Assessments of the current media situation in Serbia

The media situation in Serbia has worsened since 2006, shows the Media Sustainability Index (MSI) for the year of 2010 issued by IREX, an American NGO for support to the media. The largest drop is evident in the area of business management, which is the result of the serious economic crisis that has affected the media. More details are available at the web site www.irex.org.
(Fonet, B92, NUNS, 13/05/2011)

Hate speech is still present in the media, and the media continue to create new celebrities, abuse experts and work to spread panic – these are the conclusions of the event "Ethics in the Media" moderated by Milena Dragicevic Sesic, a professor at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. Ana Stevanovic spoke about the economic and political influence on the media and emphasized that the director of the TV Pink holds the top position on the list of 100 most influential people in Serbia, while the second and third place are occupied by the director of the Radio-Television Serbia (RTS) and the director of marketing of the "Delta" company (due to funds allocated to advertising by the company), respectively.
(Politika, NUNS, 19/05/2011)

The state should not participate in the activities of the Press Council in any way, because the organisation is a self-regulatory body of publishers and journalists – this is the conclusion reached by the round table "The Media in Serbia" that was organized by the Tanjug news agency. However, a member of the working group for preparation of the media strategy, Danilo Nikolic, pointed out that publishers would not be able to financially support the activities of the Press Council until 2014 due to the effects of the crisis, and that the state should provide such support during the first two years.
(Danas, 17/05/2011)

The president of the Journalists' Union of Serbia, Dragana Cabarkapa, said that the position of the media in Serbia is now worse than during the nineties of the last century, and accused employers of preventing the establishment of a social dialogue and conclusion of a branch-wide collective contract with media employees.
(Beta, Politika, 20/05/2011)

The Media Strategy

On the basis of the Protocol concluded between the Ministry of Culture, Informing and Information Society and six media associations (the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia – NUNS, the Journalists' Association of Serbia – UNS, the Association of Independent Electronic Media – ANEM, the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina – NDNV, the Media Association and Local Press), an expert working group has been formed tasked with preparing and proposing as of June 1, 2011 the Draft Strategy of Development of the Public Information System in the Republic of Serbia Until 2016 together with an action plan for its implementation. Members of the working group are Rade Veljanovski, Slobodan Kremenjak, Dragoljub Zarković, Zoran Sekulic, Danilo Nikolic, Jelena Surculija and Igor Avzner
(The Ministry of Culture, Informing and Information Society, 16/05/2011, Dnevnik, 17/05/2011)

A new media strategy, announced for June 1, is intended to permanently regulate the role of the state in the media field, among other things, said the participants of Tanjug's round table "The Media in Serbia".
(Tanjug, 16/05/2011, Politika, 17/05/2011)

A member of the working group for preparation of the media strategy, Danilo Nikolic, said at the round table "The Media in Serbia" that a draft strategy would be delivered to the Ministry of Culture and Informing as of June 1, after which an expert public debate should follow.
(Novosti, 17/05/2011)

Media-related legal proceedings

Revolted by the verdict against the attacker on the TV B92 cameraman, who was sentenced to only 10 months of house arrest, Zeljko Ivanji, a member of the Serbian parliament and a member of the legal committee of the Council of Europe, announced that he would apply for a political asylum if such legal practice continues. Other members of parliament also condemned double standards demonstrated by judges.
(Alo!, 11/05/2011)

The First Primary Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade will appeal the verdict against Milan Savatovic, the attacker on Bosko Brankovic, a TV B92 cameraman. Savatovic was sentenced to eight months of house arrest.
(Tanjug, Blic, 24 sata, 11/05/2011; Danas, Politika, Kurir, Dnevnik, Pravda, NUNS, UNS, 12/05/2011)

The Minister of Internal Afairs, Ivica Dacic, said that sentences against attackers on journalists could be more severe than demonstrated in the case of assault on the TV B92 cameraman, Bosko Brankovic, if journalists were to have a status of official persons.
(Blic, Alo!, Politika, Kurir, NUNS, UNS, 11/05/2011)

The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) is extremely concerned about the fact that the Vice President of the Government of Serbia and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dacic, is not aware that almost two years ago the Criminal Code was amended and that journalists already have the status of persons who perform a mission of public importance, says the Association's announcement.
(Politika, 12/05/2011)

The owner of Radio Fox, Caslav Milanovic, has won the legal dispute initiated by him in September 2008 against the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RRA). Due to a material violation of the procedure of issuance of licenses for frequencies, the Administrative Court has anulled the decision made by the RRA and ordered the procedure to be repeated.
(Dnevnik, NUNS, 11/05/2011)

