ZAGREB, April 10, 2020 - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) and the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists (SNH) on Friday proposed urgent measures for saving journalism, saying the government did not recognise problems in the media in the third package of COVID-19 measures and that journalism was completely ignored.

"The erosion of media equals the erosion of democracy; the media sector is in existential danger. Since the beginning of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, more than 85% of journalists and other part timers or freelancers in media have lost some or all of their business engagements, and full-time employees in a number of media companies have had their salaries reduced," the HND and the SNH said in a joint press release.

In their appeal to the government, they note that these are nor normal times and that a wave off layoffs in journalism would follow as well as shutdowns of media outlets. They emphasise that the government should implement special measures aimed at journalists and the media, and proposed seven short-term measures.

First of all, any form of financial incentive, help, and benefits for media companies should be firmly linked with the obligation to ensure that there are no layoffs or terminations of cooperation with part timers and freelancers during the crisis for at least one year after using the state's help.

Also, financial benefits for owners of media companies should be firmly bound to their obligation not to terminate full-time employees or reduce their wages and other benefits, according to the proposed measures. "Funds granted by the state should be spent for the specified purpose. The crisis cannot be a cover for the media companies to start a new wave of layoffs and to bring down labour costs in the already underpaid and devastated journalist profession."

They also propose increasing public funding for the media via a crisis fund which would provide HRK 30 million for journalism. The fund would ensure quality work by 300 journalists from non-profit and local media to the end of this year.

For those media outlets established by the state or regional and local authorities, the HND and the SNH propose using government measures in proportion with the commercial income generated by the media outlets in question.

The HND and the SNH also propose that HRK 4,000 per month be paid into the accounts of part time journalists for the next three months, provided that their tax returns prove that they did not have any income in 2020. Also, in case of illness, they should receive compensation in the amount of at least 70% of their monthly income.

They propose that the grant allocated from the European Social Fund for the "Media for the Community" programme, worth HRK 15 million, be immediately distributed, and that tenders for the second phase of the same programme should be invited immediately afterwards, for an additional HRK 15 million.

As for long-term measures, they propose establishing a public fund for journalism, making donations and subscriptions to domestic media tax-deductible, and implementing measures for supporting media associations. The state has reacted appropriately to the health crisis for now, and journalists play an important role in that, the appeal emphasised.

"Members of the National Civil Protection Authority thank us for a job well done on a daily basis. The job has its rules and material prerequisites necessary for high-quality reporting... The responsibility for the way journalism will look like in a couple of years is equally yours and ours. A destroyed media sector as a rule leads to a destroyed society," the appeal reads.

The SNH and the HND warn about the catastrophic consequences in the media in the last two weeks, when only 15% of freelance journalists and part-time associates kept their engagements, and when the Croatian Radio Television (HRT) terminated its cooperation with most of the permanent part-time associates. Furthermore, they note that the HANZA media company also terminated cooperation with the majority of their permanent part-time associates, and that salaries have been halved in the Glas Istre newspaper and reduced in the Novi List newspaper. They added that salaries have also been reduced on the HRT and in HANZA without social dialogue.

The appeal points out the fact that Hina employees, following the devastating earthquake which destroyed the agency's building, have been working in difficult conditions from home. They are trying to maintain the agency's work, provide news and other content and fulfill the role of a public service.

"The government must provide Hina access to the measures, just as it has to urgently find new working facilities for the employees as well as rebuild and modernise the agency's headquarters," the HND and the SNH pointed out.

More news about journalism can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 18, 2020 - The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) and Journalists' Union (SNH) on Wednesday released a joint press release saying that they regret that the government's measures to ease the consequences of the crisis in the wake of the coronarivus pandemic do not include reporters and the media.

HND and SNH recalled that after the economic crisis in 2008 the number of reporters in Croatia was halved and that they believed that being aware of that, the government will propose measures to protect reporters, who in the current difficult times are exposed to danger in order to serve the public and provide it with important information.

''We call on the Ministry of Culture to adopt measures for reporters and the media, primarily to introduce safeguards for financial breaks or payment deferment for publishers to make sure that they do not lay off full-time media employees or cancel contracts with external contractors, reduce wages for workers or restrict their other labour rights," the journalists said in the press release.

We do not see any such safeguards in the measures designed for reporters nor do the government's measures include our proposals for additional tax reliefs for freelance reporters or paid sick leave for part-time reporters if they contract COVID-19, the journalists say.

The associations underscore that they have requested that the process of allocation of grants secured through the European Social Fund and a call for applications for the remaining funding, in the amount of HRK 15 million, be accelerated.

