The Look of a Dead Fish

The first executive board was formed five years ago and was made of 17 individuals, of whom 12 were "television experts and eminent cultural workers". The other five were RTS personnel.

Last January, the Serbian government decided to change the executive board after ignoring all initiatives to change the law on television for no less than four years. In accord with the trend, the first candidate for new chairman of the board was once again Vukasin Jovanovic, the present interior minister (the police do sometimes assume the role of media, when taking people in for questioning for instance). However, minister of culture Nada-Popovic Perisic was given the honour of presiding over the new executive board.

It is no surprise that even the staunchiest of the regime's television mercenaries are unable to offer more than a look of dead fish while reading anonimous and unsigned comments of support for their bosses, in their mission to force the viewers into uniform thinking. Last weekend, the headline news were Kofi Annan, the Russian parliament budget, Israeli strikes on Hezbolah, the crisis in Tanzania and Rwanda, civcil war in Ethiopia, a naval disaster in New Orleans and the tourist potentials of Pester.

Hundreds of thousands of people marching the streets of Serbia for over a month now are non-existent for the state television. The formula that the number of protestors rallied by the Zajedno coalition is decreasing daily has been replaced with fabricated letters of support for Milosevic and interviews with stunned and petrified pedestrians who can't look their families and friends in the eye for days later. Students from the town of Nis could find themselves in the same position: Milosevic's promise that they will live in lawful state could mean a mandatory prison term for walking along the Nis-Belgrade highway without a licence.

Even the Yugoslav president, Zoran Lilic, appeared on television inplanted into a pyramid of support letters, citizens' protests over cheap electricityand cries for putting the protestors back where they belong - into the "system's institutions", as Lilic said in one of his appearances. Serbian television no longer broadacsts news and information provided by even its closest and perhaps only allies - Montenegrin television and Pale television of the Bosnian Serb republic. It remains alone and isolated in its Belgrade studio. Its few remaining employees who can be called professional reporters probably enjoy being up to their necks in egg yolk because it might be good for their tan. With its own sense for reality, Serbian television would surprise few people if it declared a police truncheon some kind of a latest vibrator model.

Aleksandar Ciric

Radio Television Serbia

The Inside Story

The demonstrators that have been protesting for many days now, express their disapproval of the editorial policy of the Radio and Television of Serbia by throwing eggs and paint on the building of this institution in the Takovska street no. 10

The premises that are due to their location mostly exposed to this "artillery" are the editorial offices that have the least to do with the "production of reality" directed by the news program of the RTS. In fact, the editorial offices of the culture, educational and music programs are there. Our conversationalist is the editor of one of the culture programs at the Television of Serbia.

Since the demonstrations have started, the employees of the RTS use the back entrance from the Aberdareva street; some out of shame, some out of fear to be seen and recognized. I also use the entrance from the Aberdareva street because I am really ashamed. I work for the production department that has nothing to do with what is going on and with the reason for which people spit on the RTS, but lately it happens that artists refuse to work for us although they believe that our shows are good. They simply do not wish to appear in the programs of the house RTS. There are also "black lists"; I have no access to them because I am not close to the top, but production departments more or less know who is not to appear in the shows.

My personal attitude is that I should not leave the company because I do my job absolutely professionally and I stand firmly behind everything coming from my production. Only hope remains that something will change in this house and that the day will come when it will not be shameful to say that one is employed in the RTS. We have the best technique, most of funds and the best professionals; we are capable of producing projects in the best way and there is no other television that can match us.

In my opinion, which is shared also by the majority of my colleagues, my civil right is that I can, have to and must be on the street at 3 P.M. and demonstrate my dissatisfaction. My civil attitude and personal opinion can not be molded by any employer. I was told several times that I was recognized during the demonstrations and that my act is not very wise. Many friends and colleagues tell me that I should be cautious because I can be fired if the purges start again. Most of the people that are employed in the culture shows department are absolutely against the policy of the house, they read the independent press and participate in the meetings. We are just an oasis for filling in the gaps in the RTS and we are treated that way: their wages quadruple ours, our coefficients on which the calculation of wages is based drastically differ from theirs. People that do the news and other dirt are paid extremely well and are absolutely protected. It is silly that the demonstrators do not know where the premises of the informative production department are: they are pulled in, situated in a new building, a space shuttle where nothing is seen or heard. Eggs are thrown on the production offices that have nothing to do with the politics and our halls stink, not theirs.

