30. 09. 2011

Where will public service broadcasters be based?

The adopted text of the Media Strategy is now publicly available

Belgrade, September 30, 2011. (Danas) - In the Media Strategy adopted by the Serbian Government on Wednesday, the provision on founding six regional public service broadcasters was kept while names of the cities where these broadcasters would be based were deleted from the first version of the text just prior to the adoption.

The Proposal of the Media Strategy, namely, provided the establishment of regional public service broadcasters in Belgrade, Kragujevac Nis, Novi Pazar, Zajecar and Uzice. According to unofficial information, Socialist Party requested adding Vranje and Jagodina. By deleting the names of the cities where these broadcasters would be based, a possibility for agreeing on this issue afterwards was left.

According to the text of the Strategy, regional public RTV service broadcasters will be determent through a public competition, while "the procedure of founding regional RTV public service broadcaster will be determined in details by a law on public service broadcasting". The Strategy stipulates that the proposal of the law on public RTV service broadcasting should be created within the period of 18 months from the date of the Strategy's adoption. In this period, provisions regulating media concentration and transparency of ownership should also be aligned with EU rules. As for financing of public service broadcasters, the Strategy provides that "necessary conditions for work and stable source of financing of public RTV service broadcasters will be ensured" as well as that these conditions will be aligned with the provisions on allocating state budget funds.

To recall, founding the public service broadcasters was accepted in spite of opposing of media associations and European Commission's remarks. European Commission assessed that "founding of six more public service broadcasters in an already competitive market presents a serious reason for concerns".

"Although we understand local interest for founding these broadcasters, we are seriously concerned that these institutions would not be sustainable. On the other hand, alternative solutions could be found in order to fulfill the need for providing information of the public interest for a particular region", European Commission stated.

The Media Strategy provides that the state could not own the media, with exception of special cases, and that it should withdraw from media ownership in two years period from the date of adoption of adequate laws.  The state could, namely, be the founder of specific media outlets that have the function to provide public information related to the work of state organs and public companies, and these could be internet portals, assemblies' channels, Official Gazette and bulletins.

"With the aim to timely and in a quality way inform the citizens of Kosovo and Metohija, the Republic of Serbia holds founder's rights in the Publishing Public Company Panorama that publishes a weekly paper Jedinstvo", the Strategy provides.

In addition to that, national minority councils could found media in languages of national minorities, in spite of the remark of the European Commission.

"The fact that national minority councils could provide funds for their media from the state budget is problematic due to their policy and potential influence on media content. Alternative ways for supporting programs in languages of national minorities where necessary, for example through concrete projects or founding independent broadcasters in national minorities' languages", it is said in the European Commission.