ZAGREB, March 8 (Hina) - The new Croatian authorities will very quickly implement changes at Croatian Television, vice-premier Zeljka Antunovic said in Zagreb on Wednesday, speaking at a presentation of a report on the Croatian Radio
and Television (HRT) which was drafted by the European Institute for the Media. In the report including the period from September until November 1999, the EIM assessed that the HRT programme was bad due to the favourising of the then ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). "We will approach some changes at the HRT in urgent procedure," Antunovic said. She has recently been appointed as head of a commission whose task is to draw up a new law on the HRT. "We are forced to make such moves, with which we will not be happy or satisfied, by people leading the HRT and their unreadiness to accept changes," she added. Antunovic stressed the HRT kept promoting an "intolerant conduct towa
ZAGREB, March 8 (Hina) - The new Croatian authorities will very
quickly implement changes at Croatian Television, vice-premier
Zeljka Antunovic said in Zagreb on Wednesday, speaking at a
presentation of a report on the Croatian Radio and Television (HRT)
which was drafted by the European Institute for the Media.
In the report including the period from September until November
1999, the EIM assessed that the HRT programme was bad due to the
favourising of the then ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
"We will approach some changes at the HRT in urgent procedure,"
Antunovic said. She has recently been appointed as head of a
commission whose task is to draw up a new law on the HRT.
"We are forced to make such moves, with which we will not be happy or
satisfied, by people leading the HRT and their unreadiness to
accept changes," she added.
Antunovic stressed the HRT kept promoting an "intolerant conduct
towards reporting the truth".
An envoy of the European Commission which financed the drawing up of
the report, Per Vinther, said the change of the state television
into a pubic television was and remains one of conditions for the
approach to the European Union, because the freedom of expression
and the freedom of the media were one of our high priorities.
Representatives of the group who had drafted the report, Radio
Telefis Eireann general director Bob Collins and senior lecturer at
the Loughborough University, David Deacon, said that there had been
tight political ties between the Croatian Television leadership
and the rulings party at the time of the research.
The director, editor-in-chief, chairman of the HRT Council and
editor of the news programme were active members of the Croatian
Democratic Union 8HDZ), Collins said, describing this as without
precedent.
Deacon said in that period the HDZ had on television been most
presented and value judgements about the HDZ at the national level
had mostly been positive in programmes.
The report also said the HRT must solve some structural and
financial problems, including distancing itself from authorities,
establishing a system of editorial control, training reporters and
decreasing expenses.
(hina) lml jn