NewsMax Adria Program Director Slobodan Georgiev told the FoNet news agency that the Serbian media scene consists of 100 journalists, adding that there were never more media outlets and fewer journalists.

According to Georgiev, the authorities have isolated the journalists and do not want to talk to them, preferring PR people which creates the negative consequences that are visible daily. “The authorities are responsible because they don’t want to answere questions posed by people they don’t like and their job is to answer questions from journaliss,” he said, adding that this is not about whether they like someone or who they work for. The job of the authorities is to reply when they are sent letters and when journalists ask to talk to them.

The huge confusion in the public is created by the fact that the president, nor the prime minister, nor minister, nor state secretaries are replying to journalists even though they should be obliged to do so.

He said that journalists struggle as much as they can but could do more and could create better content which they will do once they become aware of their strength and the importance of what they do and the fact that the their content depnds on them, not on politicians or people in power.

Georgiev said that solidarity among journalists is also a problem and blamed the lack of it on the fact that they are not well organized. He said that none of the journalists’ organizations in Serbia can’t meet what he called their union obligations because they lack funding. Journalists can’t expect help unless they face extreme problems such as beatings or death threats.

He said that people will come together to help in extreme cases. He warned that journalists will become mere media staff unless they manage to establish control over their industry and have a decisive effect.