The Croatian Journalists Association (HND) and the Croatian Journalists' Trade Union (SNH) on Tuesday branded as scandalous the decision of the management of the Glas Istre daily to dismiss without prior notice the journalists who pointed to an unprofessional and biased editorial policy.

The three reporters who were fired are Zoran Angeleski, Danijela Basic-Palkovic and Borka Petrovic, who in late May warned that it was unacceptable that the daily’s editor-in-chief Robert Frank was trying to influence the coverage of the campaigning before the local elections to benefit the interests of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS), the HND said.

HND leader Hrvoje Zovko said that the dismissal of the reporters and the decision not to extend a contract with a freelance reporter in the same case “has grown into a first-rate political scandal.”

Zovko said that the journalists concerned opposed attempts to disregard professional ethics and rules during the coverage of the election campaign and after that they were subjected to defamation by daily newspaper they worked for.

Danijela Basic-Palkovic said today that she was informed of her instant dismissal on Monday and the notice sent to her read that she “is a political activist and promoter of certain political groups,” which she refuted as an absolute untruth.

She said the reason she and her colleagues had come forward was because the daily’s editorial policy had favored the IDS in the run-up to the local elections in the second half of May.

The slate of Pula’s new mayor, SDP express support to fired reporters

The slate of Filip Zoricic, who won Pula’s mayoral runoff as an independent candidate, today expressed support to the dismissed reporters.

“We are aware that politicians are not supposed to interfere in the editorial decisions of media outlets and that statements like this one contribute to an atmosphere where political influence on media is possible. However, we cannot and should not keep silent about events in our surroundings. It is our duty as individuals and as a group to stand up in defence of people who have done their job responsibly,” said the slate.

The members of this group say they would advocate a transparent and clear relationship between media and politics.

“There must be funding from (the city) budget for media, but the general public must also be fully informed of what exactly is paid for with that money,” reads their statement.

The Istria County branch of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), too, today extended support to the said reporters.