The media situation in Serbia

The state is acting like a competition to the private media and if this trend continues, private media outlets will not survive, while the only remaining survivors in the market will be the media that is financed from the national budget – this is the conclusion reached at the yesterday's presentation of the report on media financing from budgets of local self-governments in Serbia. During the press conference it was noted that media companies in 33 Serbian cities have received slightly less than 850 million dinars in the last year, but that 70 percent of that money went to publicly-owned companies, mostly the electronic media, for the purpose of reporting on activities of these local self-governments. Dragana Zarkovic Obradovic, a representative of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), said that publicly-owned companies were being favored with regard to financing of the media, placing the private media and production at a disadvantage, and that such circumstances were influencing the editorial policy of the media due to the fact that money was going to be paid regardless of the quality of work. She said that the money intended for publicly-owned companies was most often allocated in the form of subsidies and used mostly for salaries, instead for media production. The president of the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), Dinko Gruhonjic, said that if nothing changes, only the state- and curch-owned media would survive in Serbia, as well as the media founded by "paraofficial" national councils.
(Beta, Pregled, NDNV,22.09.2012)

Opinions about the current media situation in Serbia

Dragan J. Vucicevic says in an article published by the daily newspaper Informer: "During the eight years of Tadic's sultanistic regime, a media strategy was made official which does not favor truth. The system of values in Serbian press was not established on the basis of quality, but in accordance of the degree of sycophancy. As we are now finding out, obedient journalists were awarded with millions of dinars from the national budget! Free journalism is a necessary precondition for a democratic and normal society. There can be no free journalism in Serbia while the worst, the most obedient and most corrupted hold the positions of editors and directors."
(Informer, 15.09.2012)

The minister of culture and information, Bratislav Petkovic, said that the new Government of Serbia faced a completely unregulated media scene during the first 40 days of its existence, and that it was not known who were the real owners and rulers of the media. Petkovic said that the Government of Serbia would insist on transparency of ownership over the media, the freedom of the media, and investigation of attacks on and murders of journalists. He confirmed that there was a team within the cabinet of the President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic that was working on preparation of media laws, but that it was not a formal work group. The head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, Vincent Degert, said that the political pressure against the media in Serbia was not so direct anymore, but that the media were exposed to economic pressure.
(Beta, Danas, Dnevnik, Informer, 21.09.2012, ASMEDI Newsletter, September 2012)

The state and the media

The new government will not control the media and we aim to adopt a set of media laws until March 2013 that would ensure freedom and independence of the media in accordance with European standards, said the minister of culture and information, Bratislav Petkovic. "We will achieve this in cooperation with European organizations. As a minister, I do not want to influence the media. I do not have legal or moral rights to do so", said Petkovic.
(ASMEDI Newsletter, 16.09.2012)

The president of the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia, Vukasin Obradovic, said yesterday that he was concerned with the manner in which the government intends to protect the interest of the state in the company Politika and whether the state would gain an ownership share in the company. In his words, the state is supposed to withdraw from media ownership, not to acquire new media outlets. Obradovic said that it would not be a good solution to make the company Politika completely owned by the state i.e. to let the state purchase the share owned by VAC.
(Beta, Politika, 19.09.2012)

The first deputy prime minister of the Government of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said that the new Government would guarantee the freedom of the media and that the state should withdraw from media ownership as soon as possible. A press statement issued after a meeting with OSCE representative for the freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, says that it was agreed that Serbia would take all required steps to implement international standards in the media scene.
(Beta, Politika, Blic, Dnevnik, Vecernje novosti, 20.09.2012,Tanjug, Pregled, 21.09.2012, Beta Politika, 22.09.2012)

The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) is concerned because of the fact that draft media laws are being prepared by an informal work group within the cabinet of the president of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic, which was publicly confirmed by the president of the National Parliament of Serbia, Nebojsa Stefanovic, and the minister of culture and the media, Bratislav Petkovic. We call on representatives of all state institutions to adhere to the legal procedure and the fundamental principles and deadlines stipulated by the Media Strategy, which means that media laws should be formulated and adopted transparently, says NUNS.
(Beta, Fonet, Politika, Blic, 21.09.2012)

The president of the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS), Vukasin Obradovic, says that it is "not a good news", if true, that a work group was formed within the cabinet of the president of Serbia that would work on the media strategy. "It is not a good news that people around the president are working on this kind of legislation, this is a dangerous precedent", says Obradovic.
(Tanjug Politika, Blic, 22.09.2012,Alo!, 23.09.2012)

No one from the president's cabinet is working on draft laws on information, sources from Nikolic's cabinet told the media, and added that they cooperate with the media.
(Press, 22.09.2012)

A working group for the media strategy has been formed within the cabinet of the president of Serbia, it was confirmed to the daily newspaper Blic in the cabinet of Tomislav Nikolic and explained that "the draft version of the reformed law is worked on by a group of experts in media laws under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture".
(Blic, 23.09.2012)

