The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS)
The Library of the City of Belgrade has allowed the members of the Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (NUNS) to become its members for the amount of only 800 dinars a year (the regular fee is 1,500 dinars).Exhibition “The War and the Memory” was organized as a part of the project “Oral Testimonies of the Participants in the War Against Fascism” realized by the Alliance of Anti-Fascists of Serbia, the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Heinrich Bell Foundation and the Museum of History of Yugoslavia.
(Blic, 30.10.2012)
The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS)
On the occasion of November 5, the “Stand Up for Journalism” day, the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) organized a public discussion entitled “What is Serbia Waiting For?” dedicated to decriminalization of libel and revoking of the Article 336 (a) of the Criminal Code.
(Tanjug, UNS, 05.11.2012)
Journalistic trade unions
The Journalists' Trade Union of Serbia has protested because the organization was not invited to participate in the discussion about the media strategy that took place in Arandjelovac. The Union has informed the European and the International Federation of Journalists.
(Informer, 05.11.2012)
The president of the Journalists' Trade Union of Serbia, Dragana Cabarkapa, commented on the shutting down of the programme of TV Avala: “The Journalists' Trade Union of Serbia will inform the president of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Arne König, about the lack of interest of authorities, as well as the media coalition, in ensuring a more secure status of journalists and legal protection from the situation that our colleagues from TV Avala have found themselves in.”
(Danas, UNS, NUNS, 06.11.2012)
The Republic Broadcasting Agency (RRA)
At its session held today, the Council of the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RRA) started proceedings for sanctions against the following broadcasters: TV Pink because of its programme “Adulterers”; TV Prva because of “Family Secrets”; and TV Happy because of “The Mad House”.
(Tanjug, RRA, E-kapija, 24.10.2012, Blic, Press, Vecernje novosti, 25.10.2012, Alo!, NUNS, Kurir, 26.10.2012)
The Council of the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RRA) said that it had ordered TV Pink, TV Prva and TV Happy to display an explanation at the beginning and at the end of programmes “Adulterers”, “Family Secrets” and “Mad House” saying that these shows were fiction, not documentaries so as not to mislead the public.
(Blic, Danas, Dnevnik, Politika, 31.10.2012)
The Republic Agency for Electronic Communication (RATEL)
The members of the Managing Board of the Republic Agency for Electronic Communication (RATEL) were never informed that the SOS channel had filed a lawsuit against the agency because of allocation of a non-functional frequency, reports the daily Kurir. Instead of allocating a new frequency to the SOS channel in 2007 and avoiding a legal process, RATEL officials have been hiding the dispute for years. Because of their actions, the state will have to pay the SOS channel at least 640 million dinars in damages. Milenko Ostojic, the former deputy president and member of the Managing Board of RATEL, told Kurir that case demonstrated negligence on the part of RATEL.
(Kurir, NUNS, UNS, 26.10.2012,Politika, NUNS, UNS, 02.11.2012)
The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) is concerned about the survival of TV SOS, which has become uncertain after the decision by the Republic Agency for Electronic Communication (RATEL) to reject the agreement proposed by the Commercial Court in Belgrade.
(UNS, NDNV, 01.11.2012, Alo!, Danas, 02.11.2012)
“Importation of telecommunication equipment requires the Certificate of Conformity with the Rulebook on Telecommunication Equipment. The Republic Agency for Electronic Communication (RATEL), which is authorized to verify this conformity, recommends that foreign manufacturers and their representatives in the Republic of Serbia, or importers of telecommunication equipment, submit a request for issuance of the Certificate of Conformity (together with all required documentation) in a timely manner – before the intended importation”, says the Agency.
(Ratel, 02.11.2012)
The South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO)
Unknown attackers have launched Molotov cocktails against journalists’ homes in Serbia’s capital Belgrade in two incidents in one week. At 3.30 on 23 October 2012, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at the terrace of Biljana Vujovic, a presenter with TV Kopernikus. Vujovic, who was lucky to be awake, was able to react quickly and to extinguish the fire that started spreading. One week earlier, on the evening of 16 October 2012, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at the house of Damir Dragic, director of the Belgrade-based tabloid daily Informer. Although no one was injured, the family car was gutted by fire.
(SEEMO, MC, 25.10.2012, Beta, Politika,UNS, 04.11.2012)
SEEMO is concerned at Serbia's draft Law on Fees for the Use of Public Goods, drafted by the Ministry of Finance, whose provisions could undermine the independence of regulatory bodies in electronic communications: RATEL and RBA. This would also apply to the license fees for Serbia's public broadcasters, RTS and RTV. By concentrating all these fees in the state budget, the government or ministries can exert influence on public services and regulatory bodies.
(SEEMO, 06.11.2012)
Media News Bulletin is a short account of media reports on the situation in the media. It has been created with the aim to register the information about the media published in the previous 14 days in Serbia, shortened to reflect the basic message of media reports and grouped in thematic subsections. The editors convey the news without changing the essential meaning of media reports on the media. For the readers interested in the complete published article, its source and date of publishing are given. Sections
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