22. 12. 2011

State breaks the agreement

Belgrade, December 22, 2011 (Vecernje Novosti) - Year 2011 has been extremely difficult for the media and journalists in Serbia, while the biggest achievement, but also the disappointment, was the adoption of the Media Strategy, based on which the state should withdraw from ownership in the media - it was said yesterday at a conference of media and journalists' associations.

ANEM President Sasa Mirkovic said that all the efforts invested in developing the Strategy had collapsed when the state had announced that 368 million dinars from the budget would be allocated to the Tanjug news agency, Panorama, Radio Yugoslavia and Jugoslovenski pregled. The priorities of the Association of Media, according to Zoran Sekulic from FoNet, are the adoption of the new Law on Information, beginning of media financing through projects and withdrawal of the state from the media sphere.

UNS President Ljiljana Smajlovic criticized the announcement of the sale of Politka and said that the Government was hiding behind the principle of buying rights, while waiting for VAC to decide to sell this daily.

"The state has to wonder how Kurir, which admitted its intent to buy Politika, has the money 40 times greater than its total profit for last year. The state has the intention of withdrawing from Politika by cementing the daily in the secret hands of the Government, and we will have no insight into who is actually buying it.