The announcement that publishers who are beneficiaries of the Fund for Media Pluralism would receive payments is nothing new as that obligation had been agreed a long time ago and concerns regular payments to those who were granted the funding back in 2018, HND and SNH said.

"We consider that the government's measures have to include the media sector in order to save jobs for those people who in this crisis situation are having one of the most important roles in society," HND and SNH underlined.

Quality reporting is not possible without the presence of reporters in places where crises occur, which means that they have a greater risk of being exposed to the virus. That is why we call on the government to secure for all reporters, photo-reporters and technicians in the field protective equipment and speedy testing for the virus.

If a general quarantine is declared, we ask that we be given permits for free movement for all reporters who are out in the field and have a valid press pass, HND and SNH concluded.

More coronavirus news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 9, 2020 - Leading world experts will participate in an international conference on media literacy, which will be organised by the European Commission, the Ministry of Culture, and the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) on 31 March and 1 April in Zagreb, the AEM announced.

One of the main topics of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is media literacy in the digital environment, and the conference titled "Media Literacy in an Ever-Changing World: Integrate. Gather. Empower." will be held as part of the official programme of the presidency.

The AEM emphasises that the conference will be the central event of the European Week of Media Literacy, which this year coincides with the Croatian Days of Media Literacy.

One of the conference participants is American expert for media literacy Renee Hobbs, the founder of the Media Education Lab and a Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Rhode Island. A member of the same panel is Professor Brian O'Neill, the Director of Research, Enterprise & Innovation Services at the Technological University Dublin, who deals with researching the influence of new technologies on youth, online security, and digital environment policies.

One of the prominent European experts in media education and cultural diversity, Divina Frau-Meigs, a professor of media sociology at the Paris University of Sorbonne Nouvelle, will speak about the importance of national policies and media literacy strategies. Professor Frau-Meigs is also the consultant for media literacy at UNESCO, the European Council, and the European Commission.

More media news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, March 5, 2020 - The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has sent an appeal to Croatian authorities expressing concern over a court dispute against the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) that went on for more than 25 years, HND has reported.

EFJ notes that it is aware that a court case between the bankrupt UTT Europa 92 company and HND has been ongoing for more than 25 years and that the company sued HND in 1993 seeking damages for an investment in leased premises in the Journalists' House in Zagreb, which was already adjourned in the early phases of the trial.

HND lost the case in June 2018 and was ordered to pay an amount of HRK 2.5 million. HND underscored that the judgement is allegedly founded on forged documents, particularly with regard to invoices that were to prove UTT's alleged investments. Apart from that, the company's founder and bankruptcy creditor were convicted pending appeal for perjury, EFJ notes.

HND adds that that evidence, but also the repeated attempt to access HND's assets, leads to the assumption that the aim of the suits is to harass HND and to financially stifle it.

The situation is particularly concerning considering that the confiscation of HND's assets would result in the association being shut down, a press release said.

EFJ hence calls on Croatian authorities to invest every effort to stop the harassment of HND and to investigate the unscrupulous conduct behind this case.

We hope that HND will soon be able to do continue its important role in protecting journalism and media freedom without fearing for its existence, EFJ concluded in its appeal.

The appeal signed by EFJ secretary-general Ricardo Gutierrez was sent to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, President Zoran Milanović, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković, Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Koržinek, the Supreme Court, the parliamentary Committee on Information, Computerisation and the Media, and the human rights ombudswoman.

More news about journalism in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 21, 2020 - The Croatian Journalists Association (HND) said on Monday that it had walked out of a Culture Ministry task force in charge of drawing up a new law on electronic media because the ministry did not include any of the HND's proposals in the document.

The HND says that it had submitted a document with its proposals to the ministry on August 26, 2019 after on July 26 working material for the future law was made available to it.

The association says that it wants to remind the public of this fact in light of Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek's repeated statements about the HND "stating falsely that its proposals were not accepted. Those that could be accepted were accepted."

"Statements like this one are designed to create the impression that the HND left the ministry's task force without a real reason. That is why we are repeating: The Culture Ministry did not accept any of the HND's proposals to the working text of the Electronic Media Act, including one on the need to depoliticise the Electronic Media Council. The HND joined the task force responsibly, in good faith and with the best of intentions, expecting that we share the same goal of upgrading the media in Croatia and their democratic function," HND president Hrvoje Zovko said on behalf of the HND Executive Board.

HND representatives said that they had joined the task force bearing in mind the HND's mission to protect journalism as a public good, protect the public interest and promote the public's right to fair, correct and complete information.

"Aware of this role of ours in society, we will join in public consultation on the electronic media bill, the minister doesn't need to remind us of that," Zovko said.

