The editorial board of TV Nova announced that it was the decision of the new management to cancel the show "24 minutes with Zoran Kesić" it is not in the interest of the program or TV station Nova.
"Our common opinion, as professionals who make the TV Nova program and who have built it into a credible and watched TV station, is that the show '24 minutes with Zoran Kesić' brought television much more than ratings," reads the statement signed by Aleksa Maksimović, Slobodan Georgiev, Jelena Aleksić, Nevena Madžarević and Marko Novičić. "She was instrumental in building trust with viewers. As such, she does not deserve to disappear from our program."
After "moving" Impressions of the week", shutting down "Zdravo Misli" and now canceling this cult show, viewers' trust will be seriously damaged in the rest of the program, while no other new format will be able to replace it, they add.
They ask the management to reconsider their decision to cancel the show "24 minutes with Zoran Kesić", if their common goal is for TV Nova to continue to be one of the best TV stations in Serbia.
Support from colleagues
"The news that the show will no longer be broadcast on TV Nova we received with great disappointment and concern", they wrote in the statement signed by "colleagues from N1 and Forbes Serbia".
They add that "it is difficult for them to accept the explanation that a show that has been one of the trademarks of television for years, gathers a large audience and is among the most watched programs, can be reduced to the assessment that its commercial performance is marginal."
That's why they say that it's not just about ratings, costs and balance sheets.
In a country where the space for free speech is shrinking, "24 Minutes" is much more than a television show for them. It is, they say, a space of freedom, satire and criticism, a place where questions are asked that cannot be heard on many other televisions. In the media darkness that has been getting denser over the years, Kesić and his team are one of the few lights that help citizens see the reality they live in more clearly," they note.
"Because light may have its price. But it is much more expensive when it goes out," they say and say that they believe that the value of such an emission cannot be measured only by income and expenditure tables. Free media also have a responsibility towards the public, especially today in Serbia. "Zoran and the team of "24 Minutes" always stood by us, the journalists of N1, when we were attacked, insulted and persecuted. That's why we stand by them now, when their work is measured in some currency, and the importance they have for the whole society is ignored. For those who rejoiced at the news that "24 minutes" is no more, maybe it's time to start counting small."
Kesić: Continuation on YouTube
The crew of the show "24 minutes with Zoran Kesić" announced on their official Facebook profile about the news that it will no longer be broadcast on TV Nova.
They wrote that with the words of the beautiful song "Fado Final" (Fado for the end) by the legendary Amalia Rodríguez, they say goodