31. 01. 2011

SUGGESTIONS ON REGULATION OF SYSTEM FOR MEDIA FUNDING from the state budget funds

Serbian media scene is characterized by undeveloped advertising market and inflation of media. This creates the situation in which the self-sustainability of the large number of media is hardly achievable, and where advertising market is not a dominant resource of self-sustainability of the media scene, but state aid and subsidies.

The abovementioned becomes particularly dramatic in the light of the halted privatization of public media, which is being delayed by calling upon social reasons as well as the reasons of actual or supposed care for the exercise of the rights of citizens on informing about matters of public interest, which would supposedly be endangered in the case of the withdrawal of the state from media ownership.

Having this in mind, and with the expectation for the upcoming adoption of the Strategy of development of media sector to definitely solve the problem of the non-privatized media and to find a solution for their transformation that will be in accordance with the cited Indicators for Media in Democratic Society, on January 31, 2011, ANEM has prepared, in cooperation with its Law office "Zivkovic&Samardzic", and submitted to the Ministry of Culture its written suggestions on regulating the system for media funding from state budget funds. 

The proposed set of measures of a model of media scene financing by the state is to be based on the following: means for financing of the media from the budget funds, at all levels, must be defined and determined in budget plans, so as to also include the total means that are determined for the financing of public enterprises in the information sector, or other economic entities with the ownership share of the state, by which a non-discriminatory treatment of all media would be provided; at all levels, total funds are to be determined in the manner which will provide a stable financing of media, and at a local level, in clearly defined amount of each local self-government unit's budget; total funds are to be distributed in the public calls for proposals for the financing of the projects which secure the informing, or media content of public interest, under equal and non-discriminatory terms for all media, in the area for which the public call for proposals are announced, without favoring media with the state ownership share; criteria as to who could participate in these calls, as well as criteria for project selection, are clearly defined; independent commissions comprised of competent representatives of the public, professional associations and non-governmental sector, are to decide upon the choice of projects on public calls, in a transparent procedure, and the entire process of determining and utilizing of these budget funds should be subject to supervision of the competent ministries; also, advertising of the activities of state bodies, including self-governments' organs, as well as advertising of activities, products or services of public enterprises and institutions with the state ownership share, should be done in the manner that will not harm the competition on the media market.

ANEM suggests that the abovementioned is provided by modifications of the Law on Public Information, and if necessary appropriate changes of the tax regulations, or alternatively the adoption of specific Law on Public Information Funding from Budget Funds.

Moreover, ANEM insists upon consistent application of the current legislation regarding protection of competition, control of state aid and control of public procurement.

ANEM suggests that the abovementioned is secured by modifications to the Public Information Law, by which a formation of a particular commission for public information is provided, as an expert body authorized to monitor, initiate the procedures and suggest measures for the improvement of the competition on the media market, transparency of media financing and improvement of media pluralism and pluralism of opinion in public information.

The entire text of suggestions is available here.