by Viktor IVANCIC
This breath of "merciless market competition" would not be questionable in any way if it weren't for some details that spoil the skillfully planted illusion of a market idyll. For example, Slobodna Dalmacija is going through its "transition period" under the patronage and control of the government, with "frozen" debts amounting to about $65 million, without a smidgen of hope that it will be able to repay these debts from its own profits, but with decent likelihood that the debts will simply be written off by the state administration, or will be somehow reduced to zero through some other sort of similar political-economic alchemy.
On the other hand, Vjesnik has approached the same zero as far as its sold circulation is concerned. It has been kept alive on the "cruel media market" in Croatia in similar circumstances for more than a decade. However, it is now starting an optimistic expansion and growth, based on the non-existent circulation, but naturally with secured guarantees. Besides writing off the debts, the state will also throw in additional $10 million for "the large format newspaper" since, as some official once said, Vjesnik is "an institution of national importance".
If on the other hand, you have nothing to do with the state, especially as far as the ownership and control are concerned, the state will work hard on making your life and survival difficult in any way possible, because the state does not see itself as a guarantor of some sort of market fair-play. On the contrary, the state protects its ownership using all available means! Since it does that with the money earned by somebody else, this is a truly immoral intervention, because its "media mission" cannot be accomplished without infliction of damage on media that refuse to "adjust" their editorial policy (by the way, these media also pay taxes!), that will be referred to as "competition".
Thus, Racan's administration converted the "market" into a cynical caricature of the true thing. The merciless logic of the liberal capitalism will serve as a universal excuse for the general downfall of the economy, social destruction and growth in unemployment, but as far as "subjects" owned and controlled by the government are concerned, there the principles of classic state Socialism are to be observed, creating the effect of forced well-being. Thus, the state-controlled newspapers acquired the status usually enjoyed by railways, mail service, hospitals and other crucial necessities, namely "institutions of national importance". But, how interesting, both the handicapped and privileged media compete on the same "market". Why? What for? Isn't the "winner", or at least survivor, already given?
This destruction of the media market and its de facto occupation, which follows the model created by Tudman and his regime, is not motivated by some sort of government's sensitivity regarding social issues, such as unemployment, as the authorities would like us to believe. Isn't is true that the same sort of state solidarity was not extended towards, for example, ship builders, who are clambering around deserted docks with ridiculous placards in hands, or towards the workers of the fishing industry, which has been forced into a series of bankruptcies, or towards hotel workers, who are threatening to blockade roads on the eve of the tourist season...
The Vjesnik affair is especially striking. The petit-bourgeois spectacle held last Monday in the Crystal Room of the Intercontinental hotel, on the occasion of the resuscitation of the newspaper corpse, gathered more than 600 guests, including carefully selected members of the political elite. The "snack" included caviar, Champaign and a lot of discrete belching. The cost of the "snack" was probably such that it could have been instead used to start a medium-size media project, most definitely more influential than Vjesnik. The official part of the celebration, while the guests were still aware of the occasion that brought them to the Crystal Room, the corpse that the authorities intend to resuscitate using taxpayers' funds, included the announcement that "every democratic country has a serious, tolerant, and honest daily newspaper," - here insert a dramatic pause - "and now Croatia also has such a newspaper!" Finally!
Several weeks earlier, as we are all aware, the daily newspaper Republika ceased with publication, without much ceremonial pomp, Champaign and graceful presence of political honchos. True, Republika has higher sold circulation than Vjesnik, but did not have financial support of the regime, stolen from the state budget, to which all of us contribute. This financial support will make Vjesnik eternal, based on the wishes of the government. Therefore, even if the "market" was merciless to Republika, even if Republika was destroyed by cruel competition, it is at least honest to admit that that very same "market" has absolutely no influence on Vjesnik. In the case of Vjesnik the "market" is nothing but an illusion used to wash lying mouths of government ministers and justify a new era of sophisticated propaganda. Because Vjesnik is not Republika. After all, it is a publication of "large format". Vjesnik is the Republic of Croatia.
