[ALST-L] Fwd: New Book: The Kosovo News and Propaganda War

[Besnik Pula]

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From: "Florian Bieber" <Bieberf at CEU.HU>
To: balkans at egroups.com
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 14:49:17 MET-1MEST
Subject: [balkans] New Book: The Kosovo News and Propaganda War

From: IPI-Barbara Trionfi <info at freemedia.at
 Organization:  International Press Institute
Extracts from IPI's new book "The Kosovo News and
Propaganda War" are now available on our web site www.freemedia.at.

Apart from the full text of the introduction to the book, which gives
a detailed and critical analysis of the media coverage of the Kosovo
war and of the book's contents, you will find a selection of articles
which analyse the media's coverage of the Kosovo war in various
countries such as UK, USA, Germany, Spain, Serbia and Montenegro
(introduction), Kosovo and South East Europe; furthermore, articles by
Will King, Managing Editor and Vice President of CNN, and Michael
Massing, The Nation, represent two different perspectives on CNN's
coverage of the war; finally a selection of reports by journalists who
reported from the field, give a good overview of the difficulties and
obstacles they had to face in covering the war.

At the official launch of "The Kosovo War and Propaganda News", which
took place in Vienna's City Hall on October 15, IPI's Director, Johann
P. Fritz, and Dr. Gerfried Sperl, Chairman of the IPI Austrian
National Committee, presented special commendations to Paul Watson of
the "LA Times" and "RTV Pancevo" for their excellence in reporting
during the Kosovo war.

RTV Pancevo became the popular independent choice in Belgrade after
B92 was closed down by the authorities. "Independent reporting in
Serbia throughout the period of the Nato airstrikes was rendered
virtually impossible," noted Dr. Sperl, who is also Editor of the
Austrian daily 'Der Standard'. "RTV Pancevo refused to succumb to
official pressure and remained committed to independent reporting,"
Sperl said. "They chose a fine line of compromise in their reporting
and mentioned all important pieces of news and stories, including the
plight of the Kosovar-Albanian refugees, but somehow they still
managed to keep broadcasting." RTV Pancevo, which earned a reputation
for carrying swift and accurate reporting, survived two close-down
attempts by the Federal Ministry of Telecommunications during the war,
said Sperl. "The team at RTV Pancevo is emblematic of a media struggle
within Serbia. They refrained from spewing hatred, they operated with
journalistic integrity and they basically made the best out of an
extremely difficult situation." In what is seen by observers as a
retaliatory strike for their independent stance, the ministry has
recently ordered the station to pay a fee of 800,000 dinars [$US80,000
approx.] for the use of its frequency.

Paul Watson was the only Western reporter who managed to stay in
Pristina for the duration of the Nato airstrikes. "We were all very
worried about him, he was in a very dangerous position," said Johann
P. Fritz, Director of the International Press Institute. "But under
these adverse conditions he still managed to get out regular,
excellent reports. Paul's stories were balanced, insightful and
enlightening and he deserves enormous credit for shedding light on
what otherwise would have been a news dark spot."

Further background information on Paul Watson and RTV Pancevo are
available at www.freemedia.at

The heated debate on the mediaAEs eroding credibility and what should
be done to remedy the situation comes to Vienna's City Hall 27-28
October, 1999. Top media executives, publishers, academics and
editor-in-chiefs from over fourteen countries are gathering at an open
forum to discuss oMedia Credibility and Self-Regulationoe. For a copy
of the online programme and further information about the conference
(registration and contact details) please visit
www.freemedia.at/ev_viennale.htm.

The International Press Institute is the global, non-profit network of
leading journalists, editors, and media executives dedicated to
defending and promoting freedom of the press and improving the
standards and practices of journalism.

Kind regards,
Barbara Trionfi

______________
Florian Bieber
Instructor
CEU
International Relations
and European Studies
Nador utca 9
H-1051 Budapest


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