Sometimes I feel sorry to hear from my friends: we are ashamed that you work for the RTS. I think that my department does a professionally good job and that it takes more courage to work for the RTS and still appear in the streets. Many would be silent were they in my place and would not appear in the streets because one never can tell whose cameras are shooting.

We have no insight in the contents of the black lists; you face it if you want to phone someone, and the editor-in-chief summons you and tells you in strict confidence: "That one will not do." I accidentally found out that, for example, Branko Cvejic and Olivera Djurdjevic are on the black list. That’s, however, how it was before: for example, during the war we could not publish the music or mention the names of the Croatian and Slovene artists. Our bosses take care of that, because they are the ones who get sacked if someone from their production releases something that shouldn’t be released.

There is absolutely no communication among us and the people from the informative production, we don’t even see each other. I know them only from the screen. They are in another building and they are actually the RTS.

Almost all of my colleagues disapprove of the current policy of the house: we have our coffee in the morning and read the Demokratija daily, the Nasa Borda daily, the Vreme weekly and other independent newspaper and discuss current events. The bosses are mostly members of the SPS and JUL and are very ambitious. They are above all concerned about the achievements of the program projects and many of them have enlisted into the ruling party just to be left alone.

There are many people of high quality here, top professionals. Nevertheless we work for small wages although the general opinion is that we earn a lot. Our wages rarely exceed one thousand dinars, and I believe that almost nobody earns over one thousand and six hundred. Obviously only those that consent to do the jobs that put the RTS on the black list of the citizens of Serbia are financially stimulated.

Much money is being invested in the culture production; very obvious, however, is the attention devoted to the careers of some people, members of parties close to the political top who could have never imposed themselves by their quality or importance, like Ljiljana Habjanovic-Djordjevic, Jadranka Jovanovic, that actor Desko or whatever his name is from the show "Srecni ljudi" (The Happy People)...

Little is invested in production, reconstruction, or machines. RTS spends incredibly enormous amount of money, but the money is generally not wisely invested. Of course, not a single thing is missing for those from the informative production, in the new building. They really are "the happy people".

Teofil Pancic

Insider's View

A Man from the RTS Production Team speaks for Vreme

The RTS field teams do their job with a maximum amount of professionalism, better than any other authorized television, even better than some allegedly quality world networks! Everything is registered and recorded. The editors do not spare tapes and other resources when this job is concerned, and the teams are requested to utterly cover all events. All of the material is afterwards re-recorded and archived in a special "data bank", similar to the documentation archives of the newspaper houses. Of course, the technicians and journalists have no influence on the editorial policy and on what and how will be published and presented. Everything is, however, registered and saved. As if someone is trying to create some kind of retreat that might come in handy one day. That’s the way it has always been done; for example, last year we have completely covered the exodus of the refugees from Krajina, there are kilometers of tape that are filed in the RTS. Our bosses insisted that this should be recorded; Radomir Vico personally requested it, although nothing was published.

The teams that cover the demonstrations have sometimes unpleasant experiences with the citizens. The cameramen have the right to withdraw if they feel endangered.

Cameramen sometimes "provoke" journalists: "Tell me what you need and I’ll film it, let's not freeze here for hours." Normally, however, not even journalists know what they need, or they know but that could not be filmed - because it does not exist...

State and Television

Half-sisters

The newest political crisis in Serbia has proven once again: like State - like Television

First of all, one-party and not parliamentary; unequal towards it's people; irresponsible towards the public; negligent towards law; insensitive for the facts; partial in communication... All that has been demonstrated in these last thirty days, after the disputed second round of local elections, when the Radio and Television of Serbia started another propaganda offensive in defense of the current government.

