SPRING CLEANING OF MEDIA

Party Hue and Cry against Independent Media

The war for the media is just flaring up. When speaking of electronic media, the term "introduction of order" is the most popular among the officials of the regime, and it is quite clear to everyone that channels are "the question of all questions", especially in an election year. In Serbia, newspapers are regularly read by only 22 per cent of the population, and television is watched by 87 per cent. The evening daily news program of Radio-Television Serbia is watched every day by three and occasionally by five million people. Since along with the police, electronic media are the spine of the current Serbian regime, it is quite clear that in this field it will not leave anything to chance, and that every competition will be stifled by all possible means.

AIM Belgrade, 27 March, 1997

Television which belongs to Karic Brothers (BK Telecom) has won its first battle in the past few days. On Monday, 24 March, Post Telephone and Telecomunications (PTT) company of Serbia has turned on again the radio-relay link between transmitters on mount Avala and Jastrebac rented to BK Telecom. In this way, the PTT carried out the order of the Commercial Court in Belgrade, and after a four-day pause, BK Telecom can be watched again south of Avala: in Nis, Kragujevac, Leskovac, Paracin, Cuprija...

There are few, however, who believe that this is the end of the story, especially because the PTT claims that Karic's television station owes them almost 20 million dinars for the rent of the said link. BK Telecom denies this, reminding that for that kind of money, it is possible to broadcast a 24-hour satellite program for seven long years anywhere in Europe.

Although it is hardly probable that PTT will readily give up on such a lavish amount of money which who knows according to what criteria it has determined itself, financial stifling is not the only danger BK Telecom is threatened with. Radio-Television Serbia (RTS) recently threatened Karic Television company that its channel rented when this powerful family from Pec had been the favourite of the regime would be taken away. At the same time, the new federal minister of telecommunications Dojcilo Radojevic claims that BK Telecom is broadcasting illegally, announcing that according to the new law on telecommunications allocation of channels will be transferred to the competence of the federal government. Channels are a "restricted area", minister Radojevic complains, explaining that there will not be enough for all. The minister does not speak about criteria of allocation, but it is not difficult to guess what it will be like.

Republican Minister of information, Radmila Milentijevic, also complained to CNN that numerous radio and television stations were illegally broadcasting their program, about whose existence "the ministry hears only after it happens that airplanes fail to land on Serbian airports because unregistered electronic media jam radio connections".

Generally, when speaking of electronic media, the term "introduction of order" has been very popular among officials of the regime in the past few days - everyone is aware that channels are "the question of all questions", especially in the election year. In Serbia, newspapers are regularly read by only 22 per cent of the population, and television is watched by 87 per cent. The evening daily news program of Radio-Televsion Serbia (RTS) is watched every day by three, and occasionally by five million people. The already terrifying power of television is even greater in the country in which 60 per cent of the population has nothing but elementary-school education. It is therefore, quite clear that along with the police, electronic media are the backbone of the regime, that in this sphere "things will not be left to chance" and that every possible competition will be stifled by all possible means. The mentioned BK Telecom which (for the time being) covers 60 per cent of the population and which, according to polls, is trusted much more than the RTS, is too dangerous a rival to be left alone.

Not even local radio stations, especially those controlled by new (opposition) authorities in a number of cities, will not be able to broadcast programs as they please. A few days ago, the Association of Radio Stations of Serbia issued a statement claiming that in the past 24 years it has invested 200 million German marks into development of local radio stations, that those who wish to remain in the Association must transmit the program of state Radio, and those who wish to leave the Association must return the invested money and equipment. Radio Kragujevac has resolved the problem in an original way: before broadcasting information programs of Radio Belgrade (five minutes of information and half an hour of most primitive commentaries against the opposition, even more fierce than on television), the new editor-in-chief warns the audience what will follow and recommends them to change the program. This induced the controlled media to jump down the throat of Radio Kragujevac in helpless rage.

