Montenegro has continued to record a decline when it comes to the safety of journalists, according to the research Indicators of the Level of Media Freedom and the Journalist Safety Index 2024.

According to this research, conducted by the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM) as part of the SafeJournalists network, Montenegro ranked third in the region in 2024 in terms of journalist safety, with a score of 3.15.

On that scale from 1 to 7, North Macedonia (3.85) and Croatia (3.19) ranked better than Montenegro, while Albania (2.95), Serbia (2.70), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2.61) ranked worse.

The President of SMCG, Radomir Kračković, said that Montenegro’s continuous decline in the Journalist Safety Index is alarming.

“The fact is that in recent years we’ve seen a rise in attacks on journalists. Last year, we recorded 24 such incidents, and this year, up to today, already 19,” Kračković said, explaining that this number refers both to actual cases of attacks on journalists as well as threats or SLAPP lawsuits.

“We treat that as an attempted SLAPP lawsuit. In the same category, we have the lawsuit filed by Danijela Mujović, the wife of Podgorica Mayor Saša Mujović, against journalist Vesna Rajković Nenadić. We also included the lawsuit against journalist and columnist Brano Mandić, which was dismissed after public pressure,” Kračković added.

He stated that all such cases are entered into the database of attacks because the SMCG believes they are equally important to document as direct attacks on journalists.

“The increase in these incidents, as well as Montenegro’s decline in the Safety Index, shows that decision-makers must seriously reflect on media freedom in Montenegro. This is clearly a regression, meaning that Montenegrin journalists and media are working in less safe conditions compared to previous years,” he said.

SMCG Vice President Marijana Camović Veličković explained that Montenegro’s lowest score was in the category “Actual Safety,” which dropped from 3.08 in 2023 to 2.79 in 2024.

Slightly better, with a score of 3.24 compared to 3.37 in 2023, Montenegro ranked in the category “Process,” which evaluates the effectiveness of investigations into attacks on journalists and other media actors, as well as the capacity of specialized investigative units and officials.

In the category “Legal and Organizational Environment” Montenegro scored 3.73, while in “Prevention of Attacks” it scored 3.63.

Camović Veličković reminded that last year Montenegro recorded a total of 24 cases of attacks, threats, or pressures against journalists, which is significantly more compared to the previous year.

When it comes to non-physical threats and harassment in 2024, 11 cases of threats were recorded.

“The result is worse compared to 2023, when six such threats were registered, while in 2022 there were 13. In terms of seriousness, most threats were of the same level, involving endangerment of safety and insults. Out of 11 recorded cases, prosecutors filed criminal charges for endangerment of safety in four, while in one case misdemeanor proceedings were initiated against the perpetrator. It is also worrying that four of the threats came from public officials,” she said.

In the category “Threats to Life and Physical Safety of Journalists,” the same number of cases (four) was recorded as in 2023. In three of these cases, the victims were women journalists.

The survey conducted by SMCG within the regular research on the socio-economic position of media employees showed that in 2024 working conditions in the media had not significantly changed.

The survey, which included 81 respondents, showed that while salaries increased in some media outlets, wages remain below the national average. Moreover, no collective agreements were signed at any level.

“During 2024, two-thirds of employees (66.6%) earned less than €1,012, which is the national average salary. Sixteen percent of respondents received wages lower than the minimum wage for higher education graduates (€800). About 42% said their socio-economic status had improved in the past three years, 30% said there was no change, and one in four felt it had worsened,” Camović Veličković said.

She added that 30% reported their salary increased by €200, 26% reported increases between €100 and €150, and almost one in four reported an increase of around €100.

She explained that the increase in salaries, particularly in the private sector, was due to the tax relief measures Europe Now 1 and 2, which abolished health insurance contributions and reduced pension contributions.

“To the question ‘Is your salary fixed?,’ 74% of respondents said yes. However, nearly one in four reported having insecure income: almost 10% receive a mix of fixed and variable pay, over 11% said their salary is ‘mostly fixed,’ while 3.7% said it ‘mostly depends on performance,’” she said.