More news about the status of journalists in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

What follows is a review of events in Croatian politics in 2019, as reported by TCN. If you would like to refresh your memory about the events which has led us here, read the reviews for the three previous years (2016, 2017, 2018).

The year started with a high-profile failure by the government. Months after it was announced that Croatia would buy used Israeli F-16 fighter planes, the US government vetoed the sale and the whole project fell through. Despite earlier warnings from experts that the deal was in question, ministers continued to claim that everything was alight. However, after a meeting between high-ranking officials from the United States and Israel, the truth was revealed. Ministers lost their nerves and the government launched an immediate investigation, which expectedly ended without any real results, and also announced that it would re-start the process. To show its level of seriousness, it even established a commission! Twelve months later, the process of deciding which aircraft to buy still hasn't move any further on and is not expected to end for at least another year.

The migrant crisis continued to be in the news this year. The inflow of migrants over the borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia increased somewhat, together with media coverage about alleged brutality of Croatian police and illegal pushbacks of migrants to Bosnia. The authorities were quick to deny everything, but the sheer number of documented cases makes it apparent that at least some of the allegations are founded.

Efforts to limit media freedoms continued this year and some reporters were even briefly arrested. Journalists, NGOs and international organisations stood up to these attempts, but the final score is still unknown.

Repression continued in other ways as well, with courts ruling that peaceful protesters should go to prison, Croatia's human rights situation being criticised from abroad, ethnically-motivated assaults (several of them) taking place, ombudswomen’s warnings not being heard, journalists receiving instructions from the president on what to do, and diplomats spreading hate...

Historical revisionism was in full force once again this year. As a result, representatives of Jews, Serbs and anti-fascist organisations once again boycotted the government’s annual commemoration at the site of the Jasenovac concentration camp.

European elections were held in May (with even Pamela Anderson giving recommendations to Croatian voters). While the ruling HDZ party had high hopes earlier in the year (and was supported by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who attended one of its rather controversial rallies in Zagreb), the actual results were much tighter and were interpreted by everyone as a success for the opposition (particularly SDP) and a disappointment for the government.

June brought us a few days of excitement when it seemed possible that prime minister Plenković might just succeed in his life-long dream of getting a top EU job. Despite denying he ever wanted such a thing, he was rumoured to be trying to become president of the European Commission (or president of the European Council, or perhaps something else). In the end, he had to return to Croatia empty handed, again denying his alleged attempts.

Unlike Plenković, foreign minister Marija Pejčinović-Burić was more successful in the area of career development. In June, she was elected secretary-general of the Council of Europe. She promptly resigned her post in Croatia and has not been heard about since. Another happy politician is Dubravka Šuica, who has been appointed Croatia’s commissioner in the European Commission.

Mostly good economic news continued. Public debt is at its lowest level in decades, the European Commission concluded that Croatia no longer suffered from excessive economic imbalances, and GDP growth is holding up.

One of the companies which was in the public focus this year was Croatia Airlines, Croatia’s national flag carrier. Its business results were dismal and the search for possible strategic partners was on, but without any real results. The government eventually decided to cover some of the debts, but as the year comes to and end, there is no long-term solution in sight. In the meantime, Zagreb Airport continues to lose airlines using its services.

The construction of an LNG terminal on the island of Krk has apparently started out with strong support from the US government, after many years of delays and announcements. The project is funded from the state budget, since there was no interest among anyone to actually use the terminal. The government claims that there will be interest once the terminal is built, but it would not be the first major government-funded project in Croatia’s history to fail to deliver on its promises.

The construction of Pelješac bridge continues to go at an even faster pace than expected (despite occasional Bosnian protests), mostly thanks to the efforts by the Chinese construction company which won the tender, which also brought about a marked improvement in the relations between Croatia and China. Unfortunately, the construction of the access roads leading up to the bridge has not progressed nearly as fast, with tenders being decided just several months ago. It is quite possible that, when the bridge is built, it will be unusable for a while because there will be no roads leading to it.

Emigration continues amid Croatia's demographic crisis, although somewhat slower than in previous years, probably as a result of the fact that most of those who could have left have already done so. The authorities talk about demographic revival, but nothing much has happened so far.

Political scandals were as numerous as ever. The regional development minister had an accident while driving without a driving license, the agriculture minister forgot to list all his assets on an official statement, the administration minister had his own scandals which were too numerous even to count, and the state assets minister had problems of his own. The Prime minister strongly supported his ministers before some of them resigned, and then he changed his mind and dismissed the rest of them.