Public service broadcasters

The president of the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS), Vukasin Obradovic, said yesterday that the statement issued by the deputy prime minister, Aleksandar Vucic, about state financing of the public service broadcaster under certain conditions, could be interpreted as a form of pressure on the editorial policy of Radio-Television Serbia (RTS).
(Beta, Danas, Politika, 15.09.2012)

A new programme schedule of Radio-Television Vojvodina (RTV) began on Thursday, and in the following period the two channels of RTV will broadcast a range of new programmes and various new content and topics. One of the novelties is that the First Channel of RTV will broadcast the best programmes of national minorities, subtitled in Serbian language.
(Danas - Vikend, 15.09.2012)

The minister of culture, Bratislav Petkovic, said that the issue of financing of the public service broadcaster had to be solved before spring next year and that survival of the RTS would probably have to be ensured by using money from the national budget.
(Tanjug, Press, E-kapija, Vecernje novosti, 21.09.2012)

The president of the Executive Board of the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS), Petar Jeremic, says that the TV subscription in Croatia is called a "TV set fee" and payed in a form of a tax obligation. "Three percent of the money collected in this way is used to finance non-commercial content on private television stations. At the same time, the Croatian state television is not allowed to use this money to purchase commercial content, like the League of Champions or something similar. Instead, it can buy such content only using its advertising revenue", says Jeremic. Therefore, if Serbia were to introduce a TV set fee like in Croatia, non-payers could be held criminally accountable, explains Jeremic.
(Politika, 21.09.2012)

The percentage of people who are paying the TV fee to RTS is getting lower each month. At the moment, no less than 70 percent of citizens is not paying the fee that is legally stipulated by a law adopted in 2002. This fact is emphasized by the general director of RTS, Aleksandar Tijanic, as well as by trade unions of the public service broadcaster, who warn that the financing is insufficient for normal functioning of the system. "It is not acceptable that in Croatia the percentage of payment is more than 90 percent and that their public service broadcaster has the annual budget of 200 million euros, while we have only 70 million euros, including the advertising revenue, which amounts to around 20 million euros. A normal country should have a powerful public service broadcaster with many viewers and with a sufficient and stable source of financing. At the same time, the public service broadcaster should not be burdened with any demands regarding its personnel or in other areas", says Tijanic.
(Politika, 21.09.2012, Alo!, 22.09.2012)

Threats, attacks and legal proceedings against journalists; media-related trials

The legal process against the former director of RTS, Dragoljub Milanovic, who is charged with abuse of authority with regard to allocation of housing to RTS employees, is set to continue. Milanovic will defend himself while free, after serving a 10-year prison sentence for his role in the death of 16 employees of the public service broadcaster during NATO bombing.
(Blic, Danas, 16.09.2012, Informer, 17.09.2012)

The vice president of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), Milutin Mrkonjic, said that Dragoljub Milanovic "did not deserve to go prison" while commenting on the 10 years that the former director of RTS had spent in prison for his crime against public safety with lethal consequences.
(Alo!, 20.09.2012)

"I wish I had died. At least my family would not have had to go through all this... I don't know what else I could say, because I did everything I could to protect them. I feel that I my only guilt is that I stayed alive", said Dragoljub Milanovic. He also said that he had asked Slobodan Milosevic, the then president of the country, to launch an investigation of the bombing of the RTS building.
(Svedok, Alo!, UNS, NUNS, 25.09.2012)

The president of the High Judicial Council, Nata Mesarovic, finally admitted that her monthly income amounted to no less than 504,815 dinars. At the same time, she threatened to sue the daily newspaper Informer because of "incitement to lynching", since for several months we had insisted on reporting the exact amount of her income!
(Informer, 19.09.2012)

Ljubomir Bradic, a deputy in the local assembly and a member of the group of citizens "Victory for Valjevo" ("Pobeda za Valjevo"), sent an SMS to Milan Milinovic, the director and editor of the local regional TV Vujic, warning him that his station is not allowed to continue broadcasting the sessions of the assembly and that it would not receive any money from the city budget. Later, the deputy Bradic said at a press conference that he did not want nor was allowed to influence the editorial policy of TV Vujic, but that in his opinion the TV station was not unbiased. The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) warns that according to the Law, no one is allowed to limit the freedom of information, especially by abusing official authority.
(Politika, Vecernje novosti, 19.09.2012)

The Democratic Party in Valjevo called on all members of the ruling coalition to respond to allegedly unprecedented attacks on the local media. "The main mouthpiece of the new city policy towards the media, a deputy in the local assembly, Ljubomir Bradic, is the one who says in public and implements the wishes of the local regime in order to discipline the journalists and editors of thel local media", says the party.
(Vecernje novosti – Serbia, 20.09.2012)

The case of the threatening SMS sent by a deputy in the local assembly to the director and editor of the private television station TV Vujic (VTV) will have its epilogue in court. Journalist Milan Milinovic has filed a lawsuit against the member of the group of citizens "Victory", Ljubomir Bradic.
(Blic - Srbija, UNS, NUNS, 25.09.2012)

