28. 01. 2013

PETKOVIC: MEDIA LAWS TO BE TABLED IN MARCH

Belgrade, January 28, 2013 (RTV) - Culture and Media Minister Bratislav Petkovic said today that the law regulating the transparency and allowed media ownership concentration, steady financing of public television service broadcasters and withdrawal of the state from media would be tabled to the Parliament and hopefully enter the parliamentary procedure in March.

At the first public hearing on media freedom in the Serbian Parliament, Petkovic emphasized that the state would meet all deadlines for adoption of laws stipulated in the Media Strategy and Action Plan, adding that the public discussion on new legislation would commence in a matter of three days.

Following the adoption of the legislation, as the Minister announced, the public discussion would be launched on financial situation and improvement of social status of journalists.

"The role of the media should not be to misinform and spread political propaganda, to deal with those with different political views, with tycoons and other forms of self-proclaimed elite", Petkovic said.

According to him, the fight against corruption will fully meet its purpose only if media remain objective in their reporting on these issues.

"Our duty is to legally limit the influence of powerful players who could not care less about objective informing", the Minister said.

Petkovic announced that with this legal solution, the state aimed to help financially challenged media and that this aid would be transparent and available to all under equal conditions.