Our vision for this aspect of our work over the coming years will be to further increase the recognition and acceptance among the people of Serbia and Montenegro of the need to deal constructively with the former Yugoslavia’s recent past. This is being achieved through information about war crimes and human rights violations as well as acceptance of the work and value of both the ICTY and domestic courts within the various processes of dealing with the past in the region. Our plan is to build on the work already done and also to establish new mechanisms for informing the public about the past and promoting the ICTY, domestic courts and their work, while at the same time seeking to break down the many prejudices about them. We want to arrive at a point where the people from our region no longer view the facts and judicial processes surrounding war crimes and indictees as anti-Serb propaganda and activity, but instead as integral to the process of dealing with the past.

Informing citizens about the ICTY's work and initiating social debate on different prejudices (i.e. regulations passed by the Tribunal) and opening debate at the local level across the cities and towns of Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo to eliminate barriers and prejudices against the ICTY, to support state and local authorities and to encourage their cooperation with the Tribunal.
Creating mechanisms for transparency of war crimes trials through: a campaign for the use of audio and video recordings of trials; the establishment of adequate technical services within the court; allowing the media free access to public documents, testimonies and depositions given during the course of a trial.

Creating resources for the media in the region to adequately monitor war crimes trials in Serbia through the establishment of an independent production group trained and qualified to monitor the trials on a daily basis and disseminate the information, reports, bulletins and occasional TV programs to the media in the region of the former Yugoslavia.

Creating the Justice Advocates Network: a network of well-educated young people advocating for justice and the rule of law in their local communities, educating young people about the reality of the past, advocacy mechanisms and strategies, and informing youth about the significance and work of the ICTY.

After the period of armed conflict during the 90’s, the media in the region carries a vast responsibility to contribute to the establishment of new bonds and a durable peace. The state politics of Serbia were reflected in aggressive and expansionist enterprises in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, implemented through the organized and systematic commission of war crimes against civilian populations. During this time, Serbia was governed by an autocratic regime which suppressed basic human rights and liberties; the freedom of the media being among them. Press freedoms did not exist during the period of Communist rule either, which may explain why a tradition of objective, investigative and ethical journalism, fostered in the Anglo-Saxon world for more than two centuries, was never able to develop in Serbia.

The goals of the YIHR Media Program are:

- Strengthening of ethical, responsible journalism in Serbia, as well as in other countries of the former ..Yugoslavia
- Trainings for as large a number of journalists as possible in human rights reporting
- The realization of investigative projects concerning the process of dealing with the past
- Promotion of values that the YIHR represents

Analyses: Media Reporting in Serbia and Kosovo 2003-2005

In the period between December 2003 and March 2005, the YIHR Media Team analyzed the content of the print media in Serbia and Kosovo. Issues subject to analysis were: the relation of the media to human rights violations, hate-speech in newspaper articles, justice for victims, the future status of Kosovo, socio-economic problems, and their treatment of some politicians (Ramush Haradinaj and Slaviša Petkovic, for example) as well as particular institutions and organizations (i.e. the Government of Kosovo, the ICTY, the Serbian Orthodox Church). The underlying conclusion of these analyses is that Serbian media is largely marked by hate-speech, lies, de-contextualization of facts and denial: "The Serbian media [. . .] only conveys the state politics of Serbia", is the final conclusion of this report. The media in Kosovo, on the other hand, remains blind to the problems of minority communities. "For the media in Kosovo, the Kosovo Serbs are as important as any communal problem."

Journalists Can Do It

In May 2004, the YIHR organized a conference entitled "Journalists Can Do It", where journalists met from Serbian and Kosovo media groups. At this gathering, the participants defined the topics which would be jointly covered and reported on during the following 12 months, as well as discussing about how to maintain future contact and which paths and directions their investigative tasks would follow from then on. From October 2004 until February 2005, Serbian journalists visited Kosovo in order to become familiar with the reality on the ground and to create stories and articles free of hate-speech, stereotypes and prejudices. The project involved journalists from VIN Production, Radio B92, the newspapers Vreme and Nezavisna svetlost, and the IWPR. Articles written by these journalists, together with all analysis of media from Kosovo and Serbia from 2003-2005 have been published in a collection entitled Journalists Can Do It (July, 2005).

A Look to the Other Side

In April 2006, the YIHR continued the series of activities dealing with the comparison of media reporting in Kosovo and Serbia concerning the political, social and economic problems that burden both of these societies. The project was envisaged as a response to unethical and subjective reporting. The negotiations on the status of Kosovo and decentralization had begun, and the majority of the media in both Serbia and Kosovo continued with their unprofessional practice which is reflected, among other things, in unbalanced reporting.

Through meetings with key political leaders, representatives of civil society and the media in Prishtina and Belgrade alike, the YIHR wishes to bring journalists closer to relevant sources and help them include "the other side" in their articles. Fifteen journalists from Serbia visited Prishtina from June 25-28. At the beginning of September, 15 journalists from Kosovo will visit Serbia. In October, a joint conference will be held, where journalists, project participants and beneficiaries from Serbia and Kosovo will discuss possibilities for further improvement of their work. As of April 2006, the YIHR Media Team continues to monitor Serbian and Kosovo media. The YIHR will publish the newspaper articles and analyses, which were created within and as part of this project, at the beginning of 2007.

REZ and Newsletter

The Media Program includes the publication of magazine REZ (The Cut) and the YIHR's electronic bulletin, Newsletter. These publications provide a more detailed insight into YIHR activities, analyses, comments and reports about the issues the majority of Serbian media either overlooks or reports on unethically.