Swiss owner denies editor's sacking was political
The chairman of the Swiss media company Ringier denied that the sacking of the editor-in-chief of Belgrade-based Alo! tabloid came due to political pressure.
Monday, 13.06.2011.
13:57
The chairman of the Swiss media company Ringier denied that the sacking of the editor-in-chief of Belgrade-based Alo! tabloid came due to political pressure. Instead, Michael Ringier asserted that the decision was made because of the way the daily covered the arrest of Hague indictee Ratko Mladic. Swiss owner denies editor's sacking was political Reacting on the reactions in the wake of dismissal of editor-in-chief Antonio Kovacevic, some of which claimed that it came because of recent articles strongly critical of Serbian President Boris Tadic, Ringier said the reason was in fact that the daily "failed to mention that Ratko Mladic was indicted for war crimes". "The company took a stand that the circulation and business success should not be built based on toleration towards war crimes", Ringier said in a statement published on the website of another newspaper he owns in Serbia - Blic. But the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS), one of the two main journalist associations in the country, said in a statement last week that Kovacevic was sacked for political reasons and emphasized that this occurred "just three days after the journalist's open confrontation to the pressure by the Serbian president on editorial policy of the daily". In a recent interview for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Tadic singled out Alo! as "the bearer of anti-European sentiments in Serbia" and he stagted that it was "a paradox that the daily was owned by investors from EU and partner countries". Blic, Alo! and other publications were jointly owned by Ringier and Axel Springer. These two companies established a new joint media company, merging the Eastern European operations of both companies in July 2010. Ringier Axel Springer in Serbia General Director Jelena Drakulic Petrovic was the first to announce that Kovacevic had lost his job, and at that time offered a different explanation for such a move. She stated that the decision came "due to opposing views on further development of the daily". "The practice of false excuses for politically motivated sackings is hypocritical. The UNS is disappointed because even great European media companies surrender under political pressures because they believe they could secure a better position in Serbia market in that way", it was stated in the UNS statement. The news at first went completely unnoticed in the Belgrade-based media, with most failing to publish the story on their websites.
Swiss owner denies editor's sacking was political
Reacting on the reactions in the wake of dismissal of editor-in-chief Antonio Kovacević, some of which claimed that it came because of recent articles strongly critical of Serbian President Boris Tadić, Ringier said the reason was in fact that the daily "failed to mention that Ratko Mladić was indicted for war crimes"."The company took a stand that the circulation and business success should not be built based on toleration towards war crimes", Ringier said in a statement published on the website of another newspaper he owns in Serbia - Blic.
But the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS), one of the two main journalist associations in the country, said in a statement last week that Kovačević was sacked for political reasons and emphasized that this occurred "just three days after the journalist's open confrontation to the pressure by the Serbian president on editorial policy of the daily".
In a recent interview for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Tadić singled out Alo! as "the bearer of anti-European sentiments in Serbia" and he stagted that it was "a paradox that the daily was owned by investors from EU and partner countries".
Blic, Alo! and other publications were jointly owned by Ringier and Axel Springer. These two companies established a new joint media company, merging the Eastern European operations of both companies in July 2010.
Ringier Axel Springer in Serbia General Director Jelena Drakulić Petrović was the first to announce that Kovačević had lost his job, and at that time offered a different explanation for such a move.
She stated that the decision came "due to opposing views on further development of the daily".
"The practice of false excuses for politically motivated sackings is hypocritical. The UNS is disappointed because even great European media companies surrender under political pressures because they believe they could secure a better position in Serbia market in that way", it was stated in the UNS statement.
The news at first went completely unnoticed in the Belgrade-based media, with most failing to publish the story on their websites.
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