REM: During the campaign, the officials most represented in the programs

During the campaign prior to the June elections in Serbia, officials, not electoral lists, were the most represented in RTV broadcasters’ programs, according to a report by the Electronic Media Regulatory Body (REM ).

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) reported that 12 broadcasters, who were the focus of REM, dedicated 367 hours and 27 minutes of their program to officials, while they spent 344 hours and 24 minutes on the electoral rolls.

At 170 hours, the most represented was the president of Serbia and the head of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) list, Aleksandar Vučić, while 68 hours and nine minutes of the program were devoted to the SNS electoral list. Behind him is Prime Minister Ana Brnabić with 33 hours and 45 minutes of participation in all programs.

Serbian Radio-Television had the most balanced pre-election program, with the SNS list representing around 8% of the total pre-election program, while the lists of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), the Serbian Democrática Unida (UDS) and Metla 2020 had six hours each.

The situation is similar on Radio Television in Vojvodina. Pink TV reserved 50 hours and 45 minutes for the pre-election program, and the list “Aleksandar Vučić – for our children” was the longest in front of the cameras, nine hours and 10 minutes.

The SPS, SRS, Metla 2020, UDS charts were present on the same television for so long. “Of the officials, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić appeared convincingly in front of TV Pink’s cameras, in 47% of the reports,” the announcement states.

On other commercial TVs, Happy, B92 and Prva, the figures show that more space was given to the SNS listing. “The positive information about the representatives of the ruling coalition was broadcasted mainly on televisions with national coverage, and the negative information about the political option that advocated the boycott of the elections,” says the report.

In H1 the most represented analysts

It is added that cable television H1 had a positive attitude towards the Alliance for Serbia, and a negative attitude towards government representatives.

On that television, which broadcast 114 hours of the pre-election program, 36 hours of the total pre-election time were dedicated to the opposition bloc gathered around the Alliance for Serbia, which did not participate in the elections, and almost 12 hours to the list ‘Aleksandar Vucic – for our children.

Those most represented on this television were analysts, up to 77 hours, “the report says.

Nova S Televisión gave half of the 73 hours of pre-election time to analysts and 11 hours and 35 minutes to the parties that boycotted the elections.

Among the participants in the elections on that television, the most represented was the list “Sergej Trifunović – free citizens movement” with three hours and 22 minutes, while the list “Aleksandar Vučić – for our children” was present on this television during 50 minutes. The specialized pre-election programs, in which all the electoral lists and candidates are presented, except in the programs of public media services, were broadcast only on H1 and Pink televisions, although, as they say, they have no legal obligation to present to electoral participants that way.