TARGET OF BOTH THE 'POSITION' AND THE OPPOSITION

Local Media in Serbia

"Interests of the founders" are with no doubt protected in Serbia. Where the Socialists are founders, "tasks" are more successfully carried out, although the opposition is also quite demanding. Independent media suit neither the ones nor the others, because their "editorial policy is not clear"

AIM Belgrade, 27 June, 1997

Republican minister of information, Radmila Milentijevic, immediately after taking the post, established that the Law on information was considerably lagging behind other accomplishments in the country where, as things had been presented to her, "democratization is well under way". Equipped with such visions she set out on a broad public discussion about the draft new law. Comrades in power enabled the lady minister, as a non-partisan personage, to hear almost in all cities where she went, from the people organized in the party, as its most representative part, that they could hardly wait for the amendment of the law. At meetings in party cells of the Socialists she also learnt that she was "wise, noble and indispensable for Serbia". And the new law is just about to be adopted. The only thing left to do is to incorporate into it opinions of young Socialists whose company the lady minister recently kept in Brezovica.

Democratization Well Under Way

Although according to the assessment of Radmila Milentijevic, the situation in media lags behind "democratization which is well under way", it seems that reality denies her. She herself recently presented the datum, relevant to the ministry, that at this moment there were 340 radio and 120 tv stations which were unregistered in Serbia. This too, seems to be one of the elements of "democratization well under way" in the manner in which the lady minister understands it.

Here, like in other fields, there are elements which simulate pluralism and democracy and it is all tolerated until controlled and not threatening the party in power. Control in unregistered radio and tv stations means that they carry the tv daily news program of the state television, use only the service of the state news agency Tanjug, or that by producing various Casandras (heroine of a popular soap opera broadcast in Serbia) and Zoricas Brunclik ("turbo" folk singer who is also member of the party of Milosevic's wife), that they are staying away from politics". The fact that in this way they are turning Serbia into a country of "Bingoids" (mass participation in state bingo compensates for jobs and salaries), has nothing to do with politics, of course.

As soon as radio and tv stations dare step out from such unregistered "registration", the state and the party react. That is why in the past month, inspectors of the Federal Ministry of Telecommunications visited TV Bajina Basta and RTV Pozega - which had changed their "program conception" since the opposition had taken over power in these places - and shut them down because they were not registered. Director of RTV Pozega, Predrag Spasojevic, says that they had had no opportunity to get a permit since there had been no public competition for allocation of channels since 1994. He mentions that Radio Luna was also prevented to work (by taking away parts of its equipment) and recognizes a selective approach of the state in it, because Radio Milkom, which is also unregistered, but its owner is Petar Milinovic, a member of the Yugoslav United Left, was of no interest for the inspectors. When speaking of electronic media, the case of Nis Television (NTV) is especially interesting. Although founded by the city assembly, it was also visited by the inspector who intervened, as he himself explained, by order which had arrived from the office of the president of the Republic, because of complaints of the citizens about noise coming from the studio!

The state, represented by the party in power, which controls electronic media in the described way, is not too interested in the press. Especially not in the interior of the country. At least formally, the procedure of registration of newspaper appears to be fairly liberal. It is sufficient to file an application in the Republican Ministry of Information. However, the state has created an ambience which annuls the simplicity of the procedure (newsprint is given to state newspapers at privileged prices, sponsors and advertisers are blackmailed and prevented from donating money and advertising in media which are not to the liking of the authorities), and if lack of equipment and trained personnel are added to it, it becomes clear that even the right to speech is a simulation of "democratization well under way". That is why among the privately-owned local newspapers only those survive whose owners have excessive enthusiasm and motive.

Taking Sides

On the other hand, local newspapers owned by municipalities are doing exactly what they have been entrusted to do. When speaking of municipalities where the Socialists are in power, of course. They lack neither money, not topics. We will state just the example of Ljosko-kacerske novine which appeared just a while ago. The president of the municipality, Socialist Miodrag Starcevic Mikile, is also the president of the editorial committee, and with these two offices occupies the first two pages of the newspaper. The remaining pages are taken by activities of his party, his municipal assembly and his "export oriented economy". Journals with a tradition also consistently protect "interests of the founders": they write solely about economic accomplishments such as "new rails for faster trains". President Milosevic is treated in the "proper" manner in the mentioned journals. Although he visited the region of Valjevo in the end of May, on the pages of the local Napred he is still promising "typical" peasants tractors and combines.