The state gave the television all rights - subscription, frequencies, transmitters, marketing, sponsors, monopoly... These tributes have to be justified.

It can not be measured what is worse for the truth - which here seems an utterly uncatchable and complex term. Whether when the television hushes up the events or when it starts reporting about them. At first, hardly anything was said about the students’ protests and walks, about the meetings of the coalition Zajedno in Belgrade and all the other Serbian cities. And when the reports finally reached the News, they were partial, biased, with details selected based on political criteria and accented beyond context, needed as a motive for the usual media campaign.

Such policy has it's firm scheme. The News starts with reading sharp, accusing (and, as a rule, badly written) commentaries from the daily newspaper of the same editorial policy. It continues with the polls in the streets, with suggestive questions and unison answers and the letters of support to the President. The spectators are additionally stirred up by the new "evidence" on internal and external enemies, betrayers, foreign mercenaries, terrorists, bullies, spies...

Commentaries are published before or instead of the news, and the news often consist of notorious frauds because of the selective use of the agencies’ information, omitting entire paragraphs or shortening them to the detriment of the context.

It is understandable that some of the most witty slogans of the Students’ Protest ‘96 are aimed at the television - it's behavior is really inspiring for aphorisms and satiric bravuras. Even in the distant year of 1968 the students of the Belgrade University put television on a pillory for its scandalous reporting on the demonstrations and the strike.

There were some short-lasting exceptions that arose hope at the beginning of the nineties, but since then television is advancing backwards. It is all the more illiterate, rude, false. Former directors and the leading people now seem to be, compared to their colleagues of today, editorial, intellectual and media giants. The current leaders are autistic, inarticulate, immature, conspicuously dependent.

The personnel policy of the television over the last few years has been the best testimony of professional but also of moral fissure in this house. Since it got rid of some thousand of it's best experts by sending them on "forced vacations", mostly critical and thinking people who carefully built their profiles and strove to implement the world journalism standards on our screens - the television had free space to experiment with beginners, free space for the fast production of "media stars", for the abuse of free-lancers.

The reporters willing to accept any ordered job emerged, journalists preconditioned for once-occurring use, commentators ready to sign someone else’s texts. Therefore it is not surprising that they were dropped from the screen at each new political turn - and the sharp curves were always appearing abruptly, at high speed. Many from that pleiad are long forgotten, but there were also striking personalities with impressive styles of presentation, and also some bizarre interesting items. Today there are not even picturesque personalities of that kind. The negative selection seems to have made the resources thin out. Many are average, awkward, untrained, plain, provincial.

The mentioned political turn which the television entered at full speed made it's manipulative, extremely intended for specific purposes and unprofessional editorial policy so transparent that it was logical (but also futile) to expect counterproductive results for those whom television was supporting or at least to cause suspicion among the spectators, as a corrosive element for the "TV onemindedness".

The war retorics and verbal war were overnight replaced by peace-making, and aggressive nationalists turned into peace-bringing saints. The Serbs across the Drina instantly became promoted into war profiteers. The arranging of Martic’s electoral victory ended up by leaving him high and dry. All that and many similar events were immediately supported and spread forward by television - fullhartedly, unreservedly, with no restraints, zealously. It turned out, at least in the short run, that in putting the government policy, i.e. the policy of the President, into effect in such way it was not necessary to care, not even minimally, for the basic principles of journalism, the voice from the other side, diligently collecting photographs, clearly stating the sources of information, accurately quoting statements, correctly quoting the speaker... With the media skill demonstrated by the multinational televisions from this area, the political interests of the state, i.e. the President, could be supported employing more subtle tactics, more refined collating of messages, the illusion of objectivity, avoiding the drastic ideological terminology and political language void of any substance.

