11. 04. 2011

Negligence or Strategy

Belgrade, April 11, 2011. (Danas) - A media researcher says that "here has not been a serious debate on media freedom in Serbia for ten years".

"Ten years before it media repression and struggle for survival of independent media were key characteristics not only of media system of Serbia, but of Serbia as a social community as well. These at the same time were the key for identification of non-democratic, democratic and fake democratic orientations of organizations, groups and individuals," Jovanka Matić wrote for the Danas daily on Monday.

"The results of the ten-year governance of the former pro-democratic DOS coalition [which toppled Slobodan Milošević in October 2000] members in media sector are disastrous. These are not primarily the result of a lack of media sector development strategy, but of indifference for development of free media as efficient political strategy."

"Not only that chaotic privatization has irretrievably destroyed some of media with decades of tradition and solid resources; not only that the ownership of some privatized media is still non-transparent and that the state does not want to step back as ownership from some of the most influential media for the entire decade; not only that the acts have been systematically changed in order to limit media and reduce capacities and influence of factors that are outside the governing structures; not only that the crimes against journalists have not been resolved - but the basic issue, without which there is no either critical public, or democracy, is not resolved either."

"According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Social Sciences on media freedom situation 2009, out of 210 respondents, leading figures in informative media, only one was happy with realization of freedom of media. Two-thirds of editors (66%) said that freedom of their media was violated in a way. They complained mostly about economic, but also about some other forms of pressures; they also said that freedom and rights of media have been mostly infringed by organs of authority (40% of all mentioned sources of infringements), political parties and organizations (21%), and economically powerful people, in capacity of the ones who commence advertisements (21%)."

"Large majority of the survey respondents (88%) believe that pressures, threats and attacks against media and journalists are very serious or rather serious problem of Serbia's society. In comparison to situation only a year ago the editorial perception of general situation in media freedom and rights is aggravated."

"(The authorities) sees media only as suitable or not suitable instrument of its political marketing and it has demonstrated for a number of times that it does not plan to create conditions for development of free and autonomous media that will be a controller of the authority and a place for public debate on issues of public interest. Therefore, indifference of the authority for the issues of crucial significance for survival and quality of media - thus, the quality of public life - should not be interpreted as a result of carelessness."

"Appeals to conscience of politicians and program-related promises on organization of media sector won't help. Journalists must impose the issue of media freedoms as the key democratic issue of a society. The power of the profession lies in the fact that the authority cannot exist without media, because media is a blood circulation of politics," Jovanka Matić wrote.

The author is Jovanka Matic, researcher (Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade).