Media and civil society representatives discussed yesterday during the DokuFest documentary and short film festival in Prizren the role of the media in fighting corruption in the Balkan countries. Marija Ristic, a journalist from Serbia working with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) said that most of the media in Serbia are owned or controlled by politicians and businessmen and there is very little room for professional media to thrive. Arbana Xharra, editor-in-chief of the Pristina daily Zeri spoke of the threats she received for writing about corruption in Kosovo. However, Xharra said that the growing awareness of the people to report cases of corruption is what motivates her to continue her work. At the same time, Alessandra Roccasalvo, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Kosovo said the organisation’s goal is to work on strengthening local institutions in fighting corruption and empowering the citizens to report cases of corruption.