OSCE Mission to Montenegro supports 12 local public broadcasters to strengthen their mobile journalism capacities

As part of its technical support to the media, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro provided 28 mobile journalism sets to the Union of Local Public Broadcasters (ULES) for 12 local media houses on 17 May 2021.

The donated equipment encompassed smartphones with stands, mobile interview kits with microphones, tripod kits and complementary technical add-ons for the efficient use of the equipment. With the mobile equipment, journalists will be able to perform interviews, produce videos and edit material on the same device, producing news reports rapidly and easily while preserving production quality. The donation also included jackets and vests with a 'PRESS' insignia, to ensure better identification and visibility of media professionals while reporting at live events and public gatherings.

Siv-Katrine Leirtroe, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, said that rapid evolution of technology has created a high demand for more flexible, faster and on-the-spot news reporting. 'Strong technical capacities of media houses are a prerequisite for keeping up with emerging new media, where mobile journalism plays an important role as one of the most significant innovations in news production,' said Leirtroe.

Dragan Popadić, president of the ULES, expressing gratitude to the Mission, said that this donation represents the continuation of the excellent co-operation between the ULES and the OSCE Mission. 'The Mission has provided support to the ULES by organizing training and education courses for journalists and upgrading the ULES' joint portal - www.cglocalinfo.me. Now we receive a donation of this valuable and, above all, useful equipment for our journalistic and technical teams,' said Popadić.

The Mission will continue to support local media outlets in strengthening their technical capacities, visibility and safety of journalists.