Public Service Radio and Television in Croatia - at the Service of the Public or Politics? Public Service Radio and Television in Croatia - at the Service of the Public or Politics? Viktorija Car Introduction In the pre-internet era, journalists were in charge of publishing information to ensure that the public keeps abreast of current developments. This was especially true for journalists working for public service media who, as part of their professional role, had to be politically independent, unbiased, accountable and trustworthy. In the 21st century, information is instantly published online DQGVKDUHGRQVRFLDOPHGLDE\SXEOLFUHODWLRQVRɝFHUVVRFLDOPHGLDPDQDJHUV FLWL]HQVERWVDQGWUROOVZKLOHMRXUQDOLVWVRQO\UHSXEOLVKQHZVLWHPV7KHSXEOLF is ‘overly informed’ and can hardly plough through an ocean of online and network reporting, framed information, disinformation, overt propaganda, pseudo information in an overwhelmingly fake online and network reality. In the fake news society of today, a huge crisis is brewing that goes down to the core of journalism as a profession. In light of the oxymoron of ‘fake news’, what should journalists do? More than ever before, there is a high need for professional, independent, economically viable, accountable and trustworthy public service media. In Croatia, during the last thirty years public service radio and television have been XSDJDLQVWWKHSHUSHWXDOFKDOOHQJHRIWUDQVLWLRQȂȴUVWO\GXHWRWKHFKDQJHIURP one political system into another, and then due to the constant management and political crises. Against the backdrop of global trends, it seems that Croatian Radio Television (Hrvatska radiotelevizija+57 KDVUHPDLQHGHQVFRQFHGLQDEXEEOHRI local and in-house problems, without casting a glance at European and global trends and problems. The only constant feature of the media landscape has been the steady deterioration of programme quality, a decrease in public trust and a FRQWLQXDOGURSLQ+57SURJUDPPHUDWLQJV Instead of focusing on building a media department for the future the premises DQGWHFKQLFDOHTXLSPHQWRI+57KDYHEHFRPHREVROHWHLWVEXLOGLQJLVIDOOLQJ 93 A Pillar of Democracy on Shaky Ground apart, with hardly any attention on the part of senior management on the quality of working conditions for journalists, editors and other employees. There is no place on the premises for approximately 3 200 employees and associates to eat and drink, no meeting rooms for journalists to exchange ideas DQGLQIRUPDWLRQRUWRVLWDQGWDONLQȂDVDZRUNSODFHWKH+57LVQRWDQLQYLWLQJ proposition for the younger generation of journalists. For a long time now, the quality of programming has been a low priority on the management’s agenda – an issue considered extraneous, something not to be talked about in public. ΖQVWHDGRIGRLQJLWVEHVWWRPDNHWKH+57WKHPRVWSURIHVVLRQDOMRXUQDOLVWLF HQYLURQPHQWWKHPDQDJHPHQWRIWKH+57ȴOHVODZVXLWVDJDLQVWERWKLWVRZQ journalists and against other media. Instead of promoting journalistic freedom DQGLQYHVWLJDWLYHMRXUQDOLVPWKH+57KDVEHFRPHSROOXWHGZLWKDQDWPRVSKHUH of fear, bitterness and displeasure. It has become the place of ‘fading discoloured faces’. History of Croatian Radio Television 7KHȴUVWEURDGFDVWRI5DGLR=DJUHEKLWWKHDLURQ0D\ΖWVXUYLYHG PDQ\\HDUVXQGHUGL΍HUHQWUHJLPHVDQGGL΍HUHQWQDPHVDVWRGD\ȇV&URDWLDKDV