Issue 284 - March 15, 1997

If the media situation was normal here, no one in the world would give a single cent to keep the independent, information-wise reliable press alive

Is a radioactive bubble or an atomic mushroom more likely to appear over Belgrade? Plutonium in a swimming pool, perhaps ? Why has the Vienna international agency declared a state of emergency in Vinca ? Who is inviting "political desperados" with a nuclear arsenal in their hands? What do Madeleine Albright and Nikola Sainovic have in common ?

Corrosive barrels full of radioactive waste are only 12 kilometers away from the city center. The international atomic agency has declared a state of emergency.

Even though the election dates for the Parliament and for the position of president of the Republic have not yet been set, pre-election campaigning has been going on for some time, illustrating the fierce battle braking out over media exposure. Struck by the fact that Studio B remains under the control of the new city authorities (that is, the coalition "Zajedno"), that BK Telekom is demonstrating obstinate behavior, and that many local media have changed figureheads, the government is preparing a counterattack

Aleksandar Tijanic, former Serbian Information Minister, is a "small, poor journalist" once again. He’s setting up the Gradjanin daily and saying he feels much better as an editor than he felt as a minister

"What we found shows that our job is dramatic rather than serious," Belgrade’s new city government chief architect Spasoje Krunic told his first meeting with reporters.

As one of the councilors of the general director stated: "I know everything but am not allowed to say a thing". Such a degree of conspiracy cannot be justified as business secrets since PTT (Post, Telegraph and Telephone) Serbia is a public company - true, in a monopolitistic position