21. 01. 2003

Plans for State Media Subscription Postponed

BELGRADE, January 21, 2003 – The Serbian Government has shelved plans to fund Radio Television Serbia by obligatory public subscription. The monthly payment system was to be introduced on February 1 but, said Deputy Prime Minister Zarko Korac today, the scheme cannot begin until the Broadcast Agency Council, the state’s new media watchdog, has been established. Serbia’s Broadcast Act, which regulates both the Council and the subscriptions, has been proclaimed but not implemented by the Djindjic Government. Korac said today that he expected the Serbian Government to discuss draft public information legislation late next week, along with access to information of public interest. The government has continually dragged its feet on legislation to bring order to the country’s chaotic broadcast media, most of which have been operating without licences since the days of the Milosevic regime. Korac said today that, in the interim, Radio Television Serbia would be funded from consolidated revenue.