Very few people thought that Radio-Television Slovenia (RTVS) would go so far as to dismantle the Tarča (Target) show to such an extent that they would first dismiss the editor and ultimately even replace the host of the show, Erika Žnidaršič. This week, however, instead of the evergreen Erika, you will be greeted from your screens by the leading mouthpiece of Slovenian left-wing politics, the champion of a “depoliticised” RTV – Igor E. Bergant.
At a time when the Slovene Association of Journalists was writing letters to Brussels about how Janša’s government was persecuting RTV journalists who were afraid for their jobs, and how Blaž Zgaga did not dare leave his apartment, the show Tarča operated unhindered and – very often in a sensationalist and propagandistic manner – attacked Janša’s government. The creators of Tarča were also the authors of the “ventilators” quasi-scandal, which died down only recently, with the conclusion that Zdravko Počivalšek and Janša’s third government had done nothing wrong. At the time, no one even thought that Erika Žnidaršič or Tomaž Kogovšek would lose their show as a result of that. In the times of the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda), however, everything that journalistic activists had condemned the right-wing government for has actually happened.
Brutal towards critical journalists
It should be noted that after the three episodes of the show Tarča, which were critical of the current government, unofficial information about personnel changes began to spread through the corridors of RTV Slovenia. In addition, management was reportedly considering replacing the programme’s editor, Boštjan Kogovšek, and discussing possible measures against journalist Vanja Gligorović, whom Stojan Zdolšek had expelled from his office. Gligorović was even threatened with a warning before dismissal.
In recent weeks, the Tarča programme has dealt with sensitive topics, such as long-term care, the financing of political parties, and the work of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (KPK). A week after one of the programmes was cancelled and replaced by a concert by the Symphony Orchestra, the incident at the law firm further exacerbated the situation.
Even before the last show, Žnidaršič wrote on Facebook that due to pressure and recent events, she was not sure whether the show would even take place. Despite the uncertainty, the creators of Tarča still managed to prepare a programme about political tensions, accusations against the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, and the case of the allegedly illegal investigation of the home of former minister Aleš Hojs.
Russia under the Alps
Now all the rumours have clearly been confirmed as true. In the preview for this week’s episode of the show Tarča, viewers saw left-wing propagandist Igor E. Bergant.
And this at a time when the original host is under intense political pressure from the current liberal government. The coincidences are so great that it is impossible to perceive the replacement as anything other than active cooperation between the management of RTV Slovenia, the Freedom Movement political party, and Prime Minister Robert Golob. We could also understand this as the removal of one of the last programmes on public television critical of the government and the Prime Minister. Such manoeuvres took place in Russia in the early years of Putin’s crackdown on the media. Programs were cancelled, and hosts and editors were replaced. Only a few years later, journalists critical of the government began falling out of windows and dying in mysterious poisonings.
Every ordinary citizen – even those who do not follow politics – should realise on Thursday evening, when they see Igor E. Bergant on their TV screens instead of Erika Žnidaršič, that the situation is extremely serious.
The story from 2013 is repeating itself
Let us also recall the notorious case of political interference in the independent work of journalists and the media during Alenka Bratušek‘s government in 2013. At that time, the then-Director of Television Slovenija, Janez Lombergar, succumbed to political pressure and cancelled the programme Pogledi Slovenije (The Views of Slovenia), which exposed tycoon-political connections. The programme was hosted by journalists Uroš Slak and Bojan Traven. The management of RTV Slovenia cited a “lack of financial resources” as the reason for the cancellation.
Slak explained the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of the programme as follows: “The management of RTV Slovenia has committed to including the programme Pogledi Slovenije in the autumn program schedule, which will be reviewed by the programme council.” He also pointed out an important fact – that Ksenija Horvat, the editor-in-chief of the news programme, had always supported the inclusion of the show Pogledi Slovenije in the fall programme schedule and had even written this into the draft fall programme schedule.
“This is a political decision, because it was communicated to us after the episode of the show about Mercator, where we revealed that a meeting had taken place between Prime Minister Bratušek and the directors of the Laško brewery and Mercator, at which they also discussed the sale of Mercator to Croatian tycoon Ivica Todorović,” explained Uroš Slak, then co-host of the program, regarding the reason for the cancellation of the show Pogledi Slovenije in 2013.
After the last episode of the show – the one about Mercator, RTV Slovenia Director Lombergar changed his mind and said that he would not include the show Pogledi Slovenije in the fall programme schedule. “This is a political decision, because it was communicated to us after the episode of the show about Mercator, where we revealed that a meeting had taken place between Prime Minister Bratušek and the directors of the Laško brewery and Mercator, at which they also discussed the sale of Mercator to Croatian tycoon Ivica Todorović.” Slak further explained that the matter was so unpleasant for the then-Prime Minister that she did not want to answer the second question posed by journalist Travna and instead decided to leave the press conference. The programme also revealed the methods used by tycoon Todorović, who bought Mercator in Croatia, particularly in relation to the media and the public – at the time, he publicly threatened that he would no longer advertise on RTV Slovenia. We can console ourselves with the fact that this was an unethical journalistic decision at the time, but the castration of the show Tarča is entirely ideologically motivated.
I. K.
