The language of tabloids is being accepted as a model for Serbian media, while the linguistic norms are not precisely established and have not followed the changes in today's discourse – this is the conclusion of the participants in the round table "Write As You Think".
(Danas, 02/06/2011)

The media audience

According to the supplement published by TV Review – a supplement of the Politika daily newspaper – issue of 4-10 June 2011, seven national TV channels aired 101 films in total during this period, which includes commercials. This means that on an average day 14.4 films are aired on all channels, i.e. 2.1 films per channel on average. This information demonstrates that the magic of television has been destroyed by films and advertising, say the authors of the TV Review.
(Politika, 06/06/2011)

In a poll conducted by the web site of the Danas daily newspaper on Wednesday, more than 99 percent of participants (more than 22.000 visitors in total) were of the opinion that individual agricultural producers should not be given subsidies for land exceeding 30 hectares, while only around one percent of them replied positively. The newspaper's interviewees are of the opinion that the web site was most probably compromised by hackers without any political or economic interests, although it is evident that there are groups on the internet which operate in the interest of political parties, influential lobbies and powerful companies, with the aim to 'distort' the voice of the public. The president of the Center for Development of the Internet, Slobodan Markovic, said to Danas that it is obvious that political parties have their own 'branches' on the internet "whose activities will become increasingly more noticeable as the elections approach".
(Danas, 04/06/2011)

Awards, courses and contests

The Secretariate for Sports and Youth of the Autonomous Province and the Sports Agency of the Province have jointly organized the project "Sports Day with Journalists" in Letenka. Representatives of the management and the Public Company "National Park Fruska Gora", as well as sport journalists, participated in the sport contests.
(Danas, 01/06/2011)

Belgrade magazine Status, the only local non-licensed magazine that has been published continually for more than nine years, has published its 100th issue on 236 pages filled with attractive and exclusive stories. Among other things, the magazine published the interview of the president of Serbia, Boris Tadic, given to the writer Svetislav Basara.
(Danas, 01/06/2011)

Daily newspaper Politika published an exclusive photograph of Ratko Mladic that has attracted the interest of international and local media outlets, agencies and newspapers. Everybody was allowed to publish the photograph for free if they credited Politika.
(Politika, 28/05/2011)

European Association of Newspaper Agencies (EANA) announced that the director of Tanjug, Branka Djukic, won this year's award for exceptional quality of news agency journalism. The announcement emphasized that the award was given for significant transformation and modernization of the agency, and that the Board of Directors of EANA decided unanimously on the recipient of the award. "They had taken into account the fact that the agency's profile changed from a sycophant media outlet to the most-cited news agency in the print media", said Branka Djukic to Politika.
(Blic, Dnevnik, Politika, 31/05/2011)

Anniversaries

Tenth issue of the "TFT" magazine on theatre, film and television was presented in the bookstore "Glasnik". The magazine has recently won an award at the Book Fair in Sarajevo, where it was pronounced the best magazine of its kind in the region.
(Danas, 26/05/2011)

Journalist Zoran Panovic presented yesterday his new book "The Age of Soda" containing 70+1 of his selected interviews made during his journalistic career.
(Blic, 02/06/2011)

The Bosnian National Council (BNV) and the Center for Bosniak Studies from Tutin organized in the City Museum in Prijepolje on Friday a promotion of the first 20 issues of the magazine of social life and culture of Bosniaks from Sandzak, "Bosnjacka Rijec". The current editor of the magazine, Redzep Skrijelj, believes that the first 20 issues have managed to preserve valuable cultural and material legacy of Bosniaks for future generations, despite difficult circumstances and the lack of funds.
(Danas - Sandžak, 03/06/2011)

Apology of the Managing Board of RTS

The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) and the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV) welcome the decision of the new Managing Board of the Radio-Television Serbia to offer an apology for its programme broadcast during the nineties of the last century, but consider that the Board should have made a greater emphasis on the warmongering role of the national TV. The Managing Board of the Radio-Television of Serbia (RTS) offered an apology to "citizens of Serbia and neighboring states that were exposed to insults, libel and the content that today would be defined as hate speech that were aired during the nineties".
(Blic, Kurir, Vecernje Novosti, 25/05/2011)

As long as some of the people who had abused the news programme in order to insult their opponents are still working as editors in the RTS, apologies do not matter and cannot be considered sincere – this is the opinion of a columnist for the Pravda daily newspaper.
(Pravda, 25/05/2011)

The existence of a basis for an apology is evidenced by the fact that the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) submitted in 2009 criminal charges to the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office against unidentified perpetrators, responsible persons and journalists in several media outlets because of their "clear role in dissemination of propaganda". The charges were filed against the responsible persons in the Radio-Television Belgrade, Radio-Television Novi Sad, and daily newspapers Politika and Vecernje Novosti. Those that should have apologized have not done it; at the same time, the apology may be 20 years too late, writes a columnist in the daily newspaper Danas.
(Danas, 25/05/2011)

The Meshihat of the Islamic Community in Serbia, led by the mufti Muamer Zukorlic, is of the opinion that the apology issued by the Managing Board of the Radio-Television Serbia is a positive development, but not enough and that its current editorial policy is not completely independent from the policy of the ruling regime.
(Beta, Danas, 25/05/2011)

What is – mostly incorrectly – described as an apology of the Managing Board of the Radio-Television of Serbia has actually attracted less attention than it deserves, writes Radoslav Petkovic, a columnist in the Blic daily newspaper.
(Blic, 29/05/2011)

Media transfers

A TV host and a winner of the "European Face" contest at the RTS, Djordje Maricic, has left the media company and joined TV B92 as one of the presenters of the "New Morning Programme".
(Večernje Novosti, 30/05/2011)

Documentary series "The others, different?"

Media Center Belgrade is realizing the project "Religious tolerance – huge milstone to EU" with support from the EU Media Fund program. A crucial part of the project is the documentary series "The others, different?", consisting of four half-hour documentary films. The second two films will be screened in 10 Serbian cities between June 10 and June 17. A panel discussion on the occasion of the completion of the project "Religious tolerance – huge milstone to EU" will be held in Belgrade on June 18 in the Continental Hotel, 10 Vladimira Popovica Street, in the Le Club hall at 12.00.
(Media Center, 07/06/2011)

In memoriam

After a long and serious illness, Visnja Bozovic-Vukotic, a journalist and a long-time member of the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS), passed away early in the morning in Belgrade.
(UNS, 01/06/ 2011)

A long-time journalist and editor of the Croatian Radio, Dusko Mandic, passed away at age 76 in Belgrade. He worked as a correspondent for Radio Zagreb from Belgrade since 1975 and won numerous awards from Croatian Television (HTV) and the Croatian Journalistic Association. Dusko Mandic was also a member of the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS). The funeral was held in Belgrade on June 6 in attendance of his family.
(NUNS, 08/06/2011)

Issue No. 5
May 25 – June 08, 2011

Abbreviations