N1 foreign affairs editor, award-winning journalist and first executive editor of N1, Ivana Dragicevic, spoke to Ilija Radic on N1 Studio Live about 10 years of N1 television.

“When you look at it now, it seems small, but it’s incredibly much. Because before the first day of broadcasting, we had a so- called ‘dry run’ to practise for the start of the broadcast, and it was an intense start because it was the autumn when the region was hit by the catastrophic floods. Remember Gunja, where our two colleagues who are still with us today, reporters Sandra Krizanec and Anka Bilic-Keserovic, were up to their knees in mud and water simulating broadcasting. That was the first time that our reporters broadcast live on CNN,” said Ivana Dragicevic.

“There were a lot of sceptics”

“It was very interesting because there was a different editorial team back then. The editorial team at that time consisted of Dubravko Merlic, the late Zeljko Matic, Zoran Sprajc and myself. We also became a place that attracted a generation of journalists such as Vanja Kranic, later Katarina Brecic and Antonio Zavada, who today are among the best Croatian political journalists and have honed their skills through N1 programmes.

I remember that there were a lot of sceptics. Many of us, seasoned veterans of Croatian Radiotelevision, joined in and everyone asked why we were joining and predicted that it would fail,” Dragicevic recalled.

“When we went into the field with the WMT, everyone laughed, and now everyone is doing it. I am very proud that N1 Television was a place that brought out new journalists and welcomed those who needed space, like Ana Mlinaric. We combined experience, youth and energy. Nina Kljenak was there, Masenka Vukadinovic was there, who was already an institution,” said Dragicevic.

“This job requires concentration, knowledge and vision. It is incredibly stressful, and I really wish it was more appreciated in this society, especially by those to whom N1 provides a platform all day long, especially those in parliament,” she added.

Invitation to Milanovic and Plenkovic

Dragicevic invites both the Prime Minister and the President to sit down with her and discuss the world we live in.

“It would be a high-calibre, serious conversation; the doors of N1 are always open to them,” said our editor.

“They are co-creators of foreign policy, so I invite them,” she added.

Dragicevic reminded how important it is to discuss important issues seriously, especially in relation to migration, which she believes is an issue of the present and the future.

“First they came for the journalists, and then we no longer know what happened,” Dragicevic concluded, emphasising the importance of journalism.