29. 04. 2014

BIASED OR DIRTY?

Belgrade , 29.04.2014 (Politika, by: D.S.) - Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Information Service refuses to be specific on Sunday`s complaints about Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).

Two days after an unusually harshly worded attack by SNS Information Service against Radio Television Serbia ("Radio Television Serbia, instead of being a public service for all citizens, serves as a platform for dirty daily attacks against SNS president Aleksandar Vučić," stated this party on Sunday morning, noting that on the day when the new government of the Republic of Serbia is being formed, we are witnessing "a flood of unfounded remarks by RTS hosts, with the sole purpose to degrade the new government and the reputation of Aleksandar Vucic,") the public still does not know what has caused so much anger of SNS toward the public service broadcaster.

The Progressive party in the meantime seems to have toned down criticism, as yesterday the head of the party Information Service Vladanka Malović refused to explain or substantiate sharp criticism against RTS which the journalists' associations have declared on Sunday an attack against the freedom of media and intimidation of journalists.

Malović now claims that her party just pointed out that there are simply some things that are not in line with objective reporting. When asked what public service broadcaster programs and authors she had in mind, Vladanka Malović several times repeated the party statement avoiding to answer this question accurately, adding that everyone who watches RTS can discern what programs and hosts are in question.

We recall that journalists' associations criticized the very lack of concrete examples in the SNS statement.

"Politika" asked Slobodan Marković, Chairman of the RTS Executive Board, for comment, but he refused to comment the issue publicly. Unlike him, Milan Nikolić, member of the RTS Executive Board, said that he was appalled by what he read in "Politika" and noted that he does not know whom it refers to.

"If there is an objection against the work of RTS, then the Progressives need to say specifically what program is in question, which journalist expressed what viewpoints.

These are arbitrary judgments that have nothing to do with reality. I am confused and I guess we will soon have a meeting of the RTS Executive Board, so we will see what this is all about," said Nikolić. He did not say if he asked the RTS Executive Board to meet or issue a statement regarding this issue.

So far Radio Television of Serbia has not responded to allegations by SNS.

The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) protested yesterday against the news item broadcasted by TV Pink as part of the "One, Two minutes" news program, which, according to NUNS, "denounces" several RTS journalists and places their work in political context. In the news item broadcasted as part of the "One, Two Minutes" program, Television Pink illustrated the SNS statement with video clips featuring Democratic Party President Dragan Đilas, the author of the "Yes. Maybe. No." program Olivera Kovačević, journalists Bojan Brkić, and RTS "Morning Program" presenter Nataša Miljković.

NUNS claims that TV Pink has harshly violated the professional integrity of colleagues from RTS by insinuating that they are working in line with someone`s political orders.