The ruling coalition remained stable this year, despite occasional rumours of impending collapse. Ultimatums were rejected, resignations demanded, talks announced, decisions to stay in coalition made, threats given... Just the usual stuff.

As expected, the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia has not been resolved this year. Slovenia was disappointed with the EU’s decision not to get involved in a dispute between its two members. The chances that this issue will feature in our review for 2020 are quite high.

In October, the European Commission announced that Croatia has fulfilled all the technical conditions to join the Schengen area. However, the final decision will require the unanimous support of all EU member states, and Slovenia does not seem ready to give its approval until the border dispute with Croatia is resolved. 

Another major project is the introduction of euro in Croatia. After a lot of talk, the government has finally sent an official request. The process will certainly take years and opinion is divided as to whether it is a good idea or not.

One of the highlights were the trade union's activities. Earlier in the year, the unions managed to collect enough signatures for a referendum against the government’s pension reform and an increase in the retirement age. The government capitulated and revoked already approved laws (although it previously warned that such a decision would be a disaster).

The other major trade union success was the primary and secondary school strike later in the year. After almost two months, the government capitulated and gave the unions more or less everything they had asked for.

One of the highlights of the next six months will be Croatia’s EU presidency. The government is promoting it as a great success, although all EU member states sooner or later get their chance to hold the rotating presidency. While Croatia's plans are ambitious, their delivery will probably be more modest.

The major event at the end of the year was the first round of Croatia's presidential elections.

While the post is largely ceremonial, elections are held every five years and still manage to occupy public attention for months. Three major candidates launched their bids: incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (officially an independent candidate who in reality is HDZ), former SDP prime minister Zoran Milanović, and singer Miroslav Škoro, who presented himself as a candidate of change, despite having been an MP, a diplomat and a former HDZ member.

The first round was held on December 22. Zoran Milanović won with 29.6% of the vote, followed by Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović with 26.7%. Škoro was third with 24.5%. Milanović and Grabar-Kitarović will take part in the run-off on January 5.

ZAGREB, December 20, 2019 - The Croatian Journalists Association (HND) on Friday once again condemned Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić's behaviour towards N1 TV station's reporter Matea Dominiković.

The latest incident occurred when Dominiković asked Bandić about the sacking of Boro Nogalo as director of Srebrnjak Children's Hospital. Instead of answering civilly, which is his duty, Bandić again acted shamefully, verbally and physically belittling Dominiković, the HND said in a press release.

It recalled that a few days ago Bandić was also inappropriate towards Dominiković, and that in August, when she asked him about the Zagreb General Urban Development Plan, he said, "If you only knew how you turn me on, how you make me happy, how you entertain me."

The HND noted that Bandić also attacked reporters from Croatian Radio, Croatian Television, RTL and Nova TV, and that it was especially concerning that his targets were mainly female reporters.

Journalists have the right to ask questions and politicians have the duty to answer them, the HND said, adding that it would not consent to preventing journalists from doing their job.

It recalled that several months ago, because of the increasingly frequent insulting of journalists, the HND and the Croatian Journalists Trade Union launched the "Just answer the question" campaign.

More news about journalism in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 8, 2019 - The Croatian Journalists Association (HND) said on Thursday it was shocked by a Virovitica Municipal Court sentence against journalist Ivan Žada as well as recent sentences against the media in which the plaintiffs are members of the ruling HDZ party, adding that it would notify the international public.

On November 6, the Virovitica court gave Žada a suspended sentence of four months with one year's probation for recording without authorisation a phone conversation with HDZ MP Josip Đakić and posting part of it as a transcript on Facebook and the Index.hr website. The sentence may be appealed.

The conversation took place in October 2018 after Đakić's son Ivan threatened Žada that he would "break his neck" or "pay someone in Zagreb 500 euro to do it."

Žada said he called Đakić to tell him that "because I was afraid for my safety and the safety of my family," and that he told Đakić he was a journalist.

The HND believes the sentence is not in line with European standards of protection of freedom of expression because that was not a private conversation and that state officials' communication with journalists is always of public interest.

The HND has been concerned about other recent sentences against the media in cases in which the plaintiffs were HDZ members.

HDZ vice president Milijan Brkić was recently awarded 40,000 kuna in damages pending appeal over an article in Večernji List daily which criticised him.

The Split Municipal Court recently delivered a sentence against Slobodna Dalmacija daily over journalist a comment by journalist Andrea Topić on inventor Luka Vuković, who was awarded 30,000 kuna in damages. The court ruled against the newspaper because Topić mentioned that Vuković is a member of the HDZ, which is in power in Split county, and implied that he received money from the county budget for one of his inventions because of that.

