Part of the editorial staff of N1 accuses Šovljanski of dealing with journalists, which he denies for "Vreme".

"We, part of the journalists and editors of the N1 newsroom, publicly condemn the targeting of journalists Danica Vučenić and Žaklina Tatalović by N1 news director Branislav Šovljanski. Šovljanski accused N1 television's Novi Dan Danica Vučenić that she was lying, and to Žaklina Tatalović that she wants to be involved in politics."

This was said by some of the journalists of N1, after Branislav Šovljanski's performance in the morning program N1 with Nataša Miljković

"These are two in a series of examples of reckoning with individuals in N1 carried out from above, only this time publicly. That is why we are reacting publicly, despite Branislav Šovljanski's threat, uttered at the editorial meeting after his guest appearance, that he will not allow some to come out publicly as liberators and fighters for free journalism," they added.

The statement is signed by Ana Novaković, Žana Bulajić, Nataša Miljković, Mia Bjelogrlić, Ina Džakula, Dimitrije Đurić, Ksenija Pavkov Strika, Sanja Kosović and Adam Santovac.

The case of Danica Vučenić

They also add that "Branislav Šovljanski's claim that Danica Vučenić lied that columnist Ljubodrag Stojadinović was censored is, besides being unprofessional and rude, also incorrect."

"It is not true that Stojadinović was asked not to use offensive speech in his columns, as Šovljanski stated. The deputy news director of N1, Vojislav Stevanović, gave Stojadinović an explicit statement that insults in his columns are not acceptable, despite the fact that even the Supreme Court of the Republic of Serbia considers freedom of expression to include certain exaggeration, provocation, and even intemperate statements," they also say and state that Šovljanski banned the replay of her show in which she refers to that case.

For them, that move is "even more problematic because it is an interview with Zoran Kesić, who stated in it that 24 minutes was canceled for political reasons."

The Tatalović case

When it comes to the case of journalist Žaklina Tatalović, part of the editorial office points out "that she was removed from reporting on protests and political events with the explanation that her alleged candidacy on the student list called into question her professional impartiality."

"We consider it inadmissible that the professional status of the N1 journalist is determined on the basis of false allegations by tabloids and without concrete evidence, especially when it comes to a journalist with many years of experience. Šovljanski publicly further stigmatizes the journalist by presenting information about the reason for her absence, which is particularly problematic in terms of the Personal Data Protection Act," they said in the statement.

It is additionally worrying that director Branislav Šovljanski and deputy director Vojislav Stevanović are participating in the transition process of N1 within the new ownership structure and entity ANN, led by Brent Sadler, Wouter van Houvelingen and Peter Tanasković, they say.

"The director of the program and his deputy do not allow television reports and the issue of the sale of N1 to Alpac Capital, or position them without context in front of the weather forecast, under the pretext of 'until we know something more,'" they add and say that during the previous months they witnessed frequent interventions in program and web content.

"Don't challenge our right to communicate openly with the public"

They say that they are "surprised by the replacement of Sovljanski's thesis that someone has a problem with three minutes of Ana Brnabić in an extraordinary program that lasts five hours."

"In this context, the suggestions of Šovljanski to reduce guest appearances by colleagues from Radar, Nova S and the Nova portal, who belong to the small body of critical journalists in Serbia, can also be mentioned," they say. "We are appalled by the interpretation of the management and the work of the editorial staff that this was the case even before the dismissal of Igor Božić. If so, the question arises why they remained silent and still accepted positions and worked for years as part of Božić's editorial team."

They claim that they work in an atmosphere in which employees who express disagreement with the actions of ANN, director Branislav Šovljanski and deputy director Vojislav Stevanović feel exposed to pressure, disparagement and professional distancing.

They call on colleagues who disagree with the letter, including the management, to "not challenge their right to communicate openly with the public and not to interrogate and insult them because of these lines."

Sovljanski: It's just a "small group" of people

"I was surprised when I saw that this letter, which was first internal, appeared in public because the vast majority in the editorial office was against it. We put it to a vote and even out of the nine signatories, only four of them were for publication," claims Branislav Šovljanski for "Vreme".

And, he says, it is about a "small group of people" in the newsroom where there are 103 employees, "which has been trying to destroy the newsroom" since he has been at its head.

And at the same time, he assures, absolutely everything is still allowed, there are no forbidden topics or forbidden guests, "which was the case before".

Sovljanski denies all the allegations in the letter and claims that these are matters of a "personal nature that suit someone", because "the former management wants to launch a new website", so this "small group wants to present the situation as if there is some kind of censorship in order to leave N1, which is not true at all".

"I'm really sorry that this turned out like this now when we should all be in agreement. I'm sorry if some colleagues gave up the fight to preserve TV N1," the director of N1 news told Vreme, adding that he will, as before, fight for the people who work at TV N1 and professional journalism.

He plans to announce more details about this situation in the coming days.

Real journalism costs money, and we will not be bought by tycoons and corporations. Support us with a one-time or monthly donation. The time for it is now!