Voice of the Elderly will be a media outlet of special significance. Special because it will primarily focus on journalistic investigations of the stories of the elderly. The elderly population is growing, with nearly 100 million in the EU alone, and we will advocate for the establishment of an EU Commissioner for the Elderly.
Elderly people are incredibly important in modern society because they represent the foundation on which our present world is built. Their contributions—whether in politics, science, social movements, or personal sacrifices—have shaped the rights, peace, and prosperity that many enjoy today. They carry knowledge and firsthand experiences from past events, wars, economic crises, and social transformations. Their stories and lessons help younger generations avoid repeating mistakes and make informed decisions. Elders uphold traditions, values, and cultural heritage, ensuring continuity between generations. They teach respect, patience, and resilience, offering guidance to younger people facing life’s challenges.
The elderly in the modern world often provide emotional and financial support to younger family members. Grandparents play a crucial role in childcare, easing the burden on working parents. Many elderly individuals are active in charities, religious groups, and social causes.
What we think is important is that as we witnessed before many elders are strong advocates for peace, diplomacy, and human rights. They participate in activism and policy discussions, ensuring that hard-earned freedoms are preserved.
For us it is important that Many elderly individuals break stereotypes, proving that age is not a limit to learning, innovation, or new experiences. They can serve as role models, showing that one can stay active, engaged, and influential throughout life.
The pinnacle of autonomous and transparent journalism, where we take an active yet apolitical stance on current social affairs—without exception. The media are the crown of every society, shaping life patterns and setting the rules of social conduct. With the media, a person lives and dies—both literally and figuratively—since the power of the pen can be even more decisive than the power of the sword.
The media hold the power of the fourth estate or the “seventh force,” with a crucial oversight and critical function that upholds the foundations of a healthy society. Article 39 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia guarantees us freedom of thought, speech, public expression, press, and other forms of public information and communication:
“Everyone may freely collect, receive, and disseminate information and opinions. Everyone has the right to obtain publicly significant information for which they have a legally justified interest, except in cases determined by law.”
A journalist’s professional duty is to expose deviant acts and anomalies among those in power and key societal institutions, ensuring that the public is informed.
This is the power and responsibility of Voice of the Elderly. The journalist’s moral compass is a golden pendulum that keeps us within the realm of justice and law, guiding and restricting us in the responsible exercise of free expression. Freedom of speech entails great responsibility—the responsibility to act ethically. Only through autonomy can a journalist perform their profession with honesty, truthfulness, and credibility.
Commitment to these fundamental principles and values rests on a journalist’s free choice to be responsible—to answer society’s crucial questions, weigh and evaluate them, place them in context, and present them to the public, demanding systemic change and responding accordingly.
However, a journalist can only fulfill this mission in a media environment where they are not trapped in an ownership relationship that crushes their values under economic and political interests. True journalism must allow a sovereign and responsible stance. Otherwise, as the renowned Slovenian writer and French laureate Drago Jančar warned years ago, we risk not only controlled and manipulated media but also a controlled society—ruled by corporate magnates and their lawyers, assisted by politicians and well-paid journalists.
This is the commitment of Voice of the Elderly: to place the reader, viewer, listener—humanity itself—at the center as a moral principle, not as prey. A fresh media paradigm, free from apocalyptic sensationalism, dedicated to the public good, tolerance, and enlightened ideas.
Objectivity, fairness, and public interest are our principles.
CODE OF CONDUCT
1. Respect for Journalistic Ethics Principles
The Voice of the elderly, which is operated by Slovenian Preiskovalno.si adheres to professional journalistic ethics standards: objectivity, truthfulness, impartiality, and respect for human rights.
2. Integrity and Independence
Barbara Pance and Natasa Markovic maintain editorial independence, avoid conflicts of interest, and clearly distinguish personal opinions from editorial decisions.
3. Independence from Politics and Economy
The voice of the elderly operates entirely independently from political parties, interest groups, business entities, or other external influences. Editorial decisions are based solely on public interest, professional judgment, and journalistic ethics. Independence is the fundamental principle of the portal’s editorial policy and a prerequisite for public trust. The guiding principles of the portal are facts, public interest, and professional and ethical journalistic standards.
4. Prevention of Discrimination and Hate Speech
The Preiskovalno.si portal does not allow discriminatory content based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. Hate speech is strictly prohibited.
The portal advocates for respectful and constructive communication without offensive or aggressive expressions.
5. Transparency and Correcting Errors
The portal is committed to transparency in publishing information. In case of errors or inaccuracies, the portal will publish a correction or clarification as soon as possible.
6. Protection of Sources and Confidentiality of Data
The portal is committed to protecting the anonymity of information sources and ensuring the protection of personal data in accordance with the law.
