Who are the candidates for the General Director of RTS?

The candidacy of the current Chairman of the RTS Management Board, Branislav Klanšček, is provoking the most controversy, as some public opinion believes this position paves his way to become the head of the public broadcaster.

Besides Klanšček, the RTS Management Board has also accepted the applications of Dejan Stanković and Stanislav Veljković, while four applications were rejected as incomplete.

Rade Veljanovski, a retired professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, does not expect any qualitative change in the operations of RTS.

– It was not realistic to expect any change while we have such a government, while we do not have REM (Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media), and while we have management boards as they are; this cannot happen. In my opinion, it is very questionable for the current Chairman of the RTS Management Board, Branislav Klanšček, to run for General Director; this could really be a conflict of interest. It is not strictly prohibited by law, but I believe it is not moral. However, we do not have a genuine offer here. Whoever is elected, I do not expect that we will have a better RTS than it has been thus far – emphasizes Veljanovski.

When reminded that Klanšček stated he would recuse himself from voting during the competition, Veljanovski responds: “If it weren’t sad, it would be comical.”

– What else can he say? But regardless of whether he will recuse himself or not, people have reasons to doubt that this has been prepared for him to be elected, which is really not correct. I know Klanšček personally; I have had the opportunity to talk to him about certain matters, and I truly do not think he is a good enough choice. We might end up with RTS continuing in the best case as it has been operating so far, which is not good. And it could even get worse – Veljanovski points out.

When asked if he is surprised that no more prominent names have emerged among the candidates for the General Director of the public broadcaster, our interlocutor says that for years, individuals who are knowledgeable and competent, who have a certain background and even a certain reputation in the public eye, have been completely discouraged and do not want to get involved in a process they know in advance is hopeless and that in doing so, they undermine their reputation.

– There are people who could be in that position and who have shown through their previous work in public that they are competent and ready to work for the public interest, but they are completely discouraged because they know they would not be elected, and that is why they do not apply for the competition – believes Veljanovski.

Slobodan Cvejić, Vice President of the Serbia Center and a former member of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM), states that the ongoing competition for the selection of the RTS director shows that the media public service, a house with a decades-old tradition, owned by all citizens of Serbia, has been completely discredited and systematically ruined by the SNS-SPS regime.

– The attempts of some employees to protect the credibility of RTS were insufficient; these weak voices have been stifled in the silence of the frightened and “patient.” Patient to await a new rotation in leadership, believing that this is the only way in which change can occur at RTS. Because of this, there are no credible candidates in this competition, with rich biographies, well-known names, and proven independence – notes Cvejić.

He adds that simply changing personnel will not be enough to return the stolen national public service to the citizens; it will be necessary to change the program policy and management style as well.

– It is evident that a more serious political change and strengthening of laws and institutions are needed for such a change at RTS to take place. Until then, the “deep state” will direct the process of selecting RTS management, and the most likely outcome is that the embalmed Bujošević will continue to manage in an acting capacity – said Cvejić.

Branislav Klanšček is certainly the most recognizable name among the candidates who applied to succeed Bujošević.

He entered the world of television in the 1990s, where he was engaged as an assistant director in the dramatic program at RTS. From 2000 to 2012, he was employed at the Italian Institute of Culture, where he worked on organizing and realizing numerous cultural events, exhibitions, and concerts.

Since 2012, he has been employed at the production company Proart Network, where he has realized numerous concerts by domestic and foreign performers. As a song author, he has participated in many music festivals such as the Festival in Vrnjačka Banja, Zagreb Festival, Sunny Scales, Melodies of the Croatian Adriatic, Split Festival, and others, as stated in his biography submitted when Klanšček applied for the president of the RTS Management Board.

From that position in 2023, he filed criminal charges against Dragan Bujošević and Olivera Kovačević due to alleged financial malfeasance. By the end of 2024, there will be further charges against Bujošević, as well as the heads of marketing and finance, due to reasonable suspicion of committing the criminal offenses of forging official documents and negligent performance of duty. Specifically, the charges refer to the report of an independent auditor which established that the invoices issued to marketing agencies were based on “contracts that do not exist.”

In March of this year, RTS filed a criminal complaint against Klanšček due to suspicion that, over a long period, while serving as Chairman of the Management Board, he unlawfully obtained confidential documents of RTS, which constitute a business secret, and unlawfully disclosed, transferred, and otherwise made them accessible to unauthorized persons, contrary to the provisions of the Business Secret Regulation of Radio Television of Serbia.

Klanšček characterized this procedure as “part of a campaign by the General Director that has been ongoing for years, obstructing the work of the Management Board, primarily in areas related to financial oversight and monitoring the legality of operations.”

Media reports have indicated that Klanšček only recently obtained his university degree, which is one of the requirements for the position of RTS director.

He stated for the portal Nova.rs that when he was elected Chairman of the Management Board in 2021, he had a secondary vocational qualification. At that time, he says, he encountered mockery, prompting him to enroll in university.

“I then enrolled in the Faculty of Diplomacy and Security, but they have a department for production. In the fourth year, I continued at the Faculty of Media and Culture and completed it,” he emphasized.

The second candidate for the General Director of RTS, Dejan Stanković, known by the nickname "King," is recognized as a former host of the show "Crazy House" and a participant in the reality show "Farm."

For years, there was no information about him in the public domain until recently when Serbian media reported that Stanković is the president of the Christian Democratic Party in Brussels in the Molenbeek district and that last year he was also a candidate for the European Parliament, winning over 11,000 votes.

Stanković mentioned that his studies in theology and pedagogy enabled him to pursue a teaching career. He taught Orthodox religious education in Belgian schools, and during his time in that country, he expanded his professional engagement and became a court translator.

In an interview for the portal Nova.rs  in September, when asked if he plans to return to Serbia, he replied: “Yes, honestly and passionately, if the opportunity arises. I would love to share the experience I gained in Belgium and Europe and incorporate it into the future of Serbia.”

There is the least publicly available data on the third candidate, Stanislav Veljković. He was the long-term General Secretary of RTS and a candidate for the position of General Director of RTS in the previous competition. As we learned, Veljković is no longer employed at RTS. Last year, he became eligible for retirement.

The official biographies submitted by the candidates are not available since the competition is ongoing, RTS informed Danas.

The current General Director, Dragan Bujošević, has a mandate that expires on February 2, 2026. The decision on the selection of a new director will be made within 45 days from the date of the opening of applications for the competition, and in the meantime, the RTS Management Board is to conduct interviews with all candidates.

Source: Danas