak effectiveness of institutions.
• Media literacy is included in formal education as a systemic approach to teaching, but awareness of its importance should be promoted more among all age groups and segments of society.
• Transparent and efficient policies, comprehensive analyses, and overarching strategies are needed to cover all segments of the media market, including the digital sphere. The limited media market adversely affects the economic situation of the media, resulting in a lack of evident development of pluralism, diversity, and independence of the media in the audiovisual media sphere." (Executive summary, pages 4-5)
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"The government has developed various mechanisms for creating financial dependence on the part of the media, at both the national and the regional level. Owing to these financial relations, the media outlets become servile to the government, thereby seriously undermining own professional integrity a
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nd independence. The allocation of government advertising has been conducted on the grounds of political eligibility, in a non-transparent manner, disregarding the specific criteria such as viewership, ratings and influence. The advertising campaigns were awarded to media outlets whose editorial policy was biased towards the government, as well to other broadcasters after changing ownership and consequently also editorial policy. Using the state budget funds, the government fosters the sustainability as well as the rise of many media outlets at the national and regional levels, creating unfair competition and distorting the media market. In this way, a wide network of supportive media outlets is created, through which the media space is captured in order to spread political propaganda." (Conclusions)
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