CGO: The privileged receive money to praise state authorities

Year after year, certain media receive much more state money than others, and we citizens did not know why they are privileged, said journalist Duško Vuković during a discussion regarding the report of the Center for Civic Education (CGO) "Equal opportunities for all media".

"It would be logical that they contribute more to the public interest. Those who receive money do not belong to the group of media engaged in investigative journalism. The media, which are not inclined to criticize the government, are more likely to get money from public funds. If society needs it, then let it be an official system, so let's see how the citizens will react to it," he said.

Program coordinator at CGO Ana Nenezić announced that last year 2,25 million euros of state money was spent on advertising and media assistance.

According to her, marketing agencies and production houses received 1,1, print media 440.000, television 315.000, and radio stations around 100.000.

"When it comes to print media, 'Pobjeda' received 243.000, 'Dan' 63.000, 'Dnevne novine' 50.000, and 'Vijesti' 35.000. When it comes to television, RTCG got 118.000, TV Balkan 55.000, TV Vijesti 32.000, TV Pink M 27.000. When it comes to radio stations, Antena M got 31.000, 'Jadran' 24.000, 'Skala' 21.000...", she said.

She added that Portal Analitika received around 40.000, Vijesti 9.000, and CDM 7.000.

Her colleague Nikola Bošković explained that the research was conducted from January to May 2017.

"Inquiries were sent to 334 state bodies, and 253 responded. The capital, Plantations, Central Bank, Railway Infrastructure, Council for Privatization, Agency for Promotion of Foreign Investments, Investment and Development Fund, Regulatory Agency for Energy, and most municipal centers for social work. The plantations were told to give us data, claiming that it was a business secret," said Bošković.

Director of ND Vijesti Željko Ivanović suggested that all major national media should publish actions of state bodies that are of public interest free of charge.

"On the other hand, the Government should regulate the media market - to protect the market from unfair competition," he pointed out.

The editor-in-chief of "Pobjeda" Draško Đuranović pointed out that it is necessary for the research of CGE to be methodologically much better.

According to him, using data without knowing its essence is a big problem of research.

"I do not agree that the Government has not done anything regarding the position of the media. "When you forgive someone's tax or reprogram it, you put us who pay our obligations in an unequal position," notes Đuranović.

Ivanović replied that the publisher of Vijesti, the Daily Press, has since its foundation paid more money to the state in taxes and contributions than all commercial media combined.

"Daily Press has paid over 13,34 million euros in taxes and contributions since its establishment. This is information from the Tax Administration, from which we also received a plaque as one of the largest tax payers until January 1, 2016. In the same period, and until the famous privatization in 2014, Pobjeda paid 0 euros. The state felt guilty because of that discrimination, so it rescheduled our tax debt under strict conditions. Please note that TV Vijesti did not have a national frequency for more than two years, thus losing over 2,5 million from marketing, it is clear why they were also approved for reprogramming. Let's not obscure things," Ivanovic said.

The director of TV Vijestin, Marijana Kadić-Bojanić, suggests creating a media development strategy.

"Our media market has been destroyed because of advertisers and media from the region. It's legitimate, as long as the state allows it, although it shouldn't, because that way we don't all have equal chances. I would also like to point out that not all of us have the same starting point. "When we were founded, we couldn't get a national frequency, which meant no advertising," she explained.

The editor-in-chief of Antena M, Darko Šuković, criticized the CGO for contacting only one party during the research - the state authorities.

"If you had contacted someone from Antena M, they would have told you that this is money for both the radio and the portal. I think the easiest thing to do is to ask for media analysis cards next time," he believes.

The marketing director of "Dana" Smilja Milicković assessed that critical media are discriminated against.

"The ministries did not direct a single cent to Dan. We are not to blame for the other media, but for the state institutions that created an environment in which some media were rewarded and some were punished," she said.

Minister of Culture Janko Ljumović said that the challenges of the media community and practice need constant legal evaluation and continued harmonization with European standards.

"Dialogue based on arguments, free from bias and particular interests, will look at and offer directions for concrete public policies," he said.

He pointed out that when it comes to public money, authorities should use digital platforms for interactive communication with citizens.

"That is, a proactive approach to information that does not have to be presented in a marketing way," Ljumović added.

The Director of the Center for Civic Education, Daliborka Uljarević, announced that in 2016, at least 2,25 million euros were paid to the media and important entities through contractual services: "The CGE has documented data for that figure, while 26 percent of state authorities did not provide any information about this type spending funds".

Uljarević notes that with the allocation of 11,2 million euros for RTCG from the budget, along with 2,85 million allocated by municipalities for local media, the figure of 16,3 million paid to the media on various grounds during the last year is reached.

"The practice of misleading marketing is noticeable - the media receives money from the institution to report on its work, which is not indicated as paid marketing. The Law on Free Access to Information is an insufficiently effective mechanism," she said.

She added that CGO has been offering concrete solutions for six years: "To begin with, amendments to media laws." Changes in this direction are in the interest of all media, because this system keeps them all in an unsustainable state"

HB Foundation representative Nenad Šebeh said that the CGE study represents an important step in the fight for free thought, speech and media.

"Unfortunately, this problem - that your money is selectively spent on some media and denied to others - is a universal problem of the Western Balkans. We will not dictate how you manage relations in the media. But the HB Foundation is dedicated to speeding up the country's path to the European Union, because we help to activate civil society," he explained.

This article was created in partnership with the Monitoring of the Balkans and the Caucasus (Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso) for the needs of the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), which is co-financed by the European Commission. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of "Vijesta", and in no way can it be interpreted as the position of the European Union.