On the other hand, Slobodna Dalmacija was "taken over" immediately before the local elections, together with enormous debts, which in itself proves that political motives are much more important than the "market", economy, judiciary, human scruples, or even something that is usually referred to as justice. Disgusting inter-party disputes regarding the selection of the new management and new editorial staff, in which party apparatus promoted their faithful journalistic "trump cards" threatening to otherwise switch to clubs and kitchen knives, as in the worst HDZ horror movies, were hardly prompted by the different views regarding how looted property could be returned to the victims. The original owners, small shareholders of Slobodna Dalmacija will not be compensated at all. The stolen property was simply stolen again, and this time the theft was legitimized by the official political will, which, therefore, is the only beneficiary of this tragicomic "market" story.
To make the whole circus complete, the authorities promote the idea that Tisak, state-owned company with monopoly on the distribution of newspapers, otherwise in bankruptcy, become the new owner of Slobodna Dalmacija. After this idea was forcefully promoted by the state-run press agency HINA, then by the state-controlled TV channels, the idea was promptly endorsed by the deputy Prime Minister personally. He said that this was "a laudable initiative" and pledged taxpayers' funds in support of the idea. It seems, the operation is pretty much a done deal.
Monopoly is a true and hidden obsession of Racan's government, as long as it controls it or has a crucial influence in it, because it guarantees the perpetual transmission of political conformism, so that purportedly with legal (or "market") means, all "excess-prone trends" slowly die out. That is why the government insists on controlling the media infrastructure; that is why the state-controlled TV channels are still in service of the government; that is why radio spectrum is still distributed based on political criteria; that is why editors of newspapers are appointed by leaders of political parties. Monopoly over the media is only a technical expression of the permanent sad attempt to control the truth.
Recent campaign against the "tabloid press" and "sensationalist journalism", in which almost all the government ministries took part, revealed such ambitions even in the verbal sense. But, the unspoken seems more important. Instead of dedicating themselves to the state-guaranteed privileges, since they have already failed to promote variety and differences, the former communists put all of their energy into an attempt to establish a "market" of media conformity, a wasteland of "political correctness", which, in accordance with their bureaucratic vision, will be drenched in the ideology of boredom. However, we should not be fooled by the form. This mode of systematic attack on the critics is equally harmful as the one that is expressed through open censorship and bans.
The minefield laid for the protection of the regime is now referred to as the "market". In that "market" only state-sponsored projects avoid even nominal risk of failure. In that "market", regardless of enormous losses and negligible sold circulation, only state-sponsored newspapers are capable of providing enviable salaries for their "cadre" and throw lavish parties above their own burnished casket, all, of course, paid with taxpayers' funds. Failure? Struggle for survival? Unpaid salaries? All of that is reserved for those who swim outside the ruling political currents.
Besides, this whole somber story about the government and journalism was brilliantly, almost symbolically, condensed very recently, in a local example.
Immediately before the recent local elections in Osijek the bi-weekly magazine Osijecki Kurir was launched in Osijek. The magazine was published by the company with the indicative name Istina d.d. [the truth], owned by the local authorities. Its first issue, financed by the funds from the city budget, to which all the residents of Osijek contribute, political opponents of mayor Zlatko Kramaric were described as "ambitious fools" and "political windshields", while the chief sponsor [Kramaric] was portrayed as "a great thinker".
The magazine also published the results of an opinion poll, which, analytically and professionally, predicts a glorious victory of the chief sponsor. But that is not all. Istina d.d. also published newspapers in the past, also financed by the city budget, but went bankrupt in February 2000, leaving behind more than half a million kunas in debts.
For the end, we left some excellent news.
On Sunday, Kramaric lost the election and Istina d.d. sailed one more time into oblivion.