“The N1 management initiative for a buyout of the network from United Group on market terms came about because there have been no talks, no responses from UG management. When you spend four months asking those people for a conversation and get nothing back, that’s an answer in itself,” Slobodan Georgiev, news director at TV Nova, told N1’s show New Day.
On Thursday, N1’s management proposed a management buyout – essentially purchasing N1 from United Group under market terms, supported by credible external investors. “Our goal is not ownership for profit, but institutional and editorial protection of the network, based on sustainable principles and in line with the best European practices,” the program directors from all four N1 regional centers said in a statement.
Asked what is happening with Nova TV on this front, since it also operates under United Media and United Group, Georgiev said they are part of the same story.
“All summer long, we tried, along with our colleagues, to get some answers. We haven’t received a single response, not one guarantee that we will keep operating. The only thing we have heard is that they claim no political influence, which is questionable given the recording of Stan Miller and Vladimir Lucic,” Georgiev said.
He pointed out that tomorrow is November 1, the month when, as the Serbian president previously “announced,” N1 and Nova are supposed to cease operations.
“We have been threatened that come November, we stop working. Naturally, we are demanding answers from UG, was well as a way to survive, and we are looking to find people who want to support journalism in Serbia. Unfortunately, in N1’s 11 years and Nova’s six, only one company has been willing to back us. There might be others out there, and I think we will join N1’s demand at Nova, asking management to let us run this media sector ourselves,” he added.
According to Georgiev, the sole aim is to secure financial stability and independence.
“We have directors here in Belgrade who refuse to talk to us, yet we need answers. We must have guarantees from the company, in writing, that it won’t interfere with editorial policy. That is the global standard. If that is not on the table, I would love for us to find other investors willing to put money into this media project that people clearly love and watch,” Georgiev stressed.
When asked if the owner of the two stations could simply reject the idea while still playing by market rules, Georgiev replied:
“This initiative emerged precisely because there is no dialogue, no response from the directors. When you spend four months asking those people for a conversation and get nothing back, that’s an answer in itself. In that case, the people who work here have to fight to save their television stations, because they serve the public interest. The audience proves it. If we didn’t have those viewership numbers, nobody would care, but thankfully we do. We have to fight for our outlets,” Georgiev said.
Source: N1
