The signatories of the public call to the Government Communication Office believe that the Office’s analysis of RTV Slovenia’s reporting, which is regularly being published on official government websites, interferes with the foundations of media freedom, without which it is not possible to think critically and discuss the shared problems in our society. But according to the Chairman of the Programme Council of the national media outlet RTV Slovenia, Dr Peter Gregorčič, the call of the Slovenian Union of Journalists and some others is based on wrong assumptions, and consequently, the conclusions drawn from wrong assumptions are also probably wrong. The call, in the absence of any other evidence of an objective overstepping of powers by the Government Communication Office, therefore, does not prove political pressure on journalists and journalism but rather shows that the authors of the call are not used to working in a democratic and pluralistic society.
“The Government Communication Office should stop pressuring the journalists, and the RTV management should oppose it,” was the title of a public call to the Government Communication Office, addressed by the journalists’ union to the RTV management and the RTV Programme Council. In addition to the Slovenian Union of Journalists, the other signatories are the Slovene Association of Journalists, the Coordination of Journalists’ Unions of RTV Slovenia, the MMC web portal working group, the Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana, and the Centre for Social Communication Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. The signatories pointed out that “the Government Communication Office has appropriated powers for which it has no legal basis and is abusing them in order to pressure journalists and journalism with the aim of politically subordinating the public service broadcasting,” – with this, they were referring to the Government Communication Office’s analysis of RTV Slovenia’s reporting, which is, as the name itself suggests, just that – an analysis of reporting. “With the publishing of the analysis of RTV Slovenia’s reporting on government websites, the Government Communication Office is encroaching on the foundations of media freedom, without which it is not possible to think critically and discuss common problems in society,” the signatories stated.
In his response, Dr Peter Gregorčič, the Chairman of the Programme Council of RTV Slovenia, wrote that the call was based on the erroneous claim that the Government Communication Office does not have a legal basis for conducting analyses of RTV Slovenia’s reporting. Namely, the decision on the tasks of the Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia, which was adopted by the government on the basis of Article 25 and 25.a of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia Act, defines the tasks related to providing professional support to public relations services in ministries and government departments. In accordance with the fourth indent of Article 3 of the previously mentioned government decision, the Government Communication Office also monitors the media and prepares collections of articles (clippings) published in domestic and foreign media. In accordance with the fifth indent of Article 3 of the previously mentioned government decision, the Government Communication Office also performs the analytical documentation activities related to the monitoring, documentation and analysis of articles published in the media. “And the analyses of RTV Slovenia’s reporting are nothing but that,” Gregorčič said.
Analysing RTV Slovenia’s articles cannot be putting pressure on the work of journalists and journalism
“Since your appeal is based on incorrect assumptions, the conclusions you drew from these incorrect assumptions are also erroneous,” said Gregorčič, adding that the appeal also cites accusations that it then does not substantiate. “I can therefore conclude that regular analysis of RTV Slovenia’s contributions in accordance with the decision on tasks of the Government Communication Office, adopted by the government on the basis of the Government Act, cannot be putting pressure on the work of journalists and journalism,” concluded the Chairman of the RTV Slovenia’s Programme Council. He further pointed out that, consequently, their call, in the absence of any other evidence of an objective overstepping of powers by the Government Communication Office, does not prove that political pressure is being put on journalists and journalism, but rather “shows that the authors are unaccustomed to working in a democratic and pluralistic society.” Such a society, which is founded in Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, necessarily requires the confrontation of different opinions and views.
“I believe that the ability to argue different opinions and views is especially important for journalists who want to carry out their mission in a democratic system. Therefore, I suggest that the senders examine the analyses of the Government Communication Office and if they recognise that these analyses are deficient, inaccurate or perhaps even misleading in part or as a whole, provide the Government Communication Office with their opposing arguments. I also urge the senders to inform the public about their findings,” Gregorčič also said in his response.
Sara Bertoncelj
