Serbia - media situation

Vlastimira Stankovic examines the question of the distribution of frequencies to the electronic media in Serbia in the May 22, 1998 issue of the Novi Sad weekly Nezavisni.

When first presented in February of this year, the public application for the distribution of frequencies and TV channels had visible inconsistencies and it indicted that the final outcome will not respect previously proclaimed idea bout the legalization of the majority of stations which do not fulfill technical requirements. As much as 150 radio and TV stations remained without a licence, among which are thirty independent television and radio stations, members of the Associaotion of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM). Of the TV stations which did get the right to use channels are only two members of ANEM, RTV Pancevo and F Kanal from Zajecar, while of the radio stations members of ANEM, only Belgrade Rdio B92 and Radio Aleksinac got their licences. Among the other 18 members of this Association that did not get a frequency, are also stations with sizeable experience in the ether, and more or less high professional standards, such as Radio Index /Belgrade/, Radio Globus from Kraljevo, Rdio BOOM 93 from Pozarevac and Radio 021 from Novi Sad. Additional pressure on the electronic media was made by the introduction of payments for the use of frequencies which exceed the possibility of the radio and TV stations.

According to the opinion of Veran Mtic, the president of NEM, green light ; for Radio B92 is nothing more than a mask put on for the democratically oriented public abroad, since in the case that this station would have to pay the astronomical sum of 1,5 million dinars for the next year, it means that it is in the same position as those that did not get the frequency.




Source: Novi Sad weekly Nezavisni, May 22, 1998