Part of N1 journalists: We condemn the targeting of our colleagues Vučenić and Tatalović by Šovljanski

Some journalists and editors from the N1 newsroom in Serbia publicly condemned the "targeting of journalists Danica Vučenić and Žaklina Tatalović by N1 news director Branislav Šovljanski" after, as they stated, Šovljanski accused their colleagues - Danica Vučenić - of lying and Žaklina Tatalović of wanting to get involved in politics on N1 television's "Novi dan".

This is stated in the statement submitted to "Vijesti" and signed by Ana Novaković, Žana Bulajić, Nataša Miljković, Mia Bjelogrlić, Ina Džakula, Dimitrije Đurić, Ksenija Pavkov, Sanja Kosović, Nataša Lazarević and Adam Santovac.

They said that these are two in a series of examples of the showdown that is being carried out with individuals at N1 "from above", only this time publicly. "That is why we are reacting publicly, despite Branislav Šovljanski's threat, made at the editorial meeting after his guest appearance, that he would not 'allow' 'some' to come out publicly 'as liberators and fighters for free journalism'," they said.

They add that while the professional and general public are shyly wondering whether the government will take over the most influential, but still a handful of free media outlets, an essentially authoritarian model of governance is already being implemented in N1, including through divisions initiated from above and "through arrogant, incompetent and ignorant governance."

Branislav Šovljanski's claim that Danica Vučenić lied about columnist Ljubodrag Stojadinović being censored, as they assessed, is not only unprofessional and rude, but also incorrect.

"It is not true that Stojadinović was asked not to use offensive language in his columns, as Šovljanski stated. Deputy Director of N1 News Vojislav Stevanović gave Stojadinović an explicit position that insults in his columns were not acceptable, despite the fact that even the Supreme Court of the Republic of Serbia considers freedom of expression to include a certain amount of exaggeration, provocation, and even immoderate statements," the journalists wrote.

They assess that Branislav Šovljanski essentially negated Danica Vučenić's value judgment that Stevanović's actions were actually censorship by banning a rerun of her show in which she refers to the case.

This move by Šovljanski is even more problematic, according to them, because it concerns an interview with Zoran Kesić, who stated in it that "24 Minutes" was canceled for political reasons.

"When it comes to the case of journalist Žaklina Tatalović, we emphasize that she was removed from reporting on protests and political events with the explanation that her alleged candidacy on the student list called into question her professional impartiality. We consider it unacceptable that the professional status of an N1 journalist is determined based on false tabloid allegations and without concrete evidence, especially when it comes to a journalist with many years of experience," they said.

They added that Šovljanski is publicly further stigmatizing the journalist by providing information about the reason for her absence, which is particularly problematic in terms of the Personal Data Protection Act.

They are further concerned that Šovljanski and Deputy Director Stevanović are participating in the N1 transition process within the new ownership structure and entity ANN, led by Brent Sadler, Wouter van Houvelingen and Petar Tanasković.

In this sense, as they wrote, the program director and his deputy do not allow television reports and thematization of the issue of the sale of N1 to Alpac Capital, or they position them without context before the weather forecast, under the pretext of "until we know something more."

"Also, in recent months we have witnessed frequent interventions in program and web content. In this regard, we are appalled by the substitution of Šovljanski's thesis that someone has a problem with three minutes of Ana Brnabić in an extraordinary program that lasts five hours. No, the problem is that Brnabić was broadcast at the moment of the speech of the persecuted student from Pančevo, Andrej Tank, which is broadcast only by N1 television," they said.

In that context, they also highlighted other suggestions by Šovljanski - to reduce guest appearances by colleagues from "Radar", "Nova S" and the "Nova" portal, who belong to the small corps of critical journalists in Serbia.

"We are appalled by the interpretation of the management and part of the editorial staff that this was the case even before Igor Božić was dismissed. If so, the question arises as to why they remained silent and continued to accept positions and work for years within Božić's editorial team. We work in an atmosphere in which employees who express disagreement with the actions of ANN, Director Branislav Šovljanski and Deputy Director Vojislav Stevanović feel exposed to pressure, belittling and professional distancing," said a group of N1 journalists.

Both the content and tone of Šovljanski's response in Nataša Miljković's interview, according to them, showed that employees are expected to accept new circumstances without question and without a critical attitude towards management's decisions, with the director publicly remarking that the problem is that they have "too much freedom".

The atmosphere in which they work, as they claim, is also evidenced by the fact that this address (letter) of theirs "cannot be circulated throughout the entire editorial office."

However, they call on all who share our opinion to support this statement, as well as those who disagree with the letter, including the leadership, not to deny their right to communicate openly with the public and not to "interrogate or insult them because of these lines."