“As far as I know, certain forms of media concentration that are happening are not in line with the current rules. This indicates a very weak functioning of supervisory institutions, their inefficiency, and in the worst-case scenario, some people in these institutions might even be connected with certain media tycoons and therefore work for them,” the president of the Association of Journalists and Publicists, Matevž Tomšič, explained to Nova24TV. He was, of course, referring to the infamous case of monopolisation of the Slovenian media space in the hands of tycoon Martin Odlazek and his family.
“A concentration like that is undoubtedly problematic, especially since this is a tycoon who is known for his controversial practices and basically does not come from the media field, and to whom the media serves, in particular as a kind of lever for him to gain certain benefits or get some political protection,” said Matevž Tomšič, president of the Association of Journalists and Publicists. Odlazek is actually trying to gain the favour of the transitional left with the help of the media. At the same time, it is clear that such instrumentalisation of the media is certainly controversial.
This process should not be allowed to continue, but certain changes in the area of supervisory institutions should probably be introduced so that these institutions can finally start properly doing their jobs. “These media concentrations must be prevented. Even the current legislation indicates that. In particular, we need to make sure that the supervisory institutions will move forward with this and actually do something.” It nothing else, staff changes are also needed. If it turns out that an institution is not doing its job, that it is passive, people who will be willing to act in accordance with the law should be employed in them. As it is known, the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency is not doing its job properly. We decided to ask the Agency why that is, but we have not received their answers yet.
Let’s recap what this is all about: At the request of the SDS and SMC parties, an emergency session of the Committee on Culture was held on Monday, where members discussed the topic of media ownership in Slovenia and the concentration of media space. The concentration of media in connection with Martin Odlazek was highlighted as the most problematic. According to the SDS party, Odlazek and his family members control more than 60 percent of the media. Despite the fact that a society can only create quality media by ensuring pluralism in the media space, members of the committee from the LMŠ, SD, Sab and Levica parties obstructed the meeting with the excuse that the whole matter is nothing but a big farce.
The list of media owners includes convicted entrepreneurs, funds from abroad, and media ownership is even hidden in some cases
The opposition obviously prefers one-sided media, SDS MP Alenka Jeraj critically pointed out. We should also think back to some of the most striking statements made by politicians and other prominent social actors, which reveal the essence of the whole issue, especially in the particular case of Odlazek’s growing monopoly. SDS MP Jeraj said: “Media ownership and concentration undoubtedly affect media pluralism and media freedom. Slovenian legislation does not allow media concentration. In recent years, various manoeuvres have led to the concentration that should not even exist.
In Slovenia, the owners of media outlets are often either Slovenian or foreign citizens who have practically nothing to do with the media and whose main activity is related to other areas (construction, for example). The list of media owners includes already convicted entrepreneurs, various funds from abroad, and many media outlets even have hidden ownership.”
State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Dr Ignacija Fridl Jarc, said: “We would like to draw attention to the increasingly worrying developments in the media market, which pose a serious risk of harmful media concentrations. We also wrote to the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency regarding this problem several times. Unfortunately, we note that the situation has not improved since then.”
This is a distinct ideological concentration, which leads to the dominance of leftist ideas in the media
“Thus, we are still witnessing media takeovers, mergers and other forms of media concentrations that the competent authorities have not been notified of. Therefore, we are witnessing illegal ownership connections.”
Full Professor Borut Rončević said: “We are dealing with a very pronounced ideological concentration, and this concentration is of the nature that leads to the dominance of leftist ideas in the media space. This applies to both the private media and the national RTV Slovenia, which is completely inappropriate from the point of view of the mission of this media outlet. The concentration we are talking about now is only part of this fight to maintain and consolidate ideological concentration.”
The owner of the Požareport web portal, Bojan Požar, said: “Every normal politician should know that the media is a very big deal in every country and that such a concentration of media, I am referring specifically to Odlazek’s media empire here, can change overnight. When the entire media structure and media ownership is concentrated in one person, it is quite possible that at a certain point, his policies will change, and the media will thus switch to a different political opinion. I believe that the opposition should also be aware of the seriousness of the problem of media concentration. Content matters. What you need to know is that the editorial policy of the media is determined solely by its owner.”
Domen Mezeg
