26. 09. 2007

POLITIKA IN RACE TO BUY NIN

BELGRADE, 26 September 2007 (Beta, EM Online, B92) - Politika newspapers and magazines group has announced their intent to join the bid to acquire NIN weekly.

Some of NIN journalists and editors are unhappy about the way in which an auction to sell the magazine, scheduled for Sept. 27, was cancelled.

They issued a statement which says that Politika a.d. director suggested that NIN privatization via an auction should be cancelled, "without previously notifying the weekly's managing board and editorial staff."

Politika a.d. owns 10 percent of NIN stock, Director Zoran Vacić said in reaction to the accusations.

He repeated that Politika was interested in taking part in the privatization, and added his company would not sell its share in case the privatization falls through.

A part of NIN employees have also said in their public statement they are "ready to go all the way in the defense of the oldest and the most important political weekly in this part of Europe."

They also said the auction preparations continued, and that they had decided "to form a consortium with a successful domestic company in order to privatize NIN."

NIN was founded in 1935, and owns premises in Belgrade sized 452 sq meters. The weekly was a part of Politika for many decades.