And if it happens, like in Prijepolje, that conscience of journalists stirs up, they soon come to their senses and realize that conscience has to give in to awareness. Not ideological, but the one needed for mere survival. The journalists (eight of them in the whole editorial staff) refused to write a bulletin of the SPS, collectively abandoned the "servile professional association" and went on strike. The strike lasted for three months, and then the municipal authorities decided to shut down the paper, in order to get rid of the disobedient journalists. The only thing left for them to do is go back to announcing regular payment of pensions and "successful deeds" of the local authorities: during the three-month strike, nobody supported the journalists from "God-forsaken Prijepolje", not even any of the non-governmental organizations.

Neither is the opposition in places where it won power, less demanding. In Cacak, editors of local journals and radio station are journalists brought from Kraljevo, the editor of Cacanski glas Jelena Petrovic says that everybody knows what a public enterprise is and who it is responsible to for its work; in Uzice, the municipality refused to finance the local journal Vesti; in Kraljevo the same journalists who wrote columns of texts about "the fifth column", are now asked to write in the new manner. New municipal authorities brought nothing but equality in access to information to privately-owned journals which are in every other way in a subordinate position. The republican authorities consider that their independence means in fact that they are oppositionist and "serving the right forces". It is not quite "clear" to the oppositionist authorities what independent journals are, so that their "editorial policy is not clear to them either".

Centres of Civic Society

That is why it seems that local independent papers made the right choice when they decided to establish their own association. In the beginning of 1996, the association of independent media LOCAL PRESS was founded in Kragujevac. At the moment the members are: Nezavisna svetlost from Kragujevac, Novi Pancevac, Videlo from Nis, Onogost standard from Niksic, Mlavska zora from Petrovac na Mlavi, Borske novine, Vranjske novine, Has from Novi Pazar, Zig from Subotica, Hibiskus from Uzdine, Zapisi from Cacak, Bajnobastanske novine, and Kolubara from Valjevo. There are also a few newly established journals which have the status of associated members. According to their own data, their total circulation is about 152 thousand copies.

According to the words of the president of the Association, director of Nezavisna svetlost, Pavle Cirovic, local independent newspapers have formed the association in order to create conditions for their survival, through cooperation, exchange of information and joint appearance towards those who wish to support them. And they were supported by the Open Society Fund from Belgrade, the European Community, Press Now Foundation from Amsterdam and Medienhilfe NGO from Zurich. Thanks to donations from these foundations and associations, newsprint is provided, equipment purchased for a modem network and technical editing, a few mini printing works are either already working or just about to begin. Cirovic justifies establishment of the Association by the practice in the so-called free municipalities, where media are asked to do what they had done before but for new masters.

According to the main donor, the Open Society Fund, local independent newspapers are achieving enviable results which must be appreciated because they are accomplished in an environment where the very fact that they are published is an act of civic courage. President of the Fund, Sonja Liht, says, that the significance of local media is not fully understood, and they are, in fact, the centres of a civic society, which are still waiting to play their role in transition towards a democratic society. According to her words, the aim of the Fund is to give a contribution in such a way that it will not be needed by the media any more.

The environment in which these journals are published is best seen on the example of the Has from Novi Pazar, biweekly which calls itself "the journal of a minority in majority of cases". The Muslims live in Novi Pazar as a majority population, and the Serbs. The journal which advocates coexistence and mutual tolerance, for the Muslims is "treacherous", and for the Serbs "fundamentalistic".

Therefore, although it is possible to list numerous complaints against the independent media, especially concerning their graphic design and presentation of topics - of course, and the fact that in this business there are owners and directors of journals which in "concurring democracy" see only an opportunity for just another family business - it should be said that there is no doubt that such journals, in comparison with their counterparts financed by municipal budgets, are much more honest and professional, primarily because they do not replace the reality with visions of the party in power, but present it exactly as it is.

Dragan Todorovic (AIM)