The Municipal Court in Novi Sad has passed a verdict that "obliges the defendant", the "Novosti" company, to pay damages to the claimant, Tomislav Djordjevic, for intangible damage in the amount of 70,000 dinars due to "suffered emotional pain caused by harm to dignity and reputation resulting from publishing of untrue and prohibited information in the article entitled "Beaten Because of Stocks".
(Večernje Novosti, 14/05/2011)

The Court of Appeals in Belgrade has annulled the first-instance verdict against Milos Mladenovic and Danilo Zuza, who were sentenced to three months of prison each for their attack on journalist of the "Vreme" weekly magazine, Teofil Pancic, and ordered a new trial.
(Tanjug, Blic, Press, Večernje Novosti , Pravda, Alo!, 19.05.2011)

Teofil Pancic, a journalist for the "Vreme" weekly, said that the Court of Appeals in Belgrade annulled the "bad verdict" against attackers on him, who had been sentenced to three months of imprisonment each, but that he could understand the reason for the annulment. "I do not question the decision, but I wonder whether the motive behind it was the desire to establish the truth, or to additionally reduce the already low sentence", said Pancic.
(Beta, Danas, Boom 93, Politika, Kurir, Dnevnik, 19/05/2011)

The Minister of Justice, Snezana Malovic, announced in Pozarevac that she would do everything in her power to investigate the political background of the murder of the Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, as well as the murders of journalists Dada Vujasinovic and Slavko Curuvija.
(Alo!, Dnevnik, Danas, NUNS, UNS, 16/05/2011)

Instead of explaining the abuse of taxpayers' money, the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Milutin Mrkonjic, announced that he would sue the "Alo!" magazine because of the article claiming that the Ministry of Infrastructure spent for other purposes the funds intended for non-governmental organisations in 2008.
(Alo!, 21/05/2011)

The Republic Public Prosecutor's Office sued an independent regulatory body – the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance, Rodoljub Sabic, reports the Blic newspaper. The Prosecutor's Office demands annullment of the Commissioner's decision ordering the Higher Court to deliver original transcripts of legal proceedings to a defendant in a legal case.
(NUNS, Blic, 25/05/2011)

The Baletic case

The editor-in-chief of the TV Novi Sad, Ljubisa Nikolin, commented on the critical opinions about the new programme authored by a former war journalist, Milijana Baletic, and said that the journalist had not been rehabilitated and that she had been returned to her workplace by a court order.
(Dnevnik, 19/05/2011)

"I have been under attack and abused for 20 years because I have reported on events objectively, without trying to hide the truth", says Milijana Baletic to "Alo!" in her response to media associations' claim that her return to the RTV Vojvodina is a disgrace to journalism.
(Alo!, 11/05/2011)

Nenad Canak, the leader of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, criticized the fact that none of the journalists who acted as warmongers during the nineties has been held accountable by the Hague Tribunal or the domestic courts for inciting to war crimes.
(Blic, NUNS, 12/05/20110)

The Prosecutor's Office for War Crimes is seriously investigating the criminal charges relating to warmongering propaganda that were brought by the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) against unidentified journalists, confirmed the Prosecutor's Office. The issue has become a hot topic again after the broadcasting of a programme authored by Milijana Baletic on the RTV.
(Danas, 11/05/2011)

Attacks on the media and journalists

Kurir
A journalist for the Kurir daily newspaper, Ivona Palada, who is five months pregnant, and a photo reporter, Damir Dervisagic, who were investigating the information about a false adoption of a baby by a singer, Ana Nikolic, were verbally and physically attacked by Z. P. (52), the owner of the house where parents of the child live.
(Kurir, Blic, NUNS, 12/05/20110)

While investigating the story about new abuses committed by the recently arrested businessman, Radosav Savatijevic Kene, a journalist and photo reporter working for the Kurir daily were attacked with rocks. They managed to escape thanks to their skillful driver. Ljiljana Smajlovic, the president of the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS), strongly condemned the latest of the attacks against the journalists of Kurir.
(Kurir, 20/05/2011)

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dacic, condemned the attack on the team of Kurir newspaper. "An assault on journalists is an assault on the truth and democracy. I offer my full support to journalists in their everyday work", said Dacic.
(Kurir, 12/05/2011)

