Freelance journalists in Serbia

Sounds nice, but...

Which media outlets are available to freelance journalists and is it possible for them to write for any media in Serbia? - the question, asked by the Media Center, reminded me of much better times from the recent past, when there was more freedom in the media and more room for freelancers. Since they are, in fact, slave workers, perhaps they should not be called freelance journalists. Whether they are tied to an editorial office or a working environment or not, they do not have any right to health and pension insurance. Not to mention the salary. How can such a status be in any way related to freedom?

Of course, they are mostly journalists who have not managed to find a permanent job, or who have lost their jobs in the last ten or more years during the so-called transition period. In the meantime, editorial offices have become property of various crooks and lowered their professional standards. Imagine a journalists who attends "events", writes reports and offers them to several different media outlets. Without even considering the professional standards and the value (literary or any other) of such reports, it is hard to believe that anyone would purchase and publish them. Why? First, no one can agree on such reporting in advance, while most of media outlets have enough of their own personnel to cover all of their needs. Such an adventure would be doomed from the beginning. It would be even more difficult to sell an analysis, comment or an interview.

For years, any mention of freelance journalists has reminded me of Vladimir Markovic, a senior colleague who had fought for a long time for his place in Belgrade journalism. He used to attend most of the press conferences, first in the Tanjug international press center and later – for years – in the Media Center, and to ask speakers three questions from his notebook. Questioned by his colleagues where he intended to publish his reports, he would have no satisfactory response and would often present his earlier published clippings, already worn out from use. My second thought is Teofil Pancic, a renowned colleague. It was only after many years that I discovered that he was not permanently employed in the Vreme magazine (where he has undoubtedly made a strong mark), and that Pancic was, in fact, the only true and a high-quality freelancer. There could be many more of them, and I have mentioned Pancic only as an example of a high-quality and reputable journalist who does not have a job in this country. (Instead, he was beaten in the street!) If we take into account the rest of the former Yugoslavia, the indisputable record holder would be Ivica Molnar Soljanac from Cavtat, a journalist and poet who has probably been published by more media outlets than anyone else in our former country.

Freelance journalism, its definition, future prospects... nothing is certain in Serbia. Another question: how do you call a journalist who works for years, pretends to be employed and waits in vain for the editor to suggest the owner of the media outlet to employ him/her?! I can see two groups taking a market share from unemployed journalists. One of them consists of journalists who have secured a side job for themselves on the basis of their reputation and years-long relationships with their colleagues in other media outlets. Most of them have good journalistic skills, but lack moral scruples and can easily find a place in other media outlets. Asked why he provided a side job for a colleague, a journalist replied that he was trying to widen the colleague's audience. It is possible, although not very probable – such journalists perceive themselves as stars and do not put much effort into their work. The others are numerous and, however much they may be needed by the media, they often come to believe that they are a gift to the audience and that every word from their mouth is sacred to the nation. Apart from various analysts, experts and general practitioners (agriculture, medicine, politics... everything is acceptable if it provides them publicity), we have "public personalities" who cannot imagine their lives without regular interviews in numerous media outlets. (Instead of reading, they write, as one of our writers used to say). They have a subgroup – long-time pensioners who sit in their comfortable homes, write long and meaningless analyses and comments and offer them to various editorial offices and magazines, or try to invite themselves to radio or TV.

I see no perspective for this group of people, and largely I consider myself one of them. Without permanent employment, without health and pension insurance, their position is unenviable and I cannot imagine any solution. They are divided, not numerous, and their position in the society is weak, preventing them from demanding any solution from decision-makers. In the end, I see no reason for their existence. Permanent and temporary employees, as well as news agencies, can perform all necessary tasks. Apart from that, the media in this country are not free and such "freedom" is tolerated by journalists who are often sycophantic, unprofessional and ignorant.

Dragan Banjac

About the authors

MC Newsletter, July 15, 2011