been part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918-1929) and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929-1941) before becoming the Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945), the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-1963), WKH6RFLDOLVW)HGHUDO5HSXEOLFRI<XJRVODYLD DQGȴQDOO\WKH5HSXEOLF of Croatia in 1991. To commemorate the 30th anniversary, of Radio Zagreb, Television Zagreb commenced broadcasting in 1956. At that time, both Radio and Television Zagreb were under the leadership of Yugoslav Radio Television (JRT) – the state broadcasting system. The media market in Yugoslavia was more diverse and freer than in any other communist country of the Eastern European block. It developed within a decentralised paradigm controlled by the Republic but not by the Federal Government.1 Still, the censorship became legal2 and all media in the country acted as propagators of the communist party. The JRT coordinated radio and television broadcasting and programme exchange in each of the six republics, but each republic continued to broadcast 1 Viktorija Car (2009) Mythical Structures and Narratives in Croatian TV News. PhD Dissertation. University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences. Unpublished. pp. 25-26. 2 This was in accordance to the Law on preventing the misuse of the freedom of the press. See 0DUN7KRPSVRQ .RYDQMHUDWDȂ0HGLMLX6UELML+UYDWVNRML%RVQLL+HUFHJRYLQL=DJUHE +UYDWVNLKHOVLQģNLRGERU*UDÓDQVNDLQLFLMDWLYD]DVORERGXMDYQHULMHÏL$57Ζ&/(SS 94 Public Service Radio and Television in Croatia - at the Service of the Public or Politics? its own locally produced programme. At the beginning only the primetime TV newscast was produced in the capital Belgrade and transmitted to all TV centres part of JRT. This arrangement lasted until 1968 when Television Zagreb ZDVRɝFLDOO\DOORZHGWRSURGXFHDQGEURDGFDVWLWVRZQSULPHWLPHQHZVIRU evening broadcasting. To be clear, there was a pluralistic organisation of radio and TV stations in Yugoslavia, but all of them had to support and promote socialist values and communist party interests.3 Since 1991, when Croatia declared independence, the national radio and television market has undergone a very complex transformation from a social, political (socialist, communist and totalitarian) and economic system (planned economy) into a liberal democracy with a free market economy.4 Because RIWKH:DURIΖQGHSHQGHQFH WKH6WDWHUHWDLQHGLWVPRQRSRO\ on national electronic media in order to remain in control and retain its ability to frame news content. Therefore, although under the Croatian Radio 7HOHYLVLRQ$FW5WKH+57KDGWKHVWDWXVRIDSXEOLFVHUYLFHUDGLRDQGWHOHYLVLRQ EURDGFDVWHULWUHPDLQHGȴUPO\XQGHUVWDWHFRQWUROVWURQJO\LQȵXHQFHGE\ SROLWLFLDQVIURPWKHUXOLQJSDUW\+'= &URDWLDQ'HPRFUDWLF8QLRQ DQGWKH 3UHVLGHQW)UDQMR7XÓPDQ6 New political elites in Croatia attempted to take control of national media and transform it into a kind of ‘pseudo public service media.’7 The new government enacted a new law and ensured public IXQGLQJIRUWKH+57EXWLWUHWDLQHGFRQWURORYHUWKHDSSRLQWPHQWRIVHQLRU managers and editors-in-chief. That means it had near total control over the management and programming. This situation lasted until the end of ZKDWFDPHWREHNQRZQDVWKHȆȴUVWHUDȇRI+'=UXOHEHIRUHWKHFKDQJHLQ government in 2000. Changes in the broadcasting media market in Croatia were set in motion by the adoption of the Law on Telecommunications (1994), which made provisions for 3 More in Viktorija Car (2009) Mythical Structures and Narratives in Croatian TV News. PhD Dissertation. University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences. Unpublished. 