The media situation in Serbia

The European Commission has sent to the Government of Serbia its opinion about the Proposal of the Media Strategy. The EC says that it is necessary to ensure editorial and financial independence of state-owned media outlets or to privatize them, as well as to introduce clear criteria for state advertising and implement free market rules in a manner which would prevent concentration of advertising revenue and its monopolistic distribution that could lead to abuse of the dominant position in the market and undesirable influence over the professional and financial integrity of the media. The opinion also points out that sources of financing of the media should be limited to transparent projects in accordance with clear criteria. The European Commission also adds that the ambiguous provision about the possibility of the state purchasing news agencies for its own needs could result in undesirable influence on the media. The EC has also criticized the proposal on founding of six new regional public service broadcasters because of the concern that they would be financially unsustainable due to fierce competition. In addition, the EC opinion states that the provision which allows the councils of national minorities to finance their own media from the national budget is equally problematic because of the political nature of these councils and their potential influence over the media content.
(Press, 23.09.2011)

Latest analyses of the media situation in Serbia

The research "Political and Economic Challenges" conducted by the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV) aims to acquire data that would allow the Association to prepare strategic plans for future activities. The acquisition of data was performed in April 2011 on the basis of a sample consisting of 271 journalists from media outlets based in Vojvodina. The subject of the research was the following: (1) the relationship between journalists and NDNV; (2) the relationship between the media and politics; (3) the relationship between the media and the economy; (4) characteristics of the media in minority languages; (5) the attitude of journalists towards new technologies; and (6) the relationship between journalists and journalistic associations. The collected data and the analysis is available for download in PDF format from here: DATA ANALYSIS – The Media and Journalistic Associations: Political and Economic Challenges (ANALIZA PODATAKA – Mediji i udruženja novinara: politički i ekonomski izazovi).
(NDNV, 22.09.2011)

The round table intended to discuss the Report on Pressure and Control Over the Media in Serbia and the conclusions published in the Report by Anti-Corruption Council is organized in cooperation with the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data, the Protector of Citizens and representatives of media associations. Among the speakers at the round table are Verica Barac, the president of the Anti-Corruption Council, Snjezana Milivojevic, a professor at the Faculty of Political Science, Rodoljub Sabic, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data, Sasa Jankovic, the Protector of Citizens, Ljiljana Smajlovic, the president of the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) and Vukasin Obradovic, the president of the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS).
(MC, 29.09.2011)

The state and the media

Serbia should make additional efforts to strengthen the freedom of the media, says the report on situation in Serbia written by the Commmissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg.
(Blic, 23.09.2011)

Threats, attacks and legal proceedings against journalists, media trials

The president of the Journalists' Association of Serbia, Ljiljana Smajlovic, announced her intention to inform the International Federation of Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York about the harassment endured by Serbian journalist Viktor Lazic during his journalistic assignment in South Ossetia despite the fact that the possessed a valid journalistic ID. The president of the Independent Journalistic Association of Serbia (NUNS), Vukasin Obradovic, says that "the state has to protect our colleague and prevent such occurrences".
(Press, 16.09.2011)

The secretary-general of the South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), Oliver Vujovic, called on the government of South Ossetia to explain why they hold the journalist of Press newspaper, Viktor Lazic, in custody, and to release him immediately.
(Press, 16.09.2011)

Daily newspaper Press asked the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Belgrade, Aleksandar Konuzin, to help in release of its journalist, Viktor Lazic, from custody, but the Ambassador refused to assist because Press had insulted him in 2009.
(Press, NUNS, Danas, 16.09.2011)

Press journalist, Viktor Lazic, was released from prison in South Ossetia.
(Press, 17.09.2011)

In his letter sent to the Pravda daily newspaper, journalist of the Albanian TV station "Klan", Bojan Bozovic, threatened the editorial office and journalists of the newspaper because they had published his statement in which he said that he knew who killed the member of the ROSU special unit.
(Pravda, UNS, 16.09.2011)

The Association of Sport Journalists of Serbia (USNS) and the Journalists' Association of Serbia have strongly condemned the acts of the deputy president of the Football Club Novi Pazar, Tarik Imamovic, who forbid the correspondent of the newspaper Sportski Zurnal to report from the club's matches. Kucevic was also threatened with "liquidation" if he continued to report on the Novi Pazar football club.
(FoNet, Danas, 23.09.2011)

