CampaignTV Coverage

A TV report on the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) convention in the Sava Center in Belgrade on December 16, lasted exactly 6 minutes and 26 seconds. Of this time, the reporter's introduction and SPS leader Slobodan Milosevic's speech took 2 minutes and 28 seconds, the remaining minutes were devoted to the applause! To be precise, 3 minutes and 58 seconds!

The last week ahead of elections was worse than usual on Serbian Radio-Television. The RTS rooted unashamedly for two parties and ignored the warnings of the Elections Supervisory Committee which is also state-sponsored. The week's results are truly impressive. In the 7.30 p.m. prime time News, 51 reports dealt with "regular" SPS activities. The United Left which is not present in the Assembly was covered with 8 reports, as were the Democratic Movement of Serbia (DEPOS) and the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS).

The things said during the week will probably still be talked about after the elections, but some pearls of wisdom are hard to forget. On Friday (December 10) SPS member and Yugoslav deputy prime minister Zeljko Simic spoke of the "Messiah who was traversing Serbia, not conducting a dialogue with anyone, a man who cannot speak of Serbia's youth since he doesn't have any offspring of his own" (an allusion to DEPOS leader Vuk Draskovic - ed.).

On Sunday (December 12) we found out that a discovery had been made in Novi Sad, that "it was possible to overcome the crisis with fish, and so break through the blockade". This was followed with the shot of a pair of shoes made out of fish skin, while an experiment for the making of fish flour, is still in the experimental phase!

The RTS really worked very hard at helping the SPS, not hesitating from repeating footage, footage of applause and expressions of congratulations to Milosevic throughout Serbia, in Gornji Milanovac, Valjevo, Uzice...

With the approach of election silence, the number of foreign investors hell-bent on investing their money in Serbia, grew rapidly. In the first minutes of the News we learned of various Italian, Russian and French businessmen who had visited Serbia and who they had met. We learned from the papers the next day that no contracts had been signed, only protocols, and that some Western European financial institutions have cautioned that various impostors are moving around Eastern Europe, and that business deals and transactions will have to wait until sanctions have been lifted...

RTS journalist Krste Bijelic who covered the elections in the Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK), spent a frustrating week in Knin, trying to cover up the fact that SPS favorite Milan Martic (RSK Interior Minister) had lost the presidential elections. We were told that there was foul play, that the ballots had arrived two days earlier, that the ballot boxes hadn't been sealed, that things weren't over yet, that complaints had been made... Is this a good or a bad sign?