Weekly publishes KSB ad, editor suspended

What happend to democracy? Is Belgrade now going to punish every Serbs who joins KSF? B92 watch out what you publish. lol

Well my own opinion is put to one side on this.
As far as I'm concerned the editorial team at that newspaper has the right to publish this advert.

I support a relaxed attitude towards this and other matters, precisely because I believe that people have the right to make decisions that affect them.

Duro I'd remind you that the BBC is funded by the UK government (actually I think its the foreign office directly) and they do not represent the state interest. Although of course they are not free to publish all of what they want either.

But I'd ask Albanian posters to be honest about this subject as well - you know full well the problems of an independent media.

What we should be doing in the Balkans is loosening state control of the media - but also placing strict regulations to ward of the following problem that we are already facing - tycoons, criminals and their influence on the media.

Just to remind the first 4 posters that the paper in question is state FUNDED meaning its obliged to follow the states conditions. No violation of freedom or democracy here, if the editors have a agenda of their own then they should seek employment elsewhere.

How to get into quickly.

Publish some ad on a newspaper that NO ONE reads so that Serbia can show face that they are "cooperating" with Kosovo.

Post-communist Serbian free press at its finest. You've come a long way!!

what about the freedom of expression, gentlemen?

The BBC is, if I am correct, funded by a lisence fee, i.e. 150 odd pounds for each household that has a tv, and not by the foreign office. It is in fact a poll tax on the british population.

The government is a lot more slippery than that.

Every 7 years, the BBC has to justify to the government the level of lisence fee as the governement has the power to cancel it. These 'negotiations' tend to be dirty and not reported in full (i.e. not transparent).

So, the government does have effective influence over the BBC, though does not directly control it.

The government can also issue 'D-Notices' to the media, i.e. officially banning reporting on certain subjects if it is claimed to be against 'national security'.

Technically and legally the BBC is 'independent', but reality is somewhat more nuanced.

Is it not curious how the BBC's line that the genocide of armenians in 1915 (i.e. that it was not a 'genocide' but a series of 'mass killings') mirrors that of the official position of the british government? This is the most obvious example.

British propaganda (like much of the 'free west'), is just very, very sophisticated and hard to prove, i.e. cases of self-censorship by journalists, but it does happen and is practised.

The BBC licence fee is currently set at £139.50. The way the BBC is governed has changed in recent years. We now have a board of trustees to whom the Director General of the BBC is accountable. Yes in a way it is state television and I have often been disappointed at the coverage on certain issues – the Serbs being forced out of certain areas in March 2004 to name but one. However, having travelled widely, I still consider the BBC to be one of the best public broadcasters anywhere in the world. However, more to the point it has nearly always been the case that “he who pays the piper calls the tune”.

To poster#5
My mistake, my post should have read Post communist Serbian state run journalism at its finest. You've come a long way. Sorry to infer that there is free press.

Yes, my mistake, what I meant was that the BBC World Service is funded by the foreign office - a fact that many do not know.

A license fee or through the government though is more or less the same thing. You pay the government decides how the money is spent.

Wooow, I guess Serbia doesn't have a 1st Amendment! Thank God I am an American (of Albanian decent) and live in the Blessed US of A. Some countries just don't know what free press means, and that includes Serbia. At least all they got was a sacking....Zoran Djindjić got a bullet from a sniper when he tried to be progressive! Being progressive is not in fashion in Serbia.
(Sidi, 23 January 2009 02:16)

The 1st amendment is not worth the paper it's written on any more.
You don't have a clue how much your "free press" IS NOT free to report on until you start to look at the media from around the world.

The amount of distortion is incredible as well. If you compare what you read in some of your papers to what you read in Japan or China for instance you will see how the same event can be distorted to fit the doctrine on your or any other country.

So please, don't pride yourself in 1st amendment.

Yes - the BBC Foreign Service is funded through the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. However as for the rest of the organisation you, in my view, overstate the extent of Govt interference. A recent scandal - the Jonathan Ross affair - attracted widespread govt and public critisim. However Jonathan Ross is still back on TV. You cannot compare like with like since there is no other service like the BBC anywhere in the world.

Wooow, I guess Serbia doesn't have a 1st Amendment! Thank God I am an American (of Albanian decent) and live in the Blessed US of A. Some countries just don't know what free press means, and that includes Serbia. At least all they got was a sacking....Zoran Djindjić got a bullet from a sniper when he tried to be progressive! Being progressive is not in fashion in Serbia.

