10. 06. 2014

Difficult position of the media in Serbia

In this situation, and in view of the country's orientation towards European integration, it would be useful for the media and the entire society if Brussels were to launch more decisive initiatives for the solving of problems of the media, which is one of the priorities which the European Commission had listed in the strategy of enlargement for the entire region.

The relations between the Serbian government and the media have been turbulent since a few weeks ago, and "sparks were flying" even on the day of the forming of the government of Aleksandar Vucic, on April 27.

The problem arose when the state protocol, initially, envisaged that only the cameramen of a few select media attend the swearing-in of the government and, since then, the line of conflict has continued all the way to the recent dispute regarding the removing of critical texts about the floods.

Whenever it reacted to such conflicts, the government denied the intention to restrict media freedom. In the scandal about the removing of the flood-related content from the internet, which provoked condemnation from the journalists' associations in Serbia, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the OSCE, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic demanded proof that the state had performed censorship.

The problem lies in the fact that proof of undermining media freedom is hard to provide, at least in reasonable time. Some of these cases call for a serious investigation and a response from the judiciary, which is insufficiently organized in Serbia, buried under a multitude of unsolved cases and known for long trials, which drag on for years.

In early June, the European Commission stated that it is closely monitoring the media situation in Serbia, and that it is in contact with the authorities, the ombudsman and representatives of the civil society.

It would be very useful for the media in Serbia if the EU "took the gloves off" regarding this issue and more decisively demanded an explanation of such events and the introduction of all standards which would reduce the possibility for exerting pressure against the media.

Many aspects of the media market in Serbia are not regulated, so state-owned media still exist, the status and ways of financing of public media services is not regulated, and it is also not clear what will be the status of the state news agency Tanjug, which receives some EUR2 million annually from the state, which undermines competition and jeopardizes the position of privately-owned news agencies FoNET and BETA.

The mechanisms for controlling the spending of the state's money on the media have not been introduced, either, so large amounts of money are being spent through various forms of subsidies, but also through contracts with state institutions and companies for their advertising. This is how the state can control the media indirectly.

Considering that the media are at the very focus of the enlargement strategy which the European Commission announced, and that the authorities in Serbia are dedicated to European integration and that the negotiations provide room for a more intensive cooperation between the EU and Serbia, Brussels' permanent support in this sense could help in the implementation of standards and in regulating the media relations properly.

This could be useful, all the more so because a package of media laws is being prepared and parts of their texts will go to the EU for expertise.

Problems in the media - accidental or not 

In the meantime, here is a reminder about several events in the media sphere which have caused concern in the media associations and in the professional public.

According to the initial plan, the mentioned swearing-in of the government was to be covered only by cameramen of the British agency Reuters, of the privately-owned TV Pink, which is better known by show business than by its information programs, of the private media service Infobiro, of the state agency Tanjug and of the parliamentary and government services. The decision was quickly revoked because the publishing of this, apparently protocol information, resulted in pressure on the government from the political sphere.

A statement of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party was also published on the same day, in which the public information service - the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (RTS), was attacked because of its alleged intention to "belittle the new government and the reputation of Aleksandar Vucic," but without concrete details about which broadcast or presenters this referred to.

The situation only deteriorated during the catastrophic floods in Serbia. Among the drastic examples are the shutting down or blocking of certain web portals, the removal of critical texts from the web portal of the high-circulation daily Blic, and the bringing in for questioning of several people for spreading panic via their personal Facebook profiles.

It seems that the trend, which Brussels drew attention to before, for people in power to sue the media and journalists, is continuing, which also can represent a significant form of pressure against the media.

The latest example is that of the journalist of Radio Television Mladenovac, Dragan Nikolic, who was summoned to the police for questioning because of the comments he made via Facebook, after he was reported by a deputy of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. This journalist claims that he was summoned because he shared a text that criticized a high official of the Belgrade authorities.

Recently, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic was criticized for his attitude towards the media, when he accused the high-circulation daily Blic of slander, while his media bureau said in a statement that the abuse of the independence of news agencies and of the media should be stopped.

Prime Minister Vucic also constantly accuses media of engaging in campaign against him. Recently he also accused OSCE representatives in Serbia of being behind the attacks against him.