SĆF on Bojan Bilbija's candidacy for REM: He wants to regulate television, while spreading propaganda and intolerance on TV.

The candidate for a member of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM), Bojan Bilbija, works as an editor of the political section in Politika, a daily newspaper known for its propaganda in favor of the current government, as well as for its campaigns against professional journalists and civil society organizations.

The Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation (SĆF; Foundation) emphasizes that Bilbija is directly responsible for the article "American NED Sponsors Protests Against the Serbian Government" from August 2024, in which the Press Council identified several violations of the Journalists' Code of Serbia.

This is just one of the reasons why he should not be elected to REM, according to the law.

"A member of the Council can only be a person who has a reputation in the public eye, who has advocated for freedom of expression, free flow of information, the realization of human rights, the development of civil society, the enhancement of democracy, and respect for constitutionality and legality,” the Foundation reminded of the obligations under the Law on Electronic Media.

The Council concluded that Politika did not report professionally – accurately, objectively, and completely, adhering to the public's right to know the truth.

"Politika did not publish the Council's decision, which it was obliged to do, for which the editor, namely Bilbija, is responsible," SĆF writes, adding that he has shown "that he is not interested in upholding the professional and ethical standards of journalism in the section he edits. Publishing the decision is also a media obligation arising from membership in the Council."

In the past year, Politika violated the Journalists' Code 12 times, according to the Press Council's data.

Entire 24 Days in Pro-Government TV Studios

The Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation states that Bilbija is not prone to violating laws and professional standards only in the newspaper where he works, but also in his media appearances.

The editor at Politika, who was nominated for the REM Council by the University of Defense, criminal police universities, and universities in Novi Pazar, Novi Sad, and Pristina (based in Kosovska Mitrovica), along with Vojislav Šešelj on TV Hepi (2018), expressed a desire for the assassination of an activist from the movement Don’t Let Belgrade Drown. When Šešelj said, “When you see the yellow duck, shoot,” Bilbija added, “There is also this sickle (in the studio), it can work.”

In the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, Bilbija was a frequent guest on national television, and he was the first in local media to convey the theory of "biological weapons" attacking Russian DNA, which Raskrikavanje debunked as manipulation and propaganda.

The Foundation emphasizes that REM, which is doing its job, would impose legally prescribed measures for every show in which hosts and guests spread disinformation and hate speech, noting that Bilbija appeared in them 448 times over the past three years, spending a total of 34,656 minutes in the studios of PINK, Hepi, Prva, B92, and Informer, or a full 24 days.

Source: Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation

Unverified Work Experience

The requirement for membership in the REM Council is at least ten years of work experience in electronic media.

While Bilbija details every employer and the name of every publication he has collaborated with in his biography, the Foundation notes, he only briefly mentions his decades-long experience in electronic media, without providing any concrete details.

From Bojan Bilbija's biography (source: Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation)

"Bojan Bilbija's candidacy is yet another that the parliamentary Committee for Culture and Information must reject if it wishes to preserve the integrity of the REM Council election process," SĆF clearly states.

Support for Vučić's Right to Life

The Foundation highlights as an interesting fact that the candidates for membership in the REM Council, Bojan Bilbija and Miloš Garić, are among the signatories of the "Petition Supporting the Right to Life of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić."

The Foundation previously commented on Miloš Garić's candidacy, the current advisor to the Minister of Information and owner of a TV content production company, emphasizing that under the law, members of the Council cannot be individuals who have interests in legal entities engaged in the production, distribution, or broadcasting of radio and TV programs.

Source: Cenzolovka