19. 03. 2005

LAWSUITS AGAINST MEDIA INCREASE

KRAGUJEVAC, March 19, 2005 – 60 legal cases against 26 members of the media association “Local Press” are currently in the procedure. At the meeting held on Saturday with representatives of local media in Kragujevac, former editor of “Borske Novine” Miroslav Radulovic told media that five legal cases against him were in process. Legal representative of the “Local Press” Dragan Lazarevic said that the lawsuits against local media for compensation of damage, under the provisions of Public Information Act, were piling up. Lazarevic also warned of the dangers in implementing the Public Information Act, which could lead to closing down of some local media. He pointed out the importance of journalists and newsrooms providing their reply to the legal complaints in specified period. Editor-in-chief of “Vranjske” Sladjana Veljkovic said that the increased number of complaints against local media only proved the great pressure of the local ruling coalition on independent journalism. She said that journalists of “Vranjske” found it more and more difficult to get information, adding that ten complaints had been filed against this weekly in the period of last month. According to Secretary-General of “Local Press” Snezana Milosevic, the aim of the two-day seminar “Legal aid to members of the Association of independent local media ‘Local Press’” was to find a model of placing information matching the rules of the profession, and would not have the impact of the legal norms.