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The adjunct professor of the Faculty of Philosophy of Novi Sad, Jelena Kleut, evaluated that there is an “organized contamination of public space” in Serbia, because the topics opened by the tabloids, which are very often based on false information or interests of the power centers, are considered relevant by other means. bave.
“Tabloids exist in all parts of the world, but only in our country are they a mixture of political and pop issues that are covered in other large media. And that is our shame,” Kleut said on last night’s online show “Quarantine Code. “from the Association of Independent Journalists of Vojvodina.
He pointed out that tabloids are more accessible to citizens because they cost very little, which is provided with the money they receive from public funds, and that is why they have the highest circulation.
Kleut warned that the current coronavirus pandemic has further complicated the role of the media, due to the avalanche of fake news and conspiracy theories, so “there is a difficult fight for the Code, for journalism, but also for health. public “.
“While the pandemic lasts, we have a constant increase in the number of texts that bring pseudoscientific news, that is, conspiracy theories. In a situation in which public health is in danger, it is very dangerous and the institutions do not react”, said.
He added that it is worrying that the media, which often violate the journalistic code, regularly receive funds from the state budget.
According to his assessment, “due to the massive violation of the Journalism Code by the tabloid press, but also by the large national television networks,” the media image in Serbia, as well as the image of the journalistic profession, “seems horrible. “.
Skrozza: tabloids are a mirror of society
Journalist and Press Council member Tamara Skrozza said that no journalist should forget when they actually work.
“Journalists work for the citizenry, for the little man. Everything that goes against the interests of citizenship and human rights is something that is not done. If you do that, then you have ‘sold your soul to the devil’, so you will suffer a certain kind of consequence. You don’t have to. “You don’t even know the code, but you have to know who you’re fighting for. You are not a party worker, not a soldier, but the servant of a man, the servant of a citizen, “said Skrozza.
She assessed that the tabloids in Serbia are “mouthpieces for the government” and that they receive large amounts of money from local budgets, “instead of that money being allocated to local media that are dying under various pressures.”
“The main problem is that our readers cannot evaluate what is good and what is not good. Our citizens are not media literate to follow serious media, and the tabloids share the lowest among the people,” he said.
Skrozza also pointed to drastic examples of media discrimination amid the pandemic, when the first guest workers were exposed to media lynching, then elderly fellow citizens found on the street during the quarantine, and now returning from summer vacation.
“It is a campaign that can lead to open hatred. On the other hand, since March charlatanism and conspiracy theories are being given, and especially the tabloids quote people with those ideas, which is very dangerous for public health,” he warned.
Skrozza said that the media remains “only a mirror of a society” and that only the reform of the social system could bring changes in the media.
“We have a society of functionally illiterate people who are prone to loud words and aggression, we have a system that persistently cultivates a culture of no culture. And until things are resolved there, we cannot expect revolutionary changes in the media.” said.
The program was broadcast within the project “Promoting media and information literacy and strengthening independent media in the Western Balkans”, which is implemented by the Novi Sad School of Journalism with the support of the British Embassy in Belgrade.
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