Ethics and the 'red lines' in online media in Kosovo

• Author: Lirie Aliu
• Position: Contemporary Social Sciences-SEEU, Macedonia
• Pages: 260-271

Vol. 3 No. 1

January, 2019

European Journal of Economics, Law and Social Sciences

IIPCCL Publishing, Graz-Austria

ISSN 2519-1284

Acces online at www.iipccl.org

260

Ethics and the “red lines” in online media in Kosovo

PhD (C.) Lirie Aliu

Contemporary Social Sciences-SEEU, Macedonia

Abstract

The journalist's social and professional status is a topic that requires a multidisciplinary

approach to identify the ways of information and its assignment. Scientifi c reviews are subjects

of a study in the interest of mass communication science, focusing on the fi eld of journalism

and communication politics on themes and expressed through the knowledge of people

responses and their opinion. Nowadays in the time of modernity which is characterized by

a fast increase, distribution and continuous interaction through media across the globe, thus

making the mediation process an essential feature of society and of everyday life. Problems

come to light when a false and defamatory statement about an individual is published to a

third party, causing damage to the reputation of the person. Each state creates defamation laws,

although Kosovo still has no law regarding defamation for online media even though it may

be considered responsible for defamatory communications. Along with the transformation

of technology conditions and tools the profession of journalism is transformed as well. The

socio-professional status of a journalist depends so much on the objective situation of the

journalist's profession, which, in addition to many other circumstances, is largely determined

by the society they are trained and the media owner. And hence my research questions in

relation to the news and credibility of the broader audience.

Keywords: Ethics, journalist, defamation law, online media.

Introduction and methodology

Everything in the journalism begins and ends with the news, new information contain

the answers to the six basic questions (Who, When, Where, What, Why and How) about

certain events. (Kipling 1865-1936) (Hicks 2016) Further Allan Bell, says,” the stories

contain stories and images of our day” (Balle, 2011, 21). Fair and correct information

is only achieved through free media. Media freedom is one of the main pillars for

the proper presentation of a democratic society, and righteously is considered to be

the "fourth power" of a state, following the powers of the government, the decision-

making authority and the judiciary (Bacaj, 2010). Mass media, especially last decades,

a ect public opinion with online information through local news portals, enabling

large groups of widely distributed people to develop collective a itudes of public

and political a airs; access to online newspapers simply tell people what issues

are important and motivate the public to act. It may be a long struggle, but some

independent media and civil society organizations in the Balkans are determined

to counter the wave of false news and misinformation that is "fl ooding” the Balkans

(JNK, 2017).1 In Scherer book, “Do we need journalists?” writes,"The added value of

professional journalists will also be the rapid stipulation of the context, essential to

coping with the excess of information in an increasingly complex world, where the

1 h p://kallxo.com/gjnk/fi llon-lu a-kunder-makinerive-te-lajmeve-te-rreme-ne-ballkan/.