The media scene in Cacak

The city of Cacak, with its 150,000 inhabitants, has one regional TV station, one local and two cable TV stations, two radio stations with regional frequencies, four local radio stations and two local weekly magazines, which does not exactly paint a picture of shortage of media outlets. On the contrary, if we take into account the numerous correspondents reporting to national broadcasters, print media outlets and certain foreign services in Serbian language, it seems that the local media scene is overcrowded.

Privatization of public media outlets in Cacak was completed in December 2009 when on the same day Radio and TV Cacak became the property of the same majority owner, Milos Bojovic, a high school student. It is widely known in the city that the true owner of the two media outlets is Milos' father, Zoran Bojovic, a controversial businessman from Cacak. Mr Bojovic has purchased several local companies during the privatization process, among them the local newspaper, "Cacanski Glas".

In this way, the editorial offices of the newspaper, radio and TV Cacak, which had previously been a part of the same company, IIJP "Cacanski Glas", were separated by the then municipal government into three independent companies before the privatization; however, these three outlets now have, in essence, the same boss.

It is unclear whether the new owner will again join together the three editorial offices into a single company. More details will emerge when Mr Bojovic comes back from the "business trip financed by the government". However, it is evident that the editorial policy of the newspaper has not changed despite the change in the position of the editor in chief, and that obligations toward the employees have been mostly fulfilled, except for the fact that a photojournalist has been fired to make a place for the son of the new director.

On the other side, post-privatization events in the editorial offices of the radio and TV station have been completely different and no less than dramatic. After only two months, seven employees and the previous director of TV Cacak were dismissed, while editors and journalists were removed from the air together with their programmes. Part-time contributors without journalistic experience were hired in their place.

In the editorial office of Radio Cacak, five employees were fired and a new editor-in-chief appointed; at the same time, the programme has not significantly changed except for the introduction of a new programme edited and hosted by the son of the majority owner.

The budget of the city of Cacak in 2010 amounts to around 22 million euros, out of which the sum of around 100,000 euros – or 10 million dinars – was earmarked for informing. During the previous years this amount had been significantly larger. For example, in 2008 and 2009, no less than 35 and 45 million dinars were earmarked for the same purpose, respectively. These sums were used to fund exclusively the TV and Radio Cacak, which at the time were still public companies.

For the reasons known to the president of the City Assembly and the ruling coalition in Cacak (New Serbia, Democratic Party of Serbia, Socialist Party of Serbia, Pensioners' Party of Serbia, Serbian Radical Party), no contests for local media outlets have been organized. The three contests for live airing of sessions of the City Assembly in 2010 which have been announced by the president of the Assembly have failed miserably. The reason for this lies in incompetence and the lack of good will of the local government to implement the contest procedure in a transparent form and as stipulated by law.

Perhaps the reason lies in the inability of the local government to find a proper model to channel the money from the city budget – allocated to informing – toward the editorial offices of Mr Bojovic, which had been supported by the budget before the privatization. It is not so important whether there exists a kind of a secret link or whether the administration is just too inert, because the facts speak for themselves. All advertisements that the city government intends to publish in print media are published only in "Cacanski Glas", whose director – what a coincidence – is the former secretary of the municipality from the period of Milosevic's rule. The editor-in-chief of the newspaper is the wife of the former administrator of the Moravski county, while the executive director of all the companies – including the media companies – purchased by Mr Bojovic in the course of privatization is the wife of the head of police administration in Cacak.

All the connections between the new capital, the government and the privatized media could be only a coincidence – or not. The outcome is uncertain because the activity of the City Assembly has been blocked until further notice. The political opposition insists on live broadcasting of sessions, while the president of the Assembly is not willing to repeat the fiasco he caused at the last session, when he ordered the door of the Assembly to be locked by the police and guarded by the security personnel that banned even journalists from entering – this event drew protests from journalistic and media associations.

Another media-related scandal also caused a storm of protests of journalistic and media organizations in Serbia. A local politician, Velimir Ilic, sued "Cacanske Novine" – i.e. its editor-in-chief – because, in his own words, he recognized himself in the humorous piece "The Impotent Mandarin" published by the newspaper – and demanded damages in the amount of two million dinars. It seems that the judge of the Higher Court, Gordana Tosic, shares his opinion since she fined the editor with 180,000 dinars. The verdict was appealed before the Court of Appeals in Kragujevac and the court session before the Primary Court in Cacak is scheduled for June 21.

During this spring, political and media frictions have dominated the media reports from the city on the Morava river. At the same time, the public in Serbia has been mostly uninformed about the fact that the most significant poetic event, "The Spring of Dis", is taking place in Cacak.

Stojan Markovic

About the authors

MC Newsletter, May 7, 2010