But television did not need to bother and waste time on that. It continued self-confidently to publish it's own image of reality, intensifying before the elections the reports on successes of economy and diplomatic points, registering only the activity of the parties that wish to be even leftier from the left. It seems that exactly by it's aggressive pre-electoral agitation for the SPS and especially for the JUL, television has carried things too far and caused unwanted consequences. Regardless to the extent of the television’s real influence on the outcome of the elections (there are different interpretations in that respect too) it may be assumed that the victory of the opposition in the local elections was also a reaction of the electorate to the unbearable, exaggerated and direct partiality of the television, in favor of the left coalition.

He who shall lie, shall steal. And vice versa. That is why the state government and the state television are so similar and sisterly. Just as two daughters of the same father. And they will remain close until the last breath.

Branka Otasevic

P.S. It is probably understood, yet it is worth repeating, the said refers to the Informative Program of the Radio and Television of Serbia, first of all to the TV Dnevnik. The metaphor about the Bastille can not be applied to the tens and hundreds of decent professionals involved in the operations of this house. The odium they suffer is tormenting them additionally. They are sufficiently punished by the nature of the powerful minority in their internal government. And they can not vote for it. Except indirectly, of course.

Serbia Calling

There Used to Be a Radio

"We must do everything to enable the Socialist Party to win," Dusan Mitevic, the director of RTB at that time used to say openly.

The flourishing of nationalism and stirring up of hatred among the Yugoslav nations did not attract the program people from Radio Belgrade to follow the steps of Politika’s Echoes and Reactions. Understandably, due to the nature of electronic media, radio too brought to the houses of it's listeners the threatening sounds of the so-called meetings of truth, abuse of the past and populist passions. All that was inevitable due to the obligation to keep track of events and present them truthfully. However, there was no pouring oil on fire and no production of the consciousness that had already ruled the printed media and had started emerging on television.

Realizing the inevitability of the changes, the leading team of Radio Belgrade already in '88 and '89 redirected it's programs towards a pluralistic model, allowing the criticism of the then existing system. Many, sometimes proscribed figures, dissidents and enemies of the regime appeared in the programs, expressing their critical opinion. The shows on the Second Program of Radio Belgrade became more and more open for different opinions and followed events with full attention and very varied media genre. The editorial policy of that kind was also applied by the Third Program and Program 202. The basic methods of following events was: to be on the spot and to sound record all relevant facts.

At that time, pressure that the ruling structure put on the leading team of Radio Belgrade was fiercer every day. It had lasted for two years taking the most drastic form, and escalated immediately before the multi-party elections in 1990. "We must do everything to enable the Socialist Party to win," Dusan Mitevic, the director of RTB at that time used to say openly. Not wishing it to be propaganda support for SPS, but also neither for the other newly established parties, Radio Belgrade made an effort to find the adequate dose and keep the balance of parities’ appetites. Daily briefings of editors and most prominent people from the program were painful efforts to find a solution of how to avoid requests "from above" and still maintain the reputation of the house and profession intact. There were countless times when the board of Radio Belgrade consciously decided not to act as ordered. That is why the events from March 9, 1991 did not include the charge on Radio Belgrade, and when the Serbian Assembly at the end of March evaluated the previous years’ operations of the Radio Television of Belgrade, Radio Belgrade was, unlike the Television, graded high both by the ruling party and the opposition.

And what is the situation now?

The ruling Socialists, as could be expected, could not live with their own estimation, which was, anyway, forced. They soon enacted a new law in order to raise a smoke screen, which enabled the government to adopt decisions about the most important issues of the newly formed RTS system. The enactment of the law coincided with the first war clashes in Slovenia, so it is not hard to conclude what was to be the editorial policy in the state radio-television system that the ruling party hoped for.

