At the competition for co-financing of media projects, 10,65 million dinars were distributed, while local critical media were left without support, the funds ended up with tabloids and media outside the city.
City Kragujevac distributed 10,65 million dinars in this year’s competition for co-financing of media projects, but the most influential local critical media remained without support again, while funds were allocated to media without significant influence in the local community, as well as to certain media outside Kragujevac and tabloids, Nezavisno announced today.
As stated, the decision on distribution of funds 10,65 million dinars were allocated, while 3,6 million remained unallocated. 13,45 million dinars were planned for media content production projects, and 800.000 dinars for the organization of expert meetings.
In the announcement, NUNS points out that the supported projects will deal with topics such as agriculture, ecology, economy, culture, art and historical heritage, but that the topics proposed by critical media – Glas Šumadije, Kragujevacke novine and Pressek – were not recognized as relevant.
Chief and responsible editor of Glas Šumadija Jovanka Nikolić told NUNS that their topic “wasn’t even critical”, adding that “they wouldn’t have passed even if they wrote that they were going to write about the production of flowers”.
According to NUNS, funds were allocated to media from Kragujevac, but also from Belgrade, Niš, Vranje and Batočina.
Nikolić assessed that some of the supported media are inactive or invisible to the public, stating that one of them made its last announcement three days before the announcement of the competition results, as well as that among the winners there are portals that publish unverified information and act as newsletters of political parties.
Among the winners of the funds is the print edition of the tabloid “Alo”, which was awarded 500.000 dinars for the project “Kragujevac for a healthier life”, although, according to the monitoring of the Press Council, that media had the most violations of the Code of Journalists of Serbia in the second half of last year, according to the NUNS statement.
Source: Vreme
