The Hunt for Information

by Dragan Janjic

The Partner public opinion research agency recently completed a survey which shows that several central media in Yugoslavia and Serbia hold a total monopoly and that the others are not very visible. It shows that an average Yugoslav is preoccupied with big political questions linked to the country's fate, which, by the nature of things, they are informed of by the central media. Local information, judging from this research, have become unimportant

The orientation towards the center can be rationally explained by the situation in the country. As if it has become impolite to show interest in public roads in the provinces, the cleaning of Belgrade's streets, overcrowded buses etc, at a time when there is a possibility that all around us will collapse.

Radio stations, which were believed to have a high listening rate, have experienced a dramatic drop in this regard. Less than 10% of the polled citizens of Yugoslavia said they listened to the radio regularly. The greatest number listen to the central news program at 3 p.m. Viewed statistically, all the other programs broadcast over radio, are not worth mentioning. The reasons for this situation should be sought in radio's fragmentation. Belgrade alone has over ten radio stations, each with barely several thousand listeners. Faced with the onslaught of so-called big problems, the "little" problems are losing mass audiences.

This survey was conducted on 4,000 people and included the precise "measuring" of reading, viewing and listening rates of practically all media in Yugoslavia. Main news programs dominated, such as Channel One's prime hour news (state TV), and independent Studio B's "Dani u nedelji" (Days in the week) in Belgrade and the suburbs.

This survey has shown that the prime time news are watched by over 45% of citizens polled in Belgrade, while "Dani u nedelji" by less than 20%. It has also shown that a large number of people spend their evenings watching television - "hunting" for information. This starts at 7 p.m. with "Dani u nedelji" and by 7,30 p.m. the number of those who have switched on to Channel One to hear what the "main" television has to say, has increased significantly. Partner has discovered that Yugoslavs are deeply concerned over the fate of their country. In search of answers to their frustrations and worries, they carry out a nightly ritual of hunting for information.

Compared to television, the daily press have much less influence, but, in spite of this, are doing much better than radio. Circulation has dropped. Currently Politika holds first place with around 140,000 printed copies. A new phenomenon has arisen. One copy of a newspaper is read by five-six people in a day, which means that when measuring influence, this number should be multiplied with the number of sold copies. From this point of view it can be said that interest in the press has not decreased. A system of "read and pass on" has evolved, confirming that the people are greatly interested in the political reality they are living in.

In trying to obtain an overall picture of interest in the media, Partner has found some interesting indicators. It has turned out, for example, that the educational structure of those watching "Dani nedelji" and Serbian TV prime time news, is reversely proportional. The majority of those who watch the prime time news have an elementary school education, while those watching "Dani u nedelji" have a secondary school or university education.