Journalist of Nove Knjazevacke Novine newspaper, Sasa Todorovic, was banned from attending the public debate organized by the United Regions of Serbia (URS) under the title "Better Life for the City of Knjazevac". The incident occurred in plain sight of the leader of URS, Mladjan Dinkic.
(Pravda, Politika, NUNS,UNS, 26.09.2011)

The Serbian People's Movement "Nasi" called the public's attention and pointed out that the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) had been transformed into a center of Euro-Atlantic media manipulation and that NUNS was making a mockery of the journalistic profession and contaminating the media scene of Serbia by promoting the Gay Pride ideology.
(www.nasisrbija.org, NUNS, 25.09.2011)

Non-governmental organization Sandzak Council for Protection of Human Rights and Freedom filed criminal charges against the e-newspaper Sandzak Press because the NVO and its president, Semiha Kacar, had been "exposed to public ridicule, libel and insults by readers of the Sandzak Press".
(Danas, NUNS, 15.09.2011)

The chief mufti of the Islamic Community in Serbia, Muamer Zukorlic, announced his intention to sue all media outlets in Serbia that had published the accusations and insults "allegedly" made by the organization "Otpor Sandzaka" ("Sandzak Resistance"), which Zukorlic believed was non-existent.
(Politika, 25.09.2011, UNS, NUNS, Danas, 26.09.2011)

The Commercial Court in Novi Sad ordered SBB to immediately continue broadcasting the programme of the TV station Kanal 9 because the Article 16 of the Law on Public Information stipulates that public media distributors cannot refuse to distribute a public media outlet without a justifiable commercial reason, nor to impose conditions that are contrary to market principles.
(UNS, 27.09.2011)

The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) strongly condemns the physical assault on the TV Tutin crew and demands the authorities identify and punish the attackers. Journalist Mersid Agovic and cameraman Tufik Sadovic were attacked in downtown Tutin by four attackers who had previously provoked the TV team. The most appalling thing is the fact that the police failed to adequately react; only the TV Tutin crew was taken to the police station in order to give their statements about the incident.
(NUNS, Danas, Pravda, Kurir, 28.09.2011)

The Media Strategy

The media sector welcomes the achieved harmonization of the proposed Media Strategy of Serbia but considers that its provisions related to regional public service broadcasters are completely unacceptable and practically unsustainable.
(Fonet, Beta, Blic, NUNS, NDNV, Večernje novosti, B92, Press,15.09.2011)

The Minister of Culture, Predrag Markovic, did not announce when the Government of Serbia would adopt the Media Strategy, but he reaffirmed that the Strategy would be presented to the National Parliament of Serbia before its adoption.
(Beta, 15.09.2011)

The Coordinator for Public Relations of the Government of Serbia, Slobodan Homen, announced that the Government would adopt the proposal of the Media Strategy until October 1. He pointed out that the most important issue was to ensure that the document was harmonized with European standards before the adoption.
(Tanjug, Beta, Politika, Pregled, Pravda, Blic, Večernje Novosti, 23.09.2011)

A member of the working group for preparation of the media strategy, is of the opinion that the state has been violating the law for six years and that it would continue to violate it if the harmonized proposal of the Media Strategy was adopted. "The state has failed to privatized media outlets financed from the budget, and at the same time intends to found new local and regional media outlets, as well as media outlets of national minority councils", says Veljanovski. "The state owns 50 percent of Politika and Dnevnik newspapers each, as well as 30 percent of daily newspaper Novosti. Radio-Television Serbia (RTS) is broadcasting the sessions of the National Parliament of Serbia due to political pressure. All these things are illegal. Instead of selling its ownership share in these media outlets, the state intends to adopt the Media Strategy which would allow creation of local and regional media outlets."
(Blic, UNS, NUNS, 16.09.2011)

In his article published by the newspaper Danas, Jan Briza says: "The biggest flaw in the Media Strategy is certainly the large number of compromises that have been made during its preparation and harmonization due to the conflict between various political interests and professional organizations. In this way, the attempt to introduce rules and norms in the chaotic media scene of Serbia has been seriously jeopardized at its very beginning."
(Danas, 28.09.2011)

Media outlets of national minorities

National Councils of national minorities are allowed to found media outlets in languages of national minorities – stipulates the final draft of the Media Strategy. The proposed Strategy also states that minority media outlets can exist in the form of commercial media, civil society media outlets, or media outlets of National Councils of national minorities.
(Danas 15.09.2011)

