In March 2024, we launched the #CheckitFirst campaign, which aims to advocate for ethical journalism across four countries in the Western Balkans: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia. It aims:
To reduce the dissemination of disinformation across print and online media in the Western Balkans region.
To raise journalists’ and media organisations’ awareness of how ethical journalism increases the value and quality of their work.
To ask journalists and media houses in the four countries to re-endorse professional principles of ethical journalism.
To boost media literacy among the public in the region and inform the general public of the responsibility the media bears in providing accurate and responsible information to their citizens.
To mark the launch of the campaign, the Ethical Journalism Awards invited journalists from the four countries to submit their best articles embodying ethical journalism principles for the chance to win a study visit to Belgium and the United Kingdom. After receiving 43 excellent applications, two rounds of jury experts from the region helped us in selecting four final winners, one from each country:
The winners will travel to Brussels and London. Together with the EU Delegation, we are planning a public event on 19 June. Discussions will be geared towards media independence in the Western Balkans in the wake of disinformation, and we will also compare experiences from the Western Balkans with other European countries, including the UK.
