OSCE Mission in Kosovo supports Independent Media Commission in engaging the public to contribute to better media content

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the Independent Media Commission (IMC) have launched a campaign to engage the public in contributing to better audio-visual media content, and ensuring broadcasters abide by the law and code of conduct.

Through a series of ten animated videos, the campaign addresses public concerns about inappropriate content in audio-visual media and encourages the public to react to violations by filing complaints with the IMC. The campaign also highlights the need for the public to understand the content and messages present in media, which they can deconstruct through better media and information literacy skills.

“The public needs to be properly informed about the role and legal obligations of the IMC, which protects the rights and dignity of individuals in the media. In order to help ensure better quality of content in the media, the public needs skills on media and information literacy, and to actively denounce violations of the legal framework,” said Michael Davenport, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

“The IMC took the initiative to broadcast these videos, which were developed with the support and co‑operation of the OSCE, to raise public awareness and promote mechanisms for addressing complaints about harmful media content," said Xhevat Latifi, Chairman of the Independent Media Commission. While the IMC can initiate its own ex-officio complaints about audio-visual media content that violates its regulations, it mainly depends on the public to bring problems to its attention by filing their own complaints.

The campaign conveys important messages about the legal protection of children and minors, countering hate speech, preventing the use of offensive language, promoting gender balance, respecting individual rights, protecting copyright, the importance of media and information literacy, and the procedures for filing complaints.

The campaign will run on KTV and TV Most in Albanian and Serbian through the end of December 2021.