"Scum, wretch, degenerate": REM concluded that the TV Informer broadcast does not contain information, but rather a torrent of insults.

One of the last decisions of the previous Council of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) was the granting of a broadcasting license to TV Informer (photo: screenshot).

“Radmilo, damn you and your traitorous grandmother!”

With these words, the editor-in-chief of Informer, Dragan J. Vučićević, addressed Radmilo Marković, a journalist from the investigative network BIRN.

Due to a series of insults uttered, the Monitoring and Analysis Service of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) proposed to initiate an investigative procedure against Informer TV. They cite content that is not in line with the Regulations on the Protection of Human Rights in the Provision of Media Services.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the selection of members of the REM Council, it is currently unclear what might happen in the further proceedings against Informer TV.

Vučićević wants to strangle him and “sweetly humiliate” him

Everything started when Marković wrote on the social network X on September 24: “Ban work for 10 years.”

This was a reaction to an announcement by FK Crvena zvezda, in which the choreography of its fans dedicated to those who died in the controversial incident in Banjska in 2023 was described as “the foundation of Serbian freedom.”

The very next day, Marković's stance was discussed in the program “Kolegijum” on Informer TV.

“What kind of idiots are these?” could be heard from editor Vučićević.

He continued on social media. The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) stated that Vučićević threatened Marković on September 29. He wrote that “he felt like finding him somewhere to strangle him like a kitten and sweetly humiliate him.”

“The threats are part of the Informer TV campaign against Marković, which has been ongoing for a week after he was previously targeted for comments about Red Star fans,” NUNS assessed.

The Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) warned that such “aggressive and incendiary speech can endanger the safety of journalists.”

Scoundrel, traitor, scum, anti-Serb, feces…

After all this, the BIRN journalist filed a complaint against Informer TV. It cites violations of the prohibition of hate speech and the obligation to respect human rights.

The insults uttered live on air are detailed: “That is one scoundrel, one traitor.”

People who share Marković's views are thus “no longer considered human beings.”

“These are now some people with removed brains. Some people who would do anything for money,” said Vučićević, continuing: “They don’t do this just out of their own minds; they are paid to do this, they have homework to do. They must do their slave portion of cracklings.”

The complaint asserts that even if “such untrue statements were considered value judgments,” they would be “excessive and unfoundedly insulting” and would exceed the “limits of permissible freedom of expression.”

For example, the editor of Informer directly addressed Marković in the program with the words: “Shame on you, you filthy scum.” Or: “Shame on you, you worst scum, worst anti-Serb traitor.”

“What kind of, excuse the expression, piece of shit are you, not to mention feces? What kind of scum are you?” said Vučićević.

Informer invokes freedom of speech

What did Informer TV have to say about this?

They commented on the complaint. They referred to the principle of freedom of speech and several justifications from the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, including the cases Handyside v. United Kingdom (1976) and Dichand and others v Austria (2002).

“Journalistic freedom implies resorting to a certain degree of exaggeration or even provocation,” quoted Informer TV.

They also emphasized the opinion, as they say, confirmed in domestic court practice that journalist Marković should be considered a public figure with nearly 34,000 followers on the social network X.

As such, they argue, he must accept “not only information or ideas that are well-received or considered inoffensive but also those that offend, scandalize, or disturb.”

According to them, “the limits of accepting criticism are broader when it comes to public figures compared to private individuals.”

REM: Informer’s program contains no information, only an outpouring of insults

The professional service of REM concluded otherwise – that the qualifications presented “can in no case be considered acceptable criticism, no matter how broadly those limits are set.”

This body emphasizes that it is not only about protecting one person from insults in the media but about “protecting the public space from the misuse of media for settling scores with a political opponent.”

Moreover, they state that Informer TV uses “clearly unacceptable language” and a “discourse that is beyond the applicable standards,” both in the media and in public in general.

On the other hand, the service did not engage in assessing who is and is not a public figure. In their opinion, there is no clear criterion for such a determination in domestic legislation.

The disputed content – namely, the program “Kolegijum” on Informer TV from September 25 – although nominally in the part of the program considered informative, “does not contain information in the narrow sense of the word but is an outpouring of insults, including profanity.”

Not only directed at journalist Marković but “indirectly at his supporters.”

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WAITING FOR REM

The procedure against Informer TV due to the Marković case, however, will have to wait for the REM Council to begin operating in full composition. And that has not been the case for over a year, since the old mandate expired on November 4, 2024.

The election of a new Council is underway and so far does not promise much. Four newly elected members have announced they will resign from the REM Council next Friday.

In a letter, they assess that the decision of the parliamentary Committee for Culture and Information to reject the appeal related to the election of a member in the category of representatives of minority communities “represents the final act of a process that has been marked from the beginning by a lack of transparency, arbitrary interpretation of the law, and procedural violations.”

Once the Council is established, in addition to other obligations, they will face a considerable number of cases similar to this one against Informer TV.

The Analysis and Monitoring Service of REM also proposed initiating proceedings against Pink and B92 for airing the film “Evil Era” from the Center for Social Stability, an organization close to the regime. The video was described as a “pamphlet” and “a type not suitable for television media.”

On the other hand, the case of Studio B will not be pursued as the same professional service concluded that “there are no grounds for initiating an investigative procedure” due to offensive labeling of TV N1 and Nova S as “NDH1” and “Nova SS.”

REM is theoretically the key body that controls domestic radio and television programs; however, in the past, it has already refused to initiate proceedings despite analyses from its own professional service.

Unanimously, it rejected proceedings against TV Pink, even though the professional service assessed that journalist Tamara Skrozza was day by day on that channel unjustly “placed in the context of someone calling for the assassination of the president” and for “the liquidation of political opponents.”

An analysis by the Center for Investigative Journalism (CINS) from 2023 showed that REM in the previous term “turned a blind eye to violence on television” and that they went unpunished.

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Source: Cenzolovka