Danas Daily: Public Broadcasting Service Funneling Funds to Tabloids

Rade Veljanovski (BETAPHOTO/MEDIJA CENTAR BEOGRAD/MO)

Rade Veljanovski, a professor emeritus of the Belgrade University School of Political Sciences, believes that the RTS public service used public procurements to funnel part of its funding to media outlets serving the regime.

According to Veljanovski, by deciding to spend RSD36 million on advertising in the Kurir, Informer, Srpski Telegraf, Blic, Vecernje Novosti and Alo tabloids without calling a tender, RTS management showed that the service is part of the regime’s propaganda apparatus rather than an institution dedicated to the public interest, as both its mission and the law demand.

On the other hand, RTS managing board member Predrag Azdejkovic sees no problem with promoting the RTS everywhere and anywhere, even via tabloids, “because a public service should be addressing everyone, tabloid readers included,” the paper reported.

When asked to comment on the fact that the public service is advertising in media which regularly violate media laws, the Code of Journalism and every other journalistic standard, the RTS’s CEO Dragan Bujosevic and managing board chief Branislav Klanscek failed to answer, Danas further wrote.

According to the Public Procurements Portal, the RTS spent just over RSD77.8 million (VAT included) on advertising services, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia has reported. Of these funds, RSD41.8 million was spent on billboard ads, while RSD36 million was paid for advertisements in printed and online dailies such as Informer, Srpski Telegraf, Alo, Kurir, Vecernje Novosti and Blic.