The police station in Loznica has submitted to the Primary Public Prosecutor's Office in Loznica a report on the new verbal attack and attempt at physical attack on the correspondent of the daily newspaper Vecernje Novosti from Loznica, Vladimir Mitric.
(Vecernje novosti, 19.09.2012)

The president of the Municipal Assembly of Aleksinac, Grujica Veljkovic, suspended the live broadcasting of the session of the Assembly. The stated reason was the sudden malfunction of the second camera in the studio of ALT during the recording of a media report on the epidemy of infectious hepatitis in Aleksinac. According to opposition assembly deputies, the reason for withdrawal of the team of cameramen was the controversial subject on the agenda of the assembly – the budget of the municipality of Aleksinac.
(aleksinacnews.com, 20.09.2012)

The Association of Journalists of Nis strongly protests against the statement made during the last session of the parliament by a deputy from the United Regions of Serbia (URS), Branislav Jovanovic, who threatened with closure all media outlets that had reported on candidates for new directors of public companies in the city of Nis.
(Blic – Serbia, Vecernje novosti – Serbia, 20.09.2012)

The head of the parliamentary group of the United Regions of Serbia (URS) in the Assembly of the City of Nis, Branislav Jovanovic, denied yesterday that he had demanded the closing down of any media outlet during the last parliamentary session. He said that he had only "reacted to the fact that certain web portals made public inappropriate insinuations and untruth about the acting directors of public companies and institutions“.
(Danas, 21.09.2012)

The Commercial Court in Belgrade rejected as unfounded the appeal submitted by SOKOJ against the verdict by the Commercial Court in Subotica. SOKOJ, the collective organization for protection of the rights of composers, had demanded a percentage of the revenue of Radio Subotica resulting from subsidies and donations from the local self-government. The Court confirmed that the total revenue of Radio Subotica cannot serve as the basis for calculation of SOKOJ's fees, but only the revenue resulting from the usage of music works.
(Tanjug, Vecernje novosti – Vojvodina, Blic – Vojvodina, 22.09.2012)

The Highest Court in Cacak decided that the owner of TV Galaksija 32, Milojko Petrovic, is obliged to pay 70,000 dinars to citizen Stojan Markovic as damages for emotional pain and harm to reputation and honor. Markovic had sued Petrovic because the leader of the political party New Serbia, Velimir Ilic, said during his appearance in the programme of the station that he had been "stealing gasoline and selling it to farmers".
(Fonet, Press, Vecernje novosti – Serbia, 22.09.2012)

The Higher Court in Negotin issued a verdict in favor of the news agency Beta in a litigation initiated against the news agency by a politician from Majdanpek. The verdict cites European documents on protection of the media and the principle that politicians are obliged to demonstrate a higher level of tolerance with regard to public criticism. The Court has rejected as unfounded the lawsuit filed by a member of the Municipal Council of Majdanpek, Predrag Djordjevic, who had demanded 250,000 dinars in damages because of the article entitled "Member of the City Council in Majdanpek Grants Himself a Scholarship". The Court of Appeals in Belgrade has confirmed the first-instance verdict.
(Blic, UNS, 24.09.2012)

The family of the TV B92 journalist Tanja Jankovic was brutally beaten last Saturday at the wedding of their cousin by members of the police of the city of Vranje, reports the daily newspaper Alo!. The journalist ended up with bruises, her father Zoran's jaw was fractured in two places and his nose broken, while her sister Bojana's nose is cracked and had to be immediately operated. In the journalist's words, the Jankovic family was attacked because she had publicly asked why no one had ever been held accountable for the crime taking place in the city of Vranje – from the mayor's car being set on fire to the fire that occurred in the Theatre of Vranje. Using her sources, Tanja Jankovic managed to acquire the police report, which is full of illogical claims. "I demand that the government support me and my family because we are feeling threatened. My father and mother have moved to Belgrade because we are afraid for their lives." The spokesman of the Vranje police department, Dragan Stamenkovic, confirmed that, as far as he knew, the police inspector Nenad Jovanovic was still on duty, but he could not specify whether disciplinary proceedings would be initiated against the inspector.
(Alo!, UNS, NUNS, 27.09.2012)

Investigations of murders of journalists

The Government of Serbia has decided to form an international committee for investigation of murders of journalists in Serbia, said the director of TV B92, Veran Matic. During an OSCE event dedicated to challenges facing the media in the South East Europe, Matic said that the initiative for formation of the committee, which would include international investigators, had come from the organization Balkan Freedom Media Network. The Government of Serbia adopted yesterday the decision on formation of the committee.
(Fonet, Politika, Press, Vecernje novosti, Blic, Danas, Tanjug, Dnevnik, 22.09.2012)

The Media Strategy

The Media Coalition will organize a campaign aimed at pointing out the most important media-related issues covered by the Media Strategy of the Government of Serbia adopted in September 2011.
(ASMEDI Newsletter, September 2012)