Mirković: Local governments are funding tabloids that violate the code through public procurement.
The new provision of the Law on Public Information and Media regarding public procurement of media services could further jeopardize project co-financing because many public authorities will increasingly redirect funds to media outlets that do not comply with the Journalists' Code of Serbia and the decisions of the Press Council, said Saša Mirković from the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) while appearing on Blic TV.
Speaking about the set of media laws whose amendments were adopted by the National Assembly of Serbia a few days ago, he reminded that there was no public debate held on them, despite the fact that these are "small changes," as the authorities claim.
"A provision has been introduced that defines public procurement, but not to a sufficient extent. What happened in Novi Pazar will occur again, where the lowest bid was selected and a tabloid won. Thus, there is a way to bypass the provisions related to the co-financing of media projects," Mirković assessed.
He reminded that a few years ago the role of the Press Council was defined in the process of project co-financing precisely to prevent media that violate the ethical code from receiving public funds.
"Local governments then transfer money to the budget for public procurement, thereby financing tabloids that daily violate ethical standards," Mirković noted.
Source: Blic TV / YouTube
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