Kovacica
The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) sharply denounces the physical attack and nationalistic insults committed by an official of the Serbian Progressive Party, Zoran Savanov, against the editor-in-chief of the RTV Kovacica, Gojko Vukadin, and the station's cameraman, Danijel Hajko, and demands immediate response by the police and judiciary.
(UNS 19/05/2011)

In their response to the attack on the director and the editor-in-chief and a cameraman of the RTV Kovacica, the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) and the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV) warn the Ministry of Internal Affairs and all state bodies that attack against journalists have become commonplace after the state and the judiciary sent a message to the public that it is allowed to beat or insult journalists without with impunity or with minimal penalties.
(NUNS i NDNV, 19/05/2011)

During a public event "Gulasijada" that took place in Debeljaca on May 14, members of the Municipal Assembly of Kovacica condemned the assault on the team working for the RTV Kovacica and demanded the investigative and judicial bodies to issue a report on the progress of the investigation.
(Dnevnik, 23/05/2011)

Bujanovac
Nedzat Beljulji, the owner of the local radio and TV station "Spektri", was physically attacked in Bujanovac by Agim Zeka Isljami, the chief of the office of the Party for Democratic Action (PDD) and a coordinator of the local Human Rights Committee. The police in Bujanovac was informed about the incident and conducted an investigation. The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) denounced the attack and demanded that the authorities prosecute the attacker in accordance with the provisions of the amended Criminal Code. The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) demanded that the perpetrator be punished.
(NUNS, UNS, Pravda, 16/05/2011)

The victim of the assault, Nedzat Beljulji, said that he hoped that in at least in this case, where the attacker and the circumstances of the attack are known, the reformed judiciary would not find any mitigating circumstances. "This has been the sixth attack in four years. No one has been held accountable. We demand that the state protect us because we are only doing our job professionally."
(Blic, Politika, Kurir, NUNS, UNS, 16/05/2011, Danas, 17/05/2011)

Journalists working for RTV "Spektra" and Nedzat Beljulji himself have already been under pressure of the local authorities because of their critical reports related to the activities of the municipal administration, and especially to the employment of workers in the local self-government and expenditure of budget funds.
(Danas, 17/05/2011)

The owner of a local radio and TV station "Spektri", Nedzat Beljulji, who was physically assaulted by an official of the Party for Democratic Action (PDD), Agim Zeka Isljami, requests police protection.
(Blic, 17/05/2011)

Kula
Although the municipal administration of Kula has promised that there would be no more problems related to issuance of accreditations for reporting from sessions of the Municipal Assembly, the director of TV Kula, Dragan Jovanovic, was not allowed to enter the assembly hall yesterday. Members of the Municipal Assembly for the Socialist Party of Serbia–One Serbia voiced their protest and emphasized that they "would not participate in future sessions until all journalists are allowed to enter the hall".
(Vecernje Novosti, NUNS, 14/05/2011)

Other attacks
Secretary-general of the football club "Vojvodina", Radisav Rabrenovic, verbally attacked journalists who asked him to comment on the match and the decision of his team to leave the football field.
(Kurir, NUNS, UNS, 12/05/2011)

The Association of Sport Journalists of Serbia strongly condemns the verbal attack and the attempt to physically assault a journalist for Sportski Zurnal, Aleksandar Joksic, who was attacked by the secretary-general of the football club "Vojvodina" after the final game of the Serbian Cup.
(Kurir, 18/05/2011)

On Saturday, May 21, before the begining of a handball match of the Super League, journalist Mujo Bjelopoljac was assaulted by a "Priboj" club handball player, Milan Ivanovic, because of the article published in "Sportski Zurnal". The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) strongly condemns the attack.
(UNS, 23/05/2011)

Zoran Ateljevic, a lawyer, warned journalists and media owners that he would initiate civil legal proceedings against media owners and demand damages, and bring criminal charges against responsible persons in the media, if they continue reporting on his client, Milo Djuraskovic, the owner of the "Nibens" Group, who is suspected of causing a damage to the company "FAM" from Krusevac in the amount of 32 million euros.
(Politika, 19/05/2011)

The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) has condemned the latest damaging of the memorial plate located at the place where journalist Slavko Curuvija was murdered on April 11, 1999. Unidentified vandals have removed the table that was placed below the memorial plate at the entrance to the building at 35 Svetogorska Street. The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia demands that the police conduct an investigation and identify the perpetrators of the theft, while journalistic associations have expressed their revolt because of the repeated desecration of the memorial.
(NUNS, 20/05/2011, Danas, Blic, Pravda, 21/05/2011)

Issue No. 4
May 12 – May 24, 2011

Abbreviations