WILL HDZ CONTROL RADIO 101?

Ownership transformation of Radio 101

AIM Zagreb, December 14, 1995

The first wave of privatization of electronic media in Croatia was intended to include ownership transformation first in the already existing radio stations whuch were like anywhere else in former Yugoslavia owned by cities, public education centres and similar social institutions. Therefore, through the first public competition for allocation of radio and tv concessions - which along with radio, legalized operation of several already established private television stations - more than 140 radio concessions, i.e. channels were allocated.

Zagreb Radio 101, a popular radio station, was among them, which got one of the two city concessions. The case of Radio 101 differs from the rest, because it is one of the stations with most serious and considearbly influential informative political program. Privatization of Radio 101 has become even more significant now that the ruling Croat Democratic Community (HDZ) was badly defeated in the elections for Zagreb city and district assembly, having won only one third of the votes.

Apart from political influence, possession of one of Zagreb radio stations means also an opportunity to make a significant profit - e.g. Radio Velika Gorica completed 1994 with three million German marks of profit, after it had paid about 750 thousand marks of royalties to its associates.

Privatization of electronic media has, therefore, opened a hunting season on money and influence. Telecommunication Committee which is formally an independent agency, but under a strong influence of the HDZ, orgnized a public competition for allocation of channels. It consists of nine members chaired by Ivica Mudrinic, Minister of transportation and communications, member of the HDZ. There are also a few politicians form the HDZ in the Committee, and a few "public workers" who are also more or less liable to influence of the ruling party.

A few days before the deadline for application for a channel (in August this year), the Telecommunications Committee publicized that it was necessary for the competitors to present a certified statement that they would fulfill all competition requirements after they receive a concession. This very fact illustrates the manner in which the "independent" Committee reaches decisions: in order for it to reach a favourable decision, the name and political background of the competitors is much more important than their personnel, technical and journalistic potentials. One of the conditions for obtaining a concession is a change of ownership structure: each radio and tv station must have at least four owners, in other words each individual shareholder, pursuant to the Law on Telecommunications, may own 25 per cent of shares at the most.

Radio 101 is the successor of the former Youth Radio which always managed to present views which differed from the prescibed ones even in the single-party system. After the first elections in 1990, Youth Radio was taken over by Zagreb city assembly which founded the enterprise Radio 101. A managing board was appointed with the majority of members from the HDZ, due to the relation of forces in the assembly at the time. President of the managing board was Hrvoje Hitrec, a writer, former Director of the Croat Television (HTV) and one of the Vice-Presidents of the HDZ. Vesna Skare-Ozbolt was also a member of the managing board, who has changed a few posts in the past few years, mostly at the "court" of President Tudjman, as well as Marija Peakic-Mikuljan, the current advisor to Director of HTV, and others.

Despite such a managing board, Radio 101 managed to maintain a distance from the official politics in its editorial policy, and be an exception among the strictly controlled Zagreb media with its specific "ruffled" treatment of the news, round tables and interviews, as well as its unselective live participation of all listeners, without exceptions. Radio 101 has never given in to the extremist war-mongering campaign either.

However, it did give in to business policy of its leadership. For the past four months, journalists worked with no pay at all. Although used to small fees, they worked until finally their patience wore out completely - in the beginning of November, right after the elections, they decided to take certain steps. It all began with signing of a petition demanding resignation of Director Igor Copa and Editor-in-Chief Andjelka Glibe. A demand for resignation of the Managing Board was included. As a symbol of the protest, the anthem of Zagreb youth, the song "I love Dinamo", was braodcast every now and then that day (it should be noted that the name of Dinamo football team affects Franjo Tudjman as a red cloth affects a raging bull). This made the Managing Board convene an urgent meeting with the employees, at which a compromising solution was reached - the former management submitted their resignation "due to reasons of health", and representatives of the employees, Zrinka Vrabec and Silvestar Vrbanac were appointed Acting Editor-in-Chief and Acting Director, respectively.

The awareness of the journalists suddenly began to grow. Former associates (Radio 101 is known as a great seed-plot of personnel and many journalists from other media, especially television, began their careers in it) started coming back to help their domicile medium. The program impoverished due to lack of money improved. And as the new management discovered, this lack of money was the result of moves of the former administration. The former director used to lend money, used it for trading, invested in discotheques... Allegedly, a large sum of money was taken away from the Radio and spent for publishing the journal Danas, which is a HDZ substitute of the once reputable weekly. Unfavourable contracts were signed for personal interests, but perhaps even intentionally, to ruin the once successful radio station and make it an easy prey which could then be delivered into "someone"'s hands.

All things considered, ownership transformation of the Radio has not been completed yet. It was additionally complicated by an information revealed by a newspaper that concessions were allocated to four men at the competition: Igor Copo, Stjepan Tudjman-Braco, son of Franjo Tudjman, football coach Miroslav Ciro Blazevic, and Dinko Cutura, President of Zagreb branch of the HDZ! Apart from Copo and Gliba, noone at the Radio had known anything about it. If requirements of the public competition and provisions of the Law on Communications which prescribe conditions for privatization, were strictly implemented, these four men could easily rent the necessary equipment, employ whoever they chose and begin broadcasting a program under the name of Radio 101 - they are the owners of the concession. Ministry of Transportation and Communications could abolish further operation of the current Radio 101. But, such a move would raise too much dust in public.

On the other hand, the employees headed by the pair Vrabec-Vrbanec are trying to find ways to get hold of the ownership and preserve the radio they themselves had created. However, the so-called autonomous transformation which enabled transformation of socially-owned enterprises into share-holding companies offering priority to the employees to buy shares - with a discount and in instalments - ended on June 30 this year. After that date, socially-owned enterprises passed into jurisdiction of the Croat Privatization Fund which decides to whom and at what price an enterprise will be sold.

The time limit for final signing of concession contracts - which means that the Radio has coordinated its technical, personnel, program and especially ownership characteristics with the law - was planned to expire on November 30. But, the Telecommunications Committee postponed it a day before expiry for January 15, 1996, because apart from Radio 101, quite a few radio stations failed to reorganize their operation pursuant to the Law. This postponed the final settling of accounts in Radio 101, too.

In the meantime it was made known that Dinko Cutura, one of the concessioners, gave up his share to Zagreb city Assembly. Should the share of Igor Copo become property of the employees - because he had actually demanded 25 per cent of the concession in the name of Radio 101, i.e. its employees - Radio 101 will have at least 50 per cent of the possibility to protect its editorial policy - 25 per cent controlled by city deputies is, after all, some sort of a guarantee, because united opposition in the city Assembly has a large majority of votes.

And again, judging by all former cases of "privatization" (Slobodna Dalmacija, Danas, Glas Slavonije), it is hard to believe that the HDZ will allow media to get out of their control. If nothing else, it will carry out privatization in such a way as to place media, as an instrument of political and financial power, in the hands of people who are in connection with the ruling party. Journalists of Radio 101 rely on the international environment and political situation in the region, and they hope that this will hinder the HDZ in its intention to establish fully its influence on this Radio.

Due to the defeat of the HDZ in local elections in Zagreb, the influence of this party on the city assembly can be maintained only by authoritarian rule from the Presidential Palace. That is why the HDZ will certainly try to impose on Radio 101, by the expiry of the prolonged time limit, its own ownership structure in order to make up for its loss of political power.

IGOR VUKIC