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OpisMEDIJavanje with Branko Čečen

Category: Video
Organizations: KoSSev , UNMIK
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Two-thirds of the money received by the media in Serbia, especially local ones, comes from the state. Although this should not be the case, this means that the media do not criticize the government. For the state or local self-government institutions, this is especially important in the pre-election period, which is why this year’s competitions for the media were announced earlier, Branko Cecen warned.

In the latest episode of the media literacy campaign “OpisMEDIJavanje”, the director of the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS), Branko Cecen spoke about the reason why citizens need to know who finances the media they follow, how much donors influence the editorial policy and how to obtain finances that will not affect the independence of the media.

Whether the local media outlets report about a hole in the main square or not, unfortunately, it depends on the source of funding of that media, Cecen said, adding that the media should criticize the authorities because, in that way, citizens are provided with conditions for a normal life. The government, however, is rarely criticized by the state-funded media – which represents the majority of media outlets.

„This year, in more than 90 municipalities and towns in Serbia, competitions for media co-financing were announced in January. What’s so strange about that? It is strange as in January last year less than a third of that number announced a competition, bearing in mind that they usually announce it in the spring, and some even later,“ said Cecen.

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