Vienna, 27/06/2016
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed full support for the ‘Podrzi RTV’ initiative, in support of the independence of public broadcaster Radio Televizija Vojovdina (RTV) in Novi Sad.
Activists and organizations in Serbia have been calling for transparency and an explanation of the recent dismissals of editors-in-chief and journalists working for the regional public broadcaster RTV. Aside from the hasty and non-transparent layoffs, several TV shows are being taken off air. The management said the station is switching to a different, summer program.
SEEMO also joins #PodrziRTV in its condemnation of the recent stalking and intimidation of Maja Zivanovic, a local journalist working for the investigative analytics centre VOICE.
‘The events surrounding RTV and its employees have been very unclear. We call on the management of the broadcaster to provide transparency in its processes, especially its decisions regarding suspended content and the dismissed journalists and editors. We stand in support of our colleagues’, SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic, said.
SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.