4 ΖYDQD$QGULMDģHYLÉDQG9LNWRULMD&DU +RZ:H6XUYLYHG'LJLWDO7HOHYLVLRQ%URDGFDVWLQJ Switchover: The Case of Croatia. International Journal of Digital Television 4 (3): 279-297. pp. 280. 5 &URDWLDQ5DGLR7HOHYLVLRQ$FW +57$FW 2ɝFLDO*D]HWWH11 6 ΖQWKHSHULRGRI+'=UXOH+57KDGȴYHJHQHUDOPDQDJHUVDOORIZKRPZHUHLQȵXHQWLDO PHPEHUVRIWKHUXOLQJSDUW\DQGDIHZRI+79ȇVFKLHIQHZVHGLWRUVZHUHKRQRUDU\PHPEHUV RI+'=5HDGPRUHLQ.UDOMLÉ7DQMD )RUXPLQMHJRYXWMHFDMQD+79>)RUXPDQGLWV LQȵXHQFHRQ+79@=DJUHE)DFXOW\RI3ROLWLFDO6FLHQFH*UDGXDWHWKHVLVQRWSXEOLVKHG 7 5HDGPRUHLQ6DQGUD%DģLÉ+UYDWLQ 6HUYLQJWKH6WDWHRUWKH3XEOLF/MXEOMDQD3HDFH Institute. pp. 20-26. 95 A Pillar of Democracy on Shaky Ground the grant of licences for privately owned radio and television channels at local level. Media privatisation led to media becoming more pluralistic. Nevertheless, due to the poor economy that has taken a hit in the war, the lack of capital and the constrained advertising market, the newly founded private local television channels sought and found protection from local authorities.8 $WWKHQDWLRQDOOHYHOWKH+79UHWDLQHGLWVPRQRSRO\XQWLOZKHQWKH ȴUVWSULYDWHFRPPHUFLDOFRPSHWLWRUZLWKQDWLRQDOFRYHUDJH1RYD79EHJDQ EURDGFDVWLQJ3ULYDWLVDWLRQRIWKHWKLUG+79FKDQQHOEURXJKWDVHFRQG commercial television competitor – RTL, a company owned by the German corporation RTL Group, which started broadcasting in April 2004. :LWKDQHZJRYHUQPHQWLQRɝFHLQ DFHQWUHOHIWFRDOLWLRQRIVL[ SDUWLHVWRRNSRZHU WKHSROLWLFDOWUDQVIRUPDWLRQRIWKH+57EHJDQ7KH ȴUVWVWHSWRZDUGVFKDQJHZDVWKH+57$FWWKDWȴQDOO\SODFHGDEDQRQ politicians becoming members of the HRT Programme Council. Since then GLUHFWSROLWLFDOLQȵXHQFHRQ+57SURJUDPPLQJKDVHDVHGVLJQLȴFDQWO\$Q DQDO\VLVRISROLWLFDOFRQWHQWLQ+79ȇVSURJUDPPLQJFRQȴUPHGWKDW+79ZDV no longer ‘a Government propaganda machine as it was in 1999’. Despite this, it was a long way from becoming a genuine and high-quality, public interest media service provider.9 Political pressure was now stronger to align Croatian media legislation with EU recommendations and directives, with an emphasis on protecting media pluralism, placing restrictions on the concentration of ownership, and enhancing media independence and journalistic freedom. In 2003, the new +57$FWand the (OHFWURQLF0HGLD$FWwere adopted. )XUWKHUFKDQJHVRIWKH+57$FWZHUHLQWURGXFHGLQVWUHQJWKHQLQJWKH independence of the public broadcaster. Regrettably, the changes enacted LQSURYLGHIRUWKHHOHFWLRQRID'LUHFWRU*HQHUDORIWKH+57ZLWKD majority vote of Parliament, which also elects 9 out of 11 members of the +573URJUDPPH&RXQFLODQGRXWRIPHPEHUVRIWKH+576XSHUYLVRU\ Board. Many international media organisations responded negatively to these 8 0RUHLQΖYDQD$QGULMDģHYLÉDQG9LNWRULMD&DU +RZ:H6XUYLYHG'LJLWDO7HOHYLVLRQ Broadcasting Switchover: The Case of Croatia. International Journal of Digital Television