The then established total control and abuse of the most influential radio-diffuse system has not changed until now. Radio Belgrade has become part of the synchronized manipulative machinery, coordinated from one center. The recent events are more than obvious proof. The contents of the informative shows, attacks at the opposition and demonstrators that request a recognition of local elections results, underrating and minimizing the students’ protest, all that is directed in the same way in all of the RTS’s shows, and in the same way as in the publications of the house Politika, in the Vecernje Novosti daily, the Borba daily. "We go according to the Tanjug today too," is the most common briefing on the informative shows. "Tell Paja from Sabac to send several opponents of the coalition Zajedno," is the assignment given to the editors in branch offices. The rule of publishing opinions of both sides is long forgotten in Radio Belgrade, and the method of commenting and opposing the issues that they have not even informed their listeners of is a daily practice. Until yesterday it was: "Defend Babic, attack Babic; praise Martic, blame Martic; glorify Karadzic, write off Karadzic..."; now, there are cables for the president, subordinacy and treason of the opposition and students. Reality, of course, is not simple nor beautiful, and not all the details from the demonstrations are noble. But one gets shivers and fears the Orwellian future when facing the reality created by the media that has turned from state media into a one-party-propaganda media.

Rade Veljanovski

Information Layout

The President's Address

Serbian television is a state institution not only for being its property, but also for the fact that it is completely loyal to the present regime and fully responsible for its propaganda. This one-sided position has resulted in an air-tight media blockade, made all professional standards look ridiculous and widely opened the doors to unlimited abuse of information

What would happen if Serbian television decided to become impartial in the

current electoral crisis in Serbia and started reporting in an objective and professional manner for a change ?

Objective reporting implies allowing the expression of different and even confronted views and positions on situations where a conflict has occurred. The bigger the conflict the more such opinions are broadcast on television, for it is the professional responsibility of any media calling itself objective to have a balanced and not a biased approach so that its viewers are aware that there is a conflict in position and interests.

Had Serbian television given at least one chance to the Zajedno coalition or the students to appear on screen and explain their position, it would have provided information contrary to the propaganda voiced by a regime persistent in keeping the reasons of the conflict well away from the public.That would virtually put an end to ignorance of relevant information and consequently the mystification of the protest which has been rocking Serbia for over a month now. Access to different definitions of the conflict would make possible debates among sides with confornted opinions, which would inevitably put in question its official interpretation.

Objective and impartial reporting also implies that individuals employed by a particular medium must refrain from using the media to express their own positions on a controversial issue. In other words, reporters are not to assume the role of referees when confronted opinions are expressed in a round-table debate, and the state television ought to respect this principle more than any other. State media are there for all citizens of a particular state to gain unbiased information, which is why any kind of arbitration in favour of any of the sides to the conflict is unacceptable. Serbian television has ignored all the principles of objective reporting: it failed to even mention the opposition's interpretation of the conflict, it marginalized the significance of daily protests rallying up to 200,000 people, it assessed general civilian insubordination as criminal acts and made unsophisticated but ill-intended attempts to present the students' protest as some kind of urban terrorism.

When this method of keeping the public in the dark no longer held ground and started falling apart, the RTS resorted to showing false respect for these principles and fabricating support for the regime through a so-called independent students' movement which never appeared in public and reports that "many passers-by waiting for buses are in fact unhappy because they can't get home on time". We are now getting news that the international community and local organizations are sending letters of support for Milosevic whereas the Serbian president faces international isolation and an eruption of dissatisfaction at home. An unbiased approach to all aspects of the crisis would bring state-owned media back into the real world and make the official version irrelevent if it stayed in complete disproportion with reality. What Serbian television is offering its viewers these days can hardly be called journalism at all, let alone professional or unbiased reporting. State-owned television is not meant to be a commercial media but exactly the opposite - the most powerful tool of the society for reminding the authorities that they have been elected to serve the nation rather than vice-versa. A party capable of disrupting this balance into its own favour by transforming state-owned media into a monopoly on information is one that acts as an institution above the society and its well-being.

On the other hand, it seems that Serbian television has come to terms with acting like a presidential cabinet: one gets the impression that its speakers actually believe that Milosevic is getting tons of support letters daily while saying it on prime time news, whereas the Serbian president's critics are multiplying on the hour at home and abroad alike.

RTS is definitely not the president's home address, but has become a kind of a loudspeaker trying to secure the survival of his regime.