CULTURE MINISTER PRESENTS DRAFT MEDIA BILL

ZAGREB, Aug 20 (Hina) - The Ministry of Culture has sent a draft media bill to the government after two years of public debate, Culture Minister Antun Vujic said on Wednesday, adding that the aim of the bill was to create preconditions for freedom of the media and journalism in accordance with European regulations. #L# The ministry proposed that the bill be adopted under urgent procedure as part of a package under which Croatian laws are being adapted to European standards, Vujic told a press conference, adding that the government would discuss the bill on August 28. The bill addresses issues relating to the protection of the media from political influence and protection of the rights of journalists within the media. Under the proposed bill, media will have to reveal their ownership structure, and newspaper publishers will have to send their annual business reports to the Ministry. It also aims to prevent monopolies in the media sector by limiting ownership to 40 percent. The bill will introduce a series of provisions protecting the right to information as well as a person's life. A person damaged by a media report will be able to file a claim for compensation provided that he or she has previously asked the medium in question to publish a correction. Vujic rejected claims that media would have to publish corrections of true reports if so requested by people who felt they had been hurt by the report in question. The bill provides for the possibility of media filing a suit with the Administrative Court against a civil servant who denies them requested information, provided that it is not a state or military secret. Refusal by civil servants to provide information carries a fine of up to 100,000 kuna (approximately 13,300 euros). The editor-in-chief will be held responsible for publishing an untrue report, while the publisher will be responsible for compensation. (hina) vm