Journalism and media industry in Serbia: Public broadcast media

Abstract

Publicly owned broadcasting media in Serbia have real estate which is practically state property. They represent smaller part of broadcasting system that is foreseen by Broadcasting Act (2002)to be adual one. Other and bigger part of this system represents private, so called commercial broadcasting media. In this article, there will be no discussion about commercial emitters. Broadcasting media in public ownership should exist at national and level of Autonomous Region of Vojvodina only. They are legally obliged to fulfill communication needs of citizens according to European standards about quality and format of programs, which are designated as 'public service'. However, because of Act on Local Governments, Act on Capital City and Act on National Councils of National Minorities, there is a plenty of other publicly owned broadcasting media in Serbia today. They are also expected to have information, education and entertainment functions. Hence, in line with an idea to have pure dual broadcasting system, regional and municipality broadcasting media should have been privatized until year 2007. But, privatization process has legally and practically failed. Publicly owned broadcasting media still have relatively safer existence because they have the right to take incomes from broadcasting fees, advertising revenues and budgets of their founders. Despite of this, our survey has shown that even broadcasting media in public ownership make no profit, but losses instead. Respectively, they are not technological leaders as they must be, and their level of productivity is low, because of large number of employees protected as 'state clerks'. On the other hand, they suffer lack of young, multitask and digitally literate journalists. Therefore, new kinds of professional journalist skills is realized by part-time or honorary engaged journalists who are ready, contrary to managers, to accept networking journalism. As our research has discovered, managers of publicly owned media also criticize the role of the state in media system, although such media are surviving on state's money. In one hand, objections are directed against founder's rights of the state at regional and municipality level which keeps alive too much emitter. In other, they would like state to safeguard their existence even in absence of subscription revenues by budget money.