edition-dw-akademie-in-the-service-of-the-public-functions-and-transformation-of-media-in-developing-countries-pdf

In Serbia, the average net salary of journalists is around30,000 Serbian dinars, 114 which equals roughly 260 Euros.The general average salary is around 415 Euros. 115 The averagepayment of RTS staff is approximately 400 Euros. 116 Thatmeans that in comparison with other media RTS employeesare relatively well paid, though their salary still lies under thenational average. While editors with 20 years of experience ormore earn around 450 Euros, 117 younger journalists receive lessmoney. So-called star journalists, e.g., presenters of programs,earn much more – though their salary is kept secret. 118 Due tothe enormous financial problems of the public broadcaster inthe last two years, RTS was not able to pay its staff regularly.Thus, salaries were paid significantly later and RTS employeesremained unpaid for months. 119Currently, RTS television and RTS radio operate in two differentbuildings and have two newsrooms, one for TV and onefor radio. The management plans to merge these newsroomsin the future. However, they already share the same systemand material today and are electronically connected. 120 RTS hasover 30 correspondent offices in all Serbian regions and majorcities. Like the broadcaster in general, its regional officesare also over-staffed. RTS’s office in the city Kragujevac, for instance,– population 150,000 – has 30 employees. 121Perception, Participation and Public EngagementOn the one hand, RTS’s reputation suffered considerably for along time from its past as the propaganda instrument of theMilošević regime. In order to mark a turning point and a rebirthin the broadcaster’s history, after the end of the authoritarianera RTS was officially called “Nova RTS” (New RTS) to symbolizeliberation from political control. Further, in May 2011 RTS officiallyapologized for its role in supporting the regime duringthe 1990s. 122 In the last decade, the broadcaster has been recoveringfrom the Milošević era, though this process will still needtime; people are still critical towards the network. RTS’s struggleto collect enough license fees has also partly to do with itsreputation: The fact that people do not pay the fees shows thatthey do not want to support the public broadcaster. 123On the other hand, the public perception of RTS has beenconstantly improving. It is fair to say that today – 14 years afterthe democratic changes – RTS has a good reputation. Its newsprogram is the most watched of all television news and enjoysa high level of credibility. 124 Further, the broadcaster’s domesticTV series as well as its morning program are hugely popular. 125Overall, today Serbians trust RTS – a fact that reveals the generalsuccess of the broadcaster’s transformation process.Public Service: General FunctionsCreating a Public SphereRTS provides the Serbian public with comprehensive andmostly balanced and objective news; its news program is themost watched of its kind. 126 Further, the broadcaster’s informationprograms enjoy high credibility. Generally, all politi-cal parties are represented in the news and all political playershave the opportunity to speak. However, there is a slightpro-government tendency, i.e., the attention given to partiesin news programs corresponds to their representation in parliament.127 This tendency is also reflected in the criticism ofpolitical actors: Although there are political talk shows withguests from the whole political spectrum, the opposition ismore frequently criticized than the government. 128 However,an analysis of the pre-election coverage of Radio Belgrade 1 revealedthat there was a difference of only 30 seconds in thetime attributed to the different parties during all 45 days of theelection campaign. 129While RTS generally covers all major social problems andalso criticizes the involved actors, the interviewees stressedthat some topics are only addressed when a scandal comes up,but no follow-up or background coverage is provided. Socialissues such as unemployment and child diseases are regularlyaddressed, whereas more controversial social problems suchas extremism, LGBT issues, or war crimes are often only dealtwith superficially. There is a lack of investigative journalism atRTS. One problem certainly is financial constraints. The intervieweesalso pointed out, however, that many journalists donot want to dig deeper or sometimes even exercise self-censorshipin order to avoid problems. 130Supporting IntegrationGenerally, RTS’s programming ensures participation and givesSerbian citizens a voice. There are call-in programs as well asprograms with a live audience. Further, for example, RadioBelgrade 1 has a contact program every first Monday of themonth, whose sole aim is to measure the public’s reaction andopinion. In the one-hour live program listeners can call anddiscuss what they think about the program, criticize and makesuggestions. 131 In addition, both RTS 1 and RTS 2 broadcast programsfor families and children. However, RTS does not offermany programs for national and linguistic minorities. Whilethe regional public broadcaster RTV broadcasts more than 68percent of its own production of television programs in minoritylanguages (in total ten languages), 132 RTS television hasonly one program, Citizen, which addresses national minoritiesand is broadcast in minority languages. Radio Belgrade1, in addition, provides a 40-minute Roma program in Romalanguage every day. 133RTS 2 and Radio Belgrade 2 are the cultural and educationalchannels of the main public television and radio stations.They, as well as to some extent also the main channels RTS 1and Radio Belgrade 1, offer numerous cultural programs thatprovide for cultural expression and give orientation with respectto identity and values. Around 33 percent of RTS 2 andnine percent of RTS 1 are documentaries, educational and culturalprograms. 134 However, the focus of these programs liesmore on historical traditions; they often do not represent theculture and modern society of today. 135 RTS is not known forbeing especially innovative as a media outlet. But it does have170