The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications rejected all objections submitted by the profession to the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Public Media Services, once again proving that from the beginning it had no intention of implementing the essential reforms foreseen in the Media Strategy.
We remind that Minister Dejan Ristić, after two months of intensive work by the Working Group on changes to the law, arbitrarily imposed a draft that completely goes beyond the framework on which the Working Group worked and ignores key guidelines from the Media Strategy.
The Ministry then organized an express public hearing, in which all expert remarks and suggestions were rejected. In doing so, they referred to the alleged positions of the Working Group, concealing the fact that its work was terminated before the key discussions were concluded.
We especially warn that this Draft Law does not solve the issue of financing public services – on the contrary, it cements their financial dependence on the government’s budget decisions. Although the Media Strategy clearly envisages stable financing through the tax as the primary source of income, the Ministry rejected all proposals that led to ensuring the financial and editorial independence of public services. The argument that “the lack of money will be compensated from the budget” is directly contrary to the goal of ensuring the independence of the public service and opens up space for political pressure and manipulation.
Also, several complainants pointed out that the introduction of the term “national” instead of “republic” public service is not only a technical change, but carries potentially discriminatory connotations. The Ministry also rejected those objections of the expert public without valid arguments, stating that the objectors “interpret the word national in the wrong way”, and that the term “republic” is outdated, although it is fully in accordance with the constitutional and legal framework of the Republic of Serbia.
By insisting on the urgent adoption of the unfinished law and rejecting expert proposals, the government is introducing the model of the new institution of the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Listeners, Viewers and Readers, whose real scope is unclear, and which we rightly doubt will serve the interests of citizens.
The state has already rendered meaningless all previous processes of improving the media system, including the changes to the other two media laws and the process of electing REM members. With this law, the government only confirms that it does not want professional and independent public services, but obedient government megaphones.
That’s why we support all the internal efforts of employees in public services who these days defend the financial, institutional and editorial independence of their newsrooms, and we call on the management of both public services to end the practice of unquestioning obedience and stand by their employees, and we will continue to fight for true public media services that serve citizens, not the authorities, despite the obstacles.
The Coalition for Media Freedom and Association of Independent Electronic Media (AIEM)
Belgrade, February 11th, 2025
The Coalition for Media Freedom: the Association of Media, the Association of Online Media (AOM), the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV), the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), the Business Association of Local and Independent Media “Local Press”, the Slavko Curuvija Foundation and Branch Trade Union of Culture, Arts and Media ‘Nezavisnost’