The director of Panon RTV, a regional media company operating in Hungarian language and headquartered in the city of Subotica, Rudolf Mihok, was removed from his position. The decision was made by the Assembly of its founder, the Panon Foundation. The vice president of the Hungarian National Council and a member of the Assembly of the Panon Foundation, Ferenc Zoldos, said that one of the reasons for the decision was the interruption of the TV broadcasting from Palic on August 20 of the celebration of the Hungarian national holiday dedicated to the founder of the state and the first king of Hungary, king Istvan. In accordance with the Law on National Councils, the Hungarian National Council became a co-founder of RTV Panon during the last year and now has its representatives in the station's management.
(Tanjug, Dnevnik, Pravda, Večernje Novosti 21.09.2011)

This is the second case of dismissal of an editor in Hungarian media outlets. In the beginning of summer, the editor-in-chief of Magyar Szo, Caba Presburger, was removed from his position due to similar reasons. In their letter to the Minister of Culture, Hungarian intellectuals said that the events in the media scene of national minorities proved that national councils had a monopoly over these media outlets and that they often operate as nothing more than a mouthpiece of political parties of national minorities or elites.
(Dnevnik, 21.09.2011)

The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) and the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV) pointed out that dismissals of editors in Hungarian-language media outlets were continuing, and demanded that "the arbitrariness of national councils' decisions related to media outlets founded by them be limited". They propose that the Media Strategy should include modifications to the Law on National Councils of National Minorities aimed at limiting the arbitrary decisions of national councils.
(Beta, Politika, Danas, Dnevnik, NUNS, Blic, 22.09.2011)

Excerpts from the document entitled "Proposal of the Media Strategy for Media Outlets in Hungarian Language 2011-2016", made by the Hungarian National Council of Vojvodina, reminded me of the infamous days of the rule of Slobodan Milosevic – writes Teofil Pancic. "Among the bright ideas presented in the document, one of the most glaring is the proposal that the Hungarian National Council should gain founding rights over the Hungarian-language editorial offices in Radio-Television Vojvodina, i.e. the public service broadcaster of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The Strategy also states that the role and mission of such media is to 'play an important role in achievement of cohesion within the community and restoration of community values'; the media are expected 'to report on national holidays, significant dates and symbols of the Hungarian nation in Vojvodina, preservation and strengthening of the religious identity, and the culture of religious communities'. How is this to be achieved? The Strategy states that 'reporting has to be performed not only in Hungarian language, but in accordance with the 'Hungarian spirit'. The concept of the national spirit is the birthplace of every fascism" – writes Pancic.
(Vreme, NUNS, NDNV, 22.09.2011)

The president of the Association of Hungarian Journalists of Vojvodina, Livia Tot, strongly criticized the Draft Media Strategy prepared by the Hungarian National Council and pointed out that the document demonstrates the desire of the National Council to interfere with the activities of editors. The editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine Caladi Ker, Ana Fridrih, said that the Draft Strategy indicates that "difficult times" await Hungarian journalism in Vojvodina.
(Beta, NUNS, NDNV, B92, 27.09.2011)

In its editorial column, the daily newspaper Magyar Szo sharply criticized the Hungarian National Council and individual politicians, and pointed out that the newspaper's editors were often exposed to politicians' pressure. With regard to the recent dismissal of the director of RTV Panon, Rudolf Mihok, the newspaper said that it was "strongly pressured" to refrain from publishing the letter written by the dismissed editor. The newspaper also described threats of lawsuits against journalists, as well as phone calls to editors by an official from the Hungarian National Council. "It seems that they can already do anything, they can issue instructions over the phone, make threats or peddle their personal ideas about the editorial policy. They treat our public institutions as their private property". The newspaper also published the names of the individuals who had attempted to exert pressure on its editors.
(Beta, NUNS, RTV, NDNV, 26.09.2011)

A professor of English languages in the High School of Engineering in Pozarevac, Jelena Popovic-Ivanovic, allegedly spread hatred against homosexuals via her Facebook page and openly incited violence against them. The professor wrote that she disagreed with the idea that minorities and the majority people should have equal rights, and that promoters of tolerance were "deviants".
(Radio 021, 21.09.2011)