Considering the complaint submitted by the anonymous submitter due to the alleged violation of the principles of the Montenegrin Journalists’ Code of Ethics in the text that conveys the statement of the president of the European Federation of Journalists, Maja Sever, published on Portal Analitika on September 16, 2025, the Complaints Commission of the Media Council for Self-Regulation makes the following decision
The Commission notes that Portal Analitika correctly identified the source of the statement in the article in question - the Antena M portal, and that it did not change the essence or context of the statements of the president of the European Federation of Journalists, Mrs. Maja Sever.
By comparing the published text with the original content submitted via the Antena M portal, the Commission could not establish evidence-traces of inaccurate, inaccurate or manipulative publishing of statements, nor did it observe elements that would indicate a violation of the principles of accuracy, objectivity, and respect for the context or responsibility towards the public.
The commission determined that the Analitika editorial team published the article in accordance with the established journalistic practice of transmitting news from other media, with a clear indication of the source and without adding content that could change the meaning of the statements.
Due to all of the above, the Commission therefore concludes that there are no grounds for establishing a violation of any principle of the Code of Journalists of Montenegro, and that the editorial staff of Portal Analitika acted professionally and in accordance with the valid standards of journalistic ethics.
Explanation
The Media Council for Self-Regulation received a complaint from an anonymous submitter regarding the manner in which the Analitika portal conveyed the statement of the president of the European Federation of Journalists, Maja Sever, originally published on the Antena M portal.
The complaint states that the transmission of the statement was carried out in a way that, according to the submitter, could misrepresent the statement or mislead readers about its content.
The submitter pointed out that both Standard and Analitika quoted the identical sentence that clearly indicates that the statement was originally given to the Antena M portal, but that it was not marked in the text.
In the complaint, it was stated that certain media outlets (Standard and Analitika) reported on the decision made by the Defense Minister, Dragan Krapović, to refuse accreditation to Antena M journalist, and after an invitation to an event at which Slovenian Minister Borut Sajović will also speak, which was "mistakenly" sent to that media outlet, they relayed Maja Sever's statement.
- I think that the attention of the public should be drawn to the fact that it is very important to cite sources, especially in these cases when it is about the media themselves and their discrimination. Those two media reported the statement, but did not indicate the source from which they took it, which is Antena M - the reader's complaint reads, along with which he provided links:
He states that from the text published by Antena M, it is clearly seen that the statement was given to them, because of the sentence: "You are a media that publishes information in the public interest and they are obliged to give you that information, so that you can transmit it to the citizens."
The reader states that it is very important that in situations where discrimination of the media is discussed, and in the case of minister Krapović and the violation of the Law of the media, that the media themselves strictly adhere to the code of ethics, that is, they must state the source from which some information was taken.
"I hope you will recognize this, and insist that the authors and sources are clearly indicated in the texts," writes the Chief and Responsible Editor of the Analitika portal, Rosanda Muchalica, in the complaint, and in the statement writes that the portal fully complied with professional standards when transmitting the statement of Maja Sever from Antena M.
"Our journalist processed the text previously published by Antena M, gave it a different title and, most importantly, already in the second paragraph of the text clearly stated that it was a statement Mrs. Sever gave for Antena M. In this way, the source was transparently and unambiguously identified, thus fulfilling the professional obligation to accurately cite the source," the statement reads.
Portal Analitika, as pointed out by the editor Mučalica, consistently respects professional and ethical standards in reporting, including the obligation to accurately cite sources.
"In this context, we believe that the mentioned complaint has no basis", the statement of Portal Analitika points out.
After reviewing the available material, the disputed text on the Analitika portal, the original article by Antena M and the attached evidence, the Commission concluded the following:
Maja Sever's statement was transmitted correctly and without changes that would affect its meaning. Antenna M is clearly listed as the source of the information. No statements or comments were identified that would constitute hate speech, personal attack or unfounded targeting of individuals or institutions. It was not established that the principles of accuracy, respect for sources, objectivity or professional distancing were violated.
The Commission believes that Portal Analitika acted in accordance with the Code of Journalists of Montenegro, because it transmitted the information responsibly, citing the source and without violating the integrity of the original statement.
In this case, the Commission did not find evidence that there was any violation of the principles of the Code, so the appeal is considered unfounded.
The Complaints Commission recommended that the media in similar cases cited the sources of information immediately below the headline or highlight them visibly in the text, in accordance with the rule of the Montenegrin Journalists’ Code of Ethics - point 11.2. "Originality". The Commission pointed out the importance of consistently respecting the principle of transparency of information sources, especially when it comes to the mutual transfer of content between media.
Complaints and monitoring commission
Aneta Spaić
Sonja Drobac
Danilo Burzan
Branko Vojičić
Ranko Vujović
