ZAGREB, April 21 (Hina) - Directors of four Croatian dailies decided at a meeting on Wednesday not to print Thursday issues of their papers due to a strike at the newspaper distribution company "Tisak", which started at 6 pm today.
The four dailies which will not appear on news-stands tomorrow are "Vecernji list", "Vjesnik", "Jutarnji list", and "Sportske novosti". Today's decision means that about 500,000 Croatian readers will not be able to buy papers tomorrow, publishers said, adding they had been forced to make such a decision. The strikers' committee at "Tisak" said the intention of "Tisak" employees was to prevent tomorrow's editions from appearing on the market. The 2,500 "Tisak" news-stands will be closed on Thursday. "Vecernji list" director Branko Lovric said that only regional newspaper editions - "Slobodna Dalmacija", "Novi list", "Glas Istre", and "Glas Slavonije
ZAGREB, April 21 (Hina) - Directors of four Croatian dailies
decided at a meeting on Wednesday not to print Thursday issues of
their papers due to a strike at the newspaper distribution company
"Tisak", which started at 6 pm today.
The four dailies which will not appear on news-stands tomorrow are
"Vecernji list", "Vjesnik", "Jutarnji list", and "Sportske
novosti".
Today's decision means that about 500,000 Croatian readers will not
be able to buy papers tomorrow, publishers said, adding they had
been forced to make such a decision.
The strikers' committee at "Tisak" said the intention of "Tisak"
employees was to prevent tomorrow's editions from appearing on the
market. The 2,500 "Tisak" news-stands will be closed on Thursday.
"Vecernji list" director Branko Lovric said that only regional
newspaper editions - "Slobodna Dalmacija", "Novi list", "Glas
Istre", and "Glas Slavonije" - will appear on the market tomorrow,
because those newspapers had their own distribution system and
news-stands. However, it will not be possible to buy these editions
in Zagreb and northern Croatia due to the strike.
"Vjesnik" director Ivan Bozicevic said that tomorrow's issue of
"Vjesnik" will be available only on the Internet.
Should the strike go on - and "Tisak" employees have announced that
they will not give up until the Government meets its obligations
toward their company - publishers will be forced to find
alternative means of distribution, Lovric said.
All publishers will suffer huge financial damage, especially those
with the highest circulation.
The director of the Europa Press Holding (EPH), Ninoslav Pavic,
said that apart from "Jutarnji list", the strike also jeopardised
the latest editions of EPH's weeklies "Globus" and "Glorija".
Pavic recalled that publishers had done all they could four months
ago, and that they had supported the financial rehabilitation of
"Tisak" in their negotiations with the Government. However, he
added, "the Government and the banks could not implement it because
they obviously don't have the money for the financial
rehabilitation". The problem of distribution poses another
question - that of the freedom of media in Croatia, Pavic added.
"Tisak" union representatives told a news conference today the
strike would go on until two conditions from a financial
rehabilitation plan, approved by the Government on April 1, are met
- that a consortium of banks secure a minimum of 35 million kuna of
working capital and guarantee the delivery of tobacco products from
the Rovinj Tobacco Company.
(hina) rml