7. Rejecting Corruption and Undue Influence
Employees do not accept gifts or other benefits that could compromise their objectivity, independence, or integrity.
8. Responsibility to the Public
The portal operates in the public interest, informing the public comprehensively, timely, and reliably, and is accountable for its publications.
9. Special Care and Sensitivity to Vulnerable Groups
The portal handles content involving children or vulnerable individuals, such as the elderly and people with disabilities, with particular care, respecting their privacy and dignity. The portal ensures the anonymity of children and vulnerable individuals, unless revealing their identity is in the clear public interest, but even in such cases, with clear ethical consideration. The portal is committed to avoiding sensationalistic approaches when reporting on sensitive topics involving children and vulnerable groups, which could further harm or increase their vulnerability, expose them to violence, stigmatization, or other forms of harm.
10. Protection of Copyright
Content must respect copyright. There is a clear prohibition on appropriating others’ content without proper source attribution. When using external content, the source must be cited or appropriate permission obtained.
11. Managing Disputes and Violations
Any report of a violation of this code will be treated seriously and responsibly. Violations may lead to disciplinary measures, including the termination of cooperation. By respecting this code, all participants contribute to the credibility, trust, and professionalism of the portal.
12. Clear Distinction Between Advertorial and Editorial Content
Content sponsored by advertisers is clearly marked as advertisements on the portal.
13. Posts on Social Media
Posts on this page are conneted with some social media pages and must be respectful, professional, and in line with the portal’s general principles, free from offensive expressions. Portal collaborators must clearly distinguish between personal opinions and official portal positions. The portal reserves the right to moderate comments that incite intolerance, threats, are offensive, or discriminatory, ensuring a respectful, constructive, and appropriate environment for discussion. The portal does not take responsibility for the content of comments but ensures oversight of adherence to rules.
14. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The media portal is committed to transparent use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Content created or supplemented by AI must be clearly labeled. Authors and editors are obligated to verify such content for accuracy and quality, ensuring it aligns with the portal’s editorial and ethical standards.
Donations and funding rules
Every donation we receive from you, our readers, is dedicated to stories. Our work takes place on the terrain. Sometimes we spend a whole month investigating a story. Your donation makes it possible to prepare investigative articles that require more time. We believe investigative journalism is vital for strengthening democracy, upholding human rights, and safeguarding the future of our country.
The voice of the elderly is operated by Preiskovalno. si, both are completely independent journalism platforms from Natasa and Barbara, and will never be left or right, but it will always hold those in power accountable. When the left governs, we are accused of being right-wing; when the right comes to power, we’re attacked for being left-wing.
We feel this biased and unjust stigmatization every day. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to survive under each new government. We are excluded from public calls for funding and forgotten when it comes to invitations or awards. All the awards we have received are from abroad — from the European Commission, Le Monde Diplomatique (Slovenia), and the European Press Prize.
That’s why we rely on those who believe in us. Your donations help us survive legal onslaughts and pressure campaigns directed at us.
They help us exist — to keep a close eye on those in power and try to prevent even greater abuses of public funds.
Our articles are available free of charge to all readers. Preiskovalno.si does not charge for access because the content is in the public interest. Alongside your support as readers, we also apply for funding through international calls. We are unlikely to succeed with domestic calls for funding, since we oversee those currently in power.
The Preiskovalno.si platform focuses on issues related to the elderly, human rights, healthcare, the environment, and politics.
Funding Rules:
Voice of the elderly is not state-funded and did not apply for any funding from the Ministry of Culture in 2023 or 2024. Currently, Preiskovalno.si is financed through fact-checking for a major international media outlet, European public tenders, donations from individuals and legal entities, lectures, participation in panels, educational activities, and various research projects. A smaller portion of income also comes from advertising.
IMPORTANT!
Funding from individuals or private entities does not influence our editorial independence. Preiskovalno.si reserves the right to investigate any donor, advertiser, or individual in accordance with journalistic principles, ethics, and integrity.
The Institute for Investigative Journalism and Research also offers, under contract:
- Commissioned investigative journalism (topic research, reports for NGOs, academic institutions, or media without in-house investigators)
- Fact-checking
- Verification of claims, documents, or data for companies, publishers, agencies, or individuals
- Media monitoring: tracking and analyzing media coverage of a specific topic, company, or individual
- Public records research: investigation through court registers, land registries, business records for analysis or consulting purposes
- Research for documentaries or books: gathering materials, interviews, and verified data for authors or production companies
Integrity Protection Tools:
- Every order is formalized with a contract (research contract, advertising contract, education contract)
- Preiskovalno.si may require the signing of an agreement on autonomy, copyright, or conflict of interest
The Institute adheres to the principles that journalistic reporting must be independent, public, and guided by journalistic ethics. Paid research content for external clients is not published on Preiskovalno.si.
Barbara Pance
Nataša Markovic