Popular radio host Davor Dretar will no longer be heard on the Croatian Radio, Croatia’s national radio broadcaster. According to unofficial sources, his contract has not been extended. On its own, that would not be a particularly interesting decision; however, the firing happened just a few days after Dretar was covered by the Croatian media because he used an event in Križevci to criticise HDZ member of Parliament Josip Đakić, reports Večernji List on January 15, 2019.
Dretar was the host for an event marking the 70th anniversary of the Radnik company in Križevci. At one point, he said that, in addition to being an entertainer and comedian, he has had a private company for 25 years, but is struggling daily with “the slow and completely uninterested state bureaucracy.” He also added that he had to care for two children, the wife and the mother, and stated that "nobody asks how ordinary people feel like.”
Đakić was in the audience but was looking at his mobile phone the whole time. Dretar complained about it and then left the event. Although everyone thought he was joking, Dretar did not return.
“Many people wonder what I said in Križevci. I said what is clear to everybody among the honest and hard-working people in Croatia. And when comedians do not feel like laughing...” wrote Dretar in a post on Facebook.
When asked to confirm the information that he was not offered a new contract with the Croatian Radio-Television, he answered he could not say anything about the topic for the moment. As expected, the HRT also did not comment. “As usual, the Croatian Radio-Television does not comment on labour issues,” responded the HRT.
As for the radio, it was decided that the morning show, which Dretar was hosting together with Frano Ridjan, would be anchored by just one host in the future. After 17 years of working for Narodni Radio, Dretar moved to the second programme of the Croatian Radio in 2015. From March last year, he hosted the morning show on Tuesdays and Fridays. Also, he occasionally hosts shows on Nova TV, the most popular TV station in Croatia.
More news on the media freedoms in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Samir Milla).
