Statement
20 April 2009In adjudicating the complaint of Mr. Muharrem Shabani, Kosovar citizen from Vushtrri, against an article published in Express newspaper on 16 March 2009 entitled: “Why Muharrem?” the Board of the Press Council of Kosovo preliminary and unanimously considered that the above-mentioned article constitutes a flagrant breach of the Press Code of Kosovo and thus issues the following:
Statement:
The Press Council of Kosovo is hereby calling on all its members, other media and the general audience, particularly also on political parties and corporate businesses to continue preserving their professional and ethical level of conduct as much as possible.
In the profession of journalism this is usually simply met by respecting and verifying the facts. Every article which is not based on the principles of Code of Ethics in Journalism may do harm to individual citizens and the democratic society as a whole, whereas every journalistic investigation based on checked facts, at least two verified sources and an impartial and responsible professional attitude, represents a success of journalism as a profession.
In this concrete case the editorial board of the daily Express should have at least thoroughly reviewed the court file of the Ferat Muja court case as well as have requested a reaction from Mr. Muharrem Shabani, in order to find out that he was not involved in any way in that particular court case.
It is common opinion of the Press Council of Kosovo that investigative journalism represents the most challenging and most valuable genre of journalism, vitally important for the quality of parliamentary democracy, which cannot function without citizens, who are well-informed and supplied with impartial and unbiased information by professional and responsible news media.
Investigative journalism requires proper professional preparation from the side of the press, such as sufficient funds, patience and time.
Nowadays many media “owners” world-wide are investing increasingly less in this field of journalism, and due to a lack of time and the pressures of competition, news media are sometimes too quick in publishing unsubstantiated and sensational stories which are not based on verified facts. By doing so they violate the main purpose of journalism – the factual truth that heels.
In the young Republic of Kosovo, as well as in the wider region of South-East Europe many media outlets are still closely aligned with political parties and corporate businesses, whose views and direct interests they, mostly covertly, reflect and propagate.
As a result a citizen’s career can be easily harmed or even destroyed by one single, pseudo-investigative news story, based on intentional manipulation of the facts.
This not only discredits the journalistic profession as a whole, but it can also create an atmosphere in which citizens lose their overall trust in the media and in the democratic process.