STATE TELEVISION MANAGER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CLASH

ZAGREB, Nov 14 (Hina) - Croatian Television (HTV) editor-in-chief Jasna Ulaga-Valic on Thursday commented on a request by Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) director Mirko Galic. Ulaga-Valic said Galic's request that she state why the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's advisor on electronic media, Karol Jakubowitz, had been a guest in the "Dnevnik plus" talk show, which airs after the prime time newscast, constituted management interference in programme content. #L# "Programme content is decided on by editors-in-chief, in line with HRT Law provisions," Ulaga-Valic told a news conference, adding that Galic's request violated all rules. In a Nov. 12 letter, Galic requested that the editor-in-chief state in writing her opinion about the coverage of a debate on amendments to the HRT Law and the Nov. 11 "Dnevnik plus" show on the matter. In his request, Galic referred to his responsibility for the legality of HRT's work. He maintained the Jakubowitz interview violated legal obligations calling for truthful, objective, unbiased, integral, and pluralist reporting. Galic said in the letter that the OSCE official had been given too much air time, which is usually given solely to senior domestic and foreign state officials and politicians. Galic found fault with the fact that the other participants in the debate on changes to the HRT Law had not been enabled to state their views, "which brought Jakubowitz in the situation of being biased". The state television's manager also objected to the fact that the debate was anchored by an outside associate "who was unable to hide her unfamiliarity with the issue and her lack of preparedness". Responding to Galic's objections, the editor-in-chief said Jakubowitz was one of Europe's most competent figures for public television development. The interview with him did not constitute "manipulation" as it was aired in its entirety, she said. "Dnevnik plus" was conceived as a conversation with "competent people in especially interesting situations, Ulaga-Valic told reporters today, recalling that eminent athletes had been guests on the show as well. Commenting on the skills of the journalist who interviewed Jakubowitz, the editor in charge of political talk shows, Goran Milic, said she fell within "the 50 percent of HTV journalists who speak English, and another 50 percent of those with a university degree". This makes her "equal with the colleagues who do this job in other media," Milic said. (hina) ha sb