02. 03. 2011

ANEM: RADIO SOMBOR’S PROBLEMS ILLUSTRATE STATE’S INABILITY TO SOLVE ISSUES IN THE MEDIA SECTOR

Belgrade, March 2, 2011 - The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly protests against the state's inability to tackle the problems that exist in the media sector and further delays in adoption of the Media Strategy.

Employees of Radio Sombor, a member of ANEM, have not received any salaries for more than a year. After losing its connection to phone and internet networks due to accumulated debt, on February 25, the station has been cut off from the power grid due to unpaid bills, which caused cease of airing of its program.

ANEM points out that after the privatization of the station had been revoked, the state's representative of public capital - appointed by the Privatization Agency - has been running Radio Sombor for no less than three years. The state's management decisions resulted in station's debts being almost four times larger than its assets, while the last of the appointed directors has resigned only a month after accepting the duty.

ANEM is of the opinion that the long agony of Radio Sombor constitutes another proof that the state lacks any concept or plan of action in the media sector. At the same time, the Ministry of Culture had wasted time on (as it turned out later) unconstitutional amendments to the Public Information Law, as well as on hiring of numerous consultants in the process of preparation of the Media Strategy. The result of the work of these consultants has not yet been presented to the public. The Strategy, which was promised to media professionals back in the summer of 2009, is supposed to offer a solution for local and regional radio and TV stations, and to propose sustainable models for state's withdrawal from media ownership. Its adoption may come too late for Radio Sombor and for many other media outlets in Serbia that are nearing closure or have already been shut down.

ANEM President, Sasa Mirkovic