Regrouping and taking better positions in the media and around them are becoming more frequent as new elections are approaching. Media are mentioned everywhere. Majority of journalists of NIN are on strike for more than a month because their editor-in-chief was discharged; journalists of Polimlje from Prijepolje are on strike again demanding that their editor-in-chief be replaced; with a series of texts in Politika it was insinuated that the independent tabloid Blic is used for money laundry and then news arrived that one of the owners was sentenced to prison in his native Austria for fishy business; at the same time the journalist of Politika who followed the scandal involving Blic was suspended because he refused to continue work on this topic afraid that his texts would be used for political purposes; the television Studio B which has risen from ashes must go to court with SOS channel which was snatched away from it during the rule of the Socialists in this station...

The state media are not immune to internal shocks either. Eight journalists of the "red" ("state", "Brcin's") Borba - in any case the worst daily in the state - demand replacement of the editor-in-chief, Dr Zivorad Djordjevic, accusing him that he has reduced the circulation down to 2,700 copies, and nothing to say about the reputation (the mentioned circulation probably includes the free copies distributed on JAT flights). The leaders of the group are journalists who have, contrary to about a hundred of their colleagues who founded Nasa Borba, agreed to work by dictate, obviously unaware to what extent that would reflect on their professional and human dignity. Now they are rebelling, and their editor-in-chief calls them lazy-bones and publicly expresses doubt about their professional capabilities. Dr Djordejic still promises new investments and increase of circulation and what is even more important, merger of former Borba's editions into a single company which would apart from Borba be formed by Vecernje novosti, Ekonomska politika, TV novosti and departments of transportation, sales and printing works.

Dr Djordjevic's ambitions met with slightly unexpected resistance of Vecernje novosti, the last printed stronghold of the regime. Novosti refuses merger with anybody because in such mergers nobody knows what belongs to whom, and as "the most popular newspaper the highest circulation in FRY, to follow the budgetary logic and philosophy of those who exhaust their professional potentials by writing in favour of a single narrow exclusive option".

Such reactions of the heads of Vecernje novosti are in harmony with discrete, but evident changes in the editorial policy of the journal. Novosti has surprisingly correctly followed the second half of the marathon demonstrations in Serbia, and in the past months, malicious commentaries against the opposition have disappeared. A conclusion that Novosti is trying to slip free from the control of the regime would certainly be too hasty at this moment - it has stepped out before, but it has always returned under the wing of the authorities - but it is clear that this is a serious warning. If the authorities happen to be left without Novosti, its control of the daily press will practically be reduced to Politika which is badly affected by expansion of tabloids and which is trying to regain a part of the circulation by, for instance, distributing its magazine Radio TV Revija, shortened to about 40 pages, free of charge as a supplement to its regular Friday issue.

One should not, of course, worry about state monopolies among the media. Company Politika is the most conspicuous example: not only does this enterprise include a radio and a TV station, three dailies and a heap of magazines, but under the same roof the journals are written and printed, and then distributed through the companies own network which consists of 1500 news-stands around the country, which is banned almost everywhere in the world. That is why the effort of Dr Djordjevic (or rather his order givers) is understandable to get hold of Borba's sales network, by means of which the remaining possibilities to sell independent press in the interior of the country would be eliminated.

Despite obstacles, independent press in Serbia has succeeded in suppressing regime-controlled press, which has additionally increased significance of state radio-television, the only one which can be seen on the entire territory of Serbia. If the authorities in other places temporarily have to give in under pressure of the democratic public, it is certain that there will be no compromise nor yielding when RTS is concerned. There is no dispute about financing of state television and radio: the tax for electric power metre will continue to be levied (it is paid by every citizen who is attached to the electric power supply, regardless of whether he has a TV set), through which, according to the latest data, the RTS acquires about 80 per cent of its budget. This amounted to the sum of 409.8 million dinars in 1996 or 110 million German marks according to the "black", that is, realistic foreign currency rate.

Uros Komlenovic