The Director of the national media outlet Radio-Television Slovenia, Uroš Urbanija, responded to a letter from trade unionist Branimir Štrukelj, dated the 30th of August 2022. Urbanija wrote that it is unacceptable that a prominent politician of the Left party (Levica) was trying to violate the law by using his trade union to put public pressure on the management team of Radio-Television Slovenia in order to get the coverage he likes.
The Director of RTV Slovenia warned Branimir Štrukelj that editorial autonomy is something that should be sacred to him, too. “I would understand if you would speak up in public discourse with concrete examples of what has bothered you. Unfortunately, you do not mention a single concrete case of pressuring and intervening. Because there was none. Therefore, your letter is a blatant lie, with the obvious wish that you yourself should be free to interfere with editorial autonomy. I expect you to stop this kind of pressure, as it is largely illegal and certainly without effect.”
In order to achieve his goals, trade unionist Štrukelj also uses manipulation: “Regarding the Slovenian Press Agency, you mentioned that I supposedly tried to ‘bring the Slovenian Press Agency to its knees’ by stopping its statutory funding. Which is a lie in many respects, and you know it. As you know, the former Director of the Slovenian Press Agency, Bojan Veselinović, refused to hand over to the Government Communication Office the financial documentation which he was contractually obliged to hand over to the Office. Secondly, he clearly breached the provisions in the Slovenian Press Agency Act, as he wanted to make double the money – selling things that were already paid for by the state on the market again. Mr Veselinović, who sought justice in the courts, lost in all instances. With a new director, things were sorted out in less than a week.”
Director of the Radio-Television Slovenia Uroš Urbanija also wrote that he expects RTV Slovenia also be financially correct and to observe the highest professional standards. “You may be friends, you may be acquaintances, but the laws must be respected, and public funds must be handled with the utmost care.” He added that he would welcome specific comments and reasoned criticism on individual concrete cases but that there was no room for insults, hate speech or even incitement in public discourse, as this was not honourable to anyone.
Sara Kovač
