A significant part of the Montenegrin media, including the Public Service, avoided reporting that the closest associate of the President of the Parliament of Montenegro has been accused of attempted murder and that it is suspected that, during the commission of this crime, an official car of the Montenegrin Parliament was used.
How does RTCG see objective information for the public?
The first news about the alleged attempted murder was published on Sunday, April 20 at 12:27 p.m., on the Vijesti portal, and on the same day, Vijesti also published information that an official vehicle was used in the incident. Both articles also contained details about the suspect – Danilo Mandić, a close relative, but more importantly, according to the media, a bodyguard or associate of the Speaker of the Parliament Andrija Mandić.
However, these allegations and links apparently did not reach the editorial office of the RTCG central news program within seven hours, so the public was deprived of information that represents a clear public interest. On April 20, the public service did report on the attempted murder in its news program. The report discusses the shooting, with the statement that "according to the media, it is Danilo Mandić." Without specifying that this is a person from the entourage of a man who holds one of the most important public positions in the country.
The next day, there was not a word about this case in the RTCG news.
It is interesting that RTCG investigative journalists did not have time to investigate the relationship between Danilo and the Speaker of the Parliament Andrija Mandić. Officially – Danilo Mandić is the "long-time closest associate" of the Speaker of the Parliament, at least that is what the parliament said back in August 2024.
"Dejan Gojković, Mihailo Čađenović and Danilo Mandić have been the closest associates of the President of the Parliament of Montenegro for many years and accordingly have the right to be members of the delegation," the parliament said in August last year when the question arose of where Danilo Mandić was on the government plane on the flight to Belgrade.
The portal mentioned through the words of a politician whose associate Mandić is
On the Public Service Portal on April 20 at 12:58, news was published that a serious attempted murder in Podgorica had been solved, the suspect was arrested, the text stated that it was Danilo Mandić, but, again, without mentioning that it was an escort for the head of the Parliament, but also without asking about the official vehicle that the Parliament had assigned for the protection of Andrija Mandić and how the person, who had previously had problems with the law,, found herself in the constant company of the Speaker of Parliament.
A day later, the RTCG portal announced that Danilo Mandić had been remanded in custody, again without details about who he was securing. Articles on this portal that Danilo Mandić connects with Andrija the statement of the DPS in which the party demands the resignation of the Speaker of the Parliament due to the aforementioned case and the comment of the Chairman of the Security Committee, Miodrag Laković, who stated that such demands are not justified.
When the great fighters for "freedom" fall silent
Even portals that openly support Mandić - Borba, IN4S, Alo online - did not find it appropriate to link Andrija Mandić and his "closest associate".
Borba did not deal with this case at all until the lawyer Miroje Jovanović, who represents Danilo Mandić, addressed the issue. It is not possible to find any article related to this event on IN4S.
Alo Online went a step further, calling those who did their job and wrote about what the bodyguard of the Speaker of the Parliament was suspected of, his past, and the fact that he was arrested for illegal possession of weapons, "media vultures." and more than once.
"The name of Andrija Mandić, a man who was neither present at the time of the incident nor connected to the actions being investigated, has been introduced into the media space. But it is enough that the suspect is his nephew — that is already an opportunity that some media outlets will not miss. As a journalist, I have to ask one simple question: what are we doing when we agree to report on an event based on a single statement, and that of a person with a thick criminal record? Where is the evidence? Where is the video footage? Where are the witness statements?", states the Alo text.
It's the same portal. who, when it suits him, is concerned about the connections between public figures and their closest relatives. They, for example, published an article titled: "DRAGINJIN'S FIRST ĐUVEGIJA Montenegro would be much easier if Vučić were removed from office in Serbia". The example of the article and title from the Alo online portal was chosen by random sampling.
While privately owned portals can to some extent "entitle" themselves to ignore the public interest and the connection between a person suspected of attempted murder and a high-ranking public official, the question remains open as to why this topic was not of public interest for the Public Service, which is funded from public funds and is obliged to inform citizens about all relevant events, especially those concerning the functioning of institutions that are also funded by the same citizens.
Bonus video:
