"Before you become a journalist, you are a human being," said Tom McDevitt, chairman of The Washington Times. According to him, journalists are often unable to tell the truth, for which he considers freedom of the press essential. He seeks media support and protection of the journalistic profession. In the interview for KosovaPress, McDevitt also talks about reporting on conflict situations and the importance of ethics in journalism. The head of the prestigious American newspaper "The Washington Times" was asked about the Open Balkans and Kosovo's position in this process. Tom McDevitt is skeptical about the issue, but he praises the leadership of Prime Minister Albin Kurti. “I'm not quite sure about those areas, I need to study that more. But you know what excites me about Kosovo, their interest in joining NATO, the development here economically. I understand the German foreign minister was here, just a couple days ago and a new relationship with Japan is developing, that is great news, and that's great leadership, and I think Prime Minister Kurti is on the right track”, said McDevitt for KosovaPress. The American professional, who has long experience in journalism, has good words for journalists from Kosovo as well. McDevitt is interested in collaborating with the media in the country. “The journalists that I know, my good friends from this area, heads of news agencies and other journalists are professionals. They understand the ethics in journalism, the importance of accuracy, and fairness and especially the nature of character, in terms of before, you're a journalist, you're a human being... So, I have a lot of interest to come back and work with Washington and the US, and Washington Times. But also, we have the International Media Association for Peace and that's a new entity that was formed out of UPF. So, we're excited to see how IMAP can develop in the Balkans and I want to come back a lot”, added Mc Davitt. The director of the daily "The Washington Times" adds that Americans should visit the countries of the region. “I really love this area, the culture, the people, the food and music, and I think it's great for Americans to wake up and see what a wonderful place, the Balkans is and especially Kosovo”. He added. The role of journalism in a conflict situation, he says, is crucial, while adding that the journalistic profession must be supported. “Well, they (journalist) have got to tell the truth and so often journalists aren't able to tell the truth. Let's examine Russia. Could the news agencies here go into Russia and speak out openly and honestly, of course not. What about China? What about North Korea, Iran? In other places, there's also suppression but I think that's most important, that's why press freedom is so essential. But also looking at the facts and getting the stories, look how many journalists have been killed in Ukraine. And so, I think this is a global issue. We have to support the media and support the profession”, said McDavitt. The President of "The Washington Times", Tom McDevitt days ago was part of the Balkan Leadership Conference on "Peace, Security and Development in the Western Balkans", where he said that Kosovo's participation was unique. “The focus of this conference was peace and development in Security in the Balkans. And I think we also had panels on the media and especially we had some fabulous talented experienced journalists and heads of all of the news associations, the news agencies in the region. So, it was so delightful but very meaningful time and I think we heard about credibility in the media, a very important point and we also heard about how to cover the conflict regions especially like with Ukraine and Russia. So, I think this was a very important first step and I hope we'll continue”, concluded the President of "The Washington Times", Tom McDevitt. This conference was organized by the Universal Peace Federation (UDF) in partnership with the KosovaPress News Agency, the Washington Times Foundation, the International Peace Media Association (IMAP) and the International Association for Youth and Students for Peace (IAYSP).