The Programmes Council, which held a session on this topic on Wednesday, said live coverage should be ensured for the founding assemblies of the parliament, or sittings when MPs discuss very important bills or state budget. Other events may be summarized in one-hour broadcasts aired at the end of the sitting on days when the Sabor is in session.
Considering a report on TV coverage of parliament sessions, the Programmes Council concluded that there was some room for improving journalistic work in this field. The Council also recalled that it only had an advisory role and therefore asked the HTV leadership to consider its proposals and inform it about a possible new concept for the coverage of the Sabor's work.
The debate on this topic ensued after some Sabor leaders complained in September that they did not enjoy the same treatment as other state officials, including the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, and that TV reports on parliamentary topics were often presented in a sensationalist manner.
According to the report which covered the period from November 2003 to September this year, there were about 250 hours of live coverage of Sabor sessions, not including other news programmes containing reports on the Sabor's activities.
The chief editor of the HTV news programme, Vladimir Roncevic, said the average viewer rating of live coverage of parliamentary sessions was 2.4 percent, namely only 88,000 people watched live coverage of parliamentary sessions, as against the 35 percent average viewer rating of the flagship news programme 'Dnevnik" which is aired at 19.30 hrs every day.
HTV Director Marija Nemcic said Croatia held the record in television time dedicated to parliamentary sessions. Public televisions in other countries, except Slovenia, mainly provide their audience with summarized reports on parliamentary sessions, she added.