In particular, the HND criticised the part of the sentence in which judge Maja Anušić said that a column "cannot state something that cannot be defended in court" such as "positions, opinions and ideas."

The HND said it would notify the international public that journalists were being given suspended sentences in an EU member state which would chair the EU in the first half of 2020.

More news about pressures on journalists in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 6, 2019 - The executive committee of the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) on Wednesday decided to leave the Ministry of Culture task force working on a bill on electronic media, the HND has reported.

The HND said that the ministry had not incorporated any of its proposals in the draft bill which the HND submitted to the ministry in late August after it had been presented with the working material in late July.

"We note that the HND entered the task force responsibly, in good faith and with the best intentions, expecting that we all had the same goal - to improve the media in Croatia in performing their democratic role in society," the HND said.

The HND considers that it is not good that after 15 years the ministry has decided, without having defined a media policy or adopted a new media law, to prepare only the bill on electronic media of all media-related laws.

"We regret that we were not included in the entire process of defining the content of comprehensive legislation and we are under the impression that decisions were adopted outside the task force," the HND noted.

The HND's most important proposals were to secure the independence of the Electronic Media Council and transparency in selecting its members, increase the financing of the fund promoting electronic media pluralism and diversity, and clearly define the fund's mission.

The HND proposed that the fund's resources be used exclusively to support quality media content and professional journalism, that the law incorporates the obligation to adopt statutes of editorial boards in electronic media, that abuse of public money for advertising be prevented and that the share of broadcasting licences for non-profit media be determined.

The HND underscored that the bill on electronic media was geared towards further commercialisation of the media and requested that priority be given to local media production, particularly by the Croatian Radio and Television public broadcaster.

In conclusion the HND noted that its proposals for the new bill were based on the association's document "Eight demands against censorship" that it had forwarded to the government during a protest rally by reporters earlier this year.

The HND decided to abandon the task force after Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek on Monday told a SEEMF media conference that the bill on electronic media would be put to public consultation in two to three weeks.

More news about the status of journalists in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 5, 2019 - Croatian Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said on Monday that a draft bill on electronic media would be put to public consultation in two to three weeks and that she believed that it would contribute to "preserving the diversity and sustainability of the Croatian media."

The minister made the statement at the opening of a two-day international media conference called the South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF).

Obuljen Koržinek said that during work on the bill, information was collected primarily on the state of electronic media but that problems were also identified regarding the revenues of print, local and non-profit media.

She noted that Croatia's presidency of the EU would focus, among other things, on the issue of media in a changed media environment and the role of Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) as the public media service.

"It is crucial to ensure the attained level of autonomy in relation to sources of financing because the HRT subscription is constantly questioned," the minister said.

Obuljen Koržinek described professionalism as the main challenge for the HRT. "We have been witnessing a long-lasting erosion of professionalism, not only at the HRT but on the entire media scene," the minister said, underlining the need for independence from any political influence.

"As for guidelines and priorities that we consider important in the further development of our media policies, emphasis is put on improving the quality of the media. It is clear that without free and independent media, a society is neither free nor democratic," she said, adding that currently everyone was faced with a flood of fake news and misinformation.

Journalists who attended the first discussion held as part of the conference pointed the finger at the incumbent government, "as one of the most non-transparent governments, lacking the minimum respect for media, media freedoms and reporters' questions."

"We don't want anything from the government or the ministers, we must fight for our freedom on our own. But what we do expect of the government is to not sabotage us, arrest us, sue us and financially destroy us," said Index website reporter Ilko Ćimić, describing the situation at the HRT as a "disgrace for the entire country".

Croatian Journalists Association (HND) president and HRT journalist and editor Hrvoje Zovko said that print media reporters were currently in the most difficult situation due to pressure from their managements. He also said that there was a large number of lawsuits against journalists.

"What is happening with the media in Croatia is a disgrace for the EU as well. We live in a country where you can be convicted if you publish true information. The government's fight against fake news is bizarre because that same government generates the fake news is it fighting against. The incumbent government, headed by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, acts irresponsibly and is the main reason why reporters are described as the cause of all problems," said Zovko.

The 13th edition of the SEEMF focuses on the future of public broadcasting and print media in Southeast Europe, with emphasis on financing, autonomy and new business models.

More than 300 journalists, editors, executive directors and media owners, media experts, spokespeople and members of the academic community are attending the event.

The SEEMF is organised by the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) in cooperation with the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Central European Initiative and in partnership with the South East and Central Europe PR Organisation (SECEPRO), the International Academy in Belgrade and the International Institute - International Media Center, Vienna, SEEMO says on its website.

More media news can be found in the Lifestyle section.