European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) President Maja Sever said everything happening around N1 is non-transparent.
Speaking after reports that United Group CEO Stan Miller was appointed to the Adria News Board of Directors, Sever told N1 the new appointments do not shed any light on the situation. Adria News is the owner of record of N1 TV.
“Everything happening with your media outlet is not transparent. Editors and journalists at N1 have not been given any explanation, and certainly no written guarantees of the independence and safety of the N1 newsroom – especially in Serbia. We sent a warning here in Brussels to European institutions of an unbelievable campaign against journalists Dinko Gruhonjić, Marko Vidojković, and Ivan Ivanović,” she said and added that officials in Brussels find it hard to understand what’s going on in Serbia.
“In the atmosphere in which you live and work in Serbia, those uncertainties only deepen mistrust toward a newsroom that is one of the few managing to resist political pressure and report truthfully,” she said.
Maja Sever emphasized that the owner does have the right to change the management, but given the current situation in Serbia – and after letters and requests from several newsrooms and beyond – “we are facing a complete lack of clarity and transparency”.
According to her, neither United Group nor BC Partners have responded to inquiries from international organizations.
“Two days ago here in Brussels, I attended a meeting of the EFJ Board and met with Commissioner McGrath, who is now in charge of media, democracy, and human rights. We highlighted the situation in Serbia and this part of Europe, emphasizing that this is something we cannot turn a blind eye to. The situation is alarming, dangerous, unsustainable, and we warned that even the European Commission cannot simply let these things happen. We are genuinely trying on all levels, but it’s very worrying that, even with your newsroom, we still don’t know what will happen,” she said.
Sever said that EU officials reacted saying that they received the information, expressed interests but added that meetings with them “rarely go beyond that.”
“If Europe had really wanted to do something concrete, it would have by now. But it’s up to us to keep warning and demanding action. Today’s reports of threats against journalists are also a trail that leads to the Council of Europe and shows what’s happening. As for the EFJ, with contact and cooperation with your local journalist associations – who are doing very dedicated work on the ground – we are getting through to people here in Brussels, at least to some extent, and managing to get tangible support. At the very least, to make sure Brussels hears what is happening on the ground, especially in Serbia. If nothing else, let’s not allow them to look away,” she said.
Source: N1