How to get into quickly.

Publish some ad on a newspaper that NO ONE reads so that Serbia can show face that they are "cooperating" with Kosovo.

Post-communist Serbian free press at its finest. You've come a long way!!

what about the freedom of expression, gentlemen?

What happend to democracy? Is Belgrade now going to punish every Serbs who joins KSF? B92 watch out what you publish. lol

Just to remind the first 4 posters that the paper in question is state FUNDED meaning its obliged to follow the states conditions. No violation of freedom or democracy here, if the editors have a agenda of their own then they should seek employment elsewhere.

Well my own opinion is put to one side on this.
As far as I'm concerned the editorial team at that newspaper has the right to publish this advert.

I support a relaxed attitude towards this and other matters, precisely because I believe that people have the right to make decisions that affect them.

Duro I'd remind you that the BBC is funded by the UK government (actually I think its the foreign office directly) and they do not represent the state interest. Although of course they are not free to publish all of what they want either.

But I'd ask Albanian posters to be honest about this subject as well - you know full well the problems of an independent media.

What we should be doing in the Balkans is loosening state control of the media - but also placing strict regulations to ward of the following problem that we are already facing - tycoons, criminals and their influence on the media.

To poster#5
My mistake, my post should have read Post communist Serbian state run journalism at its finest. You've come a long way. Sorry to infer that there is free press.

The BBC is, if I am correct, funded by a lisence fee, i.e. 150 odd pounds for each household that has a tv, and not by the foreign office. It is in fact a poll tax on the british population.

The government is a lot more slippery than that.

Every 7 years, the BBC has to justify to the government the level of lisence fee as the governement has the power to cancel it. These 'negotiations' tend to be dirty and not reported in full (i.e. not transparent).

So, the government does have effective influence over the BBC, though does not directly control it.

The government can also issue 'D-Notices' to the media, i.e. officially banning reporting on certain subjects if it is claimed to be against 'national security'.

Technically and legally the BBC is 'independent', but reality is somewhat more nuanced.

Is it not curious how the BBC's line that the genocide of armenians in 1915 (i.e. that it was not a 'genocide' but a series of 'mass killings') mirrors that of the official position of the british government? This is the most obvious example.

British propaganda (like much of the 'free west'), is just very, very sophisticated and hard to prove, i.e. cases of self-censorship by journalists, but it does happen and is practised.

Yes, my mistake, what I meant was that the BBC World Service is funded by the foreign office - a fact that many do not know.

A license fee or through the government though is more or less the same thing. You pay the government decides how the money is spent.

Wooow, I guess Serbia doesn't have a 1st Amendment! Thank God I am an American (of Albanian decent) and live in the Blessed US of A. Some countries just don't know what free press means, and that includes Serbia. At least all they got was a sacking....Zoran Djindjić got a bullet from a sniper when he tried to be progressive! Being progressive is not in fashion in Serbia.

The BBC licence fee is currently set at £139.50. The way the BBC is governed has changed in recent years. We now have a board of trustees to whom the Director General of the BBC is accountable. Yes in a way it is state television and I have often been disappointed at the coverage on certain issues – the Serbs being forced out of certain areas in March 2004 to name but one. However, having travelled widely, I still consider the BBC to be one of the best public broadcasters anywhere in the world. However, more to the point it has nearly always been the case that “he who pays the piper calls the tune”.

Yes - the BBC Foreign Service is funded through the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. However as for the rest of the organisation you, in my view, overstate the extent of Govt interference. A recent scandal - the Jonathan Ross affair - attracted widespread govt and public critisim. However Jonathan Ross is still back on TV. You cannot compare like with like since there is no other service like the BBC anywhere in the world.

Wooow, I guess Serbia doesn't have a 1st Amendment! Thank God I am an American (of Albanian decent) and live in the Blessed US of A. Some countries just don't know what free press means, and that includes Serbia. At least all they got was a sacking....Zoran Djindjić got a bullet from a sniper when he tried to be progressive! Being progressive is not in fashion in Serbia.
(Sidi, 23 January 2009 02:16)

The 1st amendment is not worth the paper it's written on any more.
You don't have a clue how much your "free press" IS NOT free to report on until you start to look at the media from around the world.

The amount of distortion is incredible as well. If you compare what you read in some of your papers to what you read in Japan or China for instance you will see how the same event can be distorted to fit the doctrine on your or any other country.

So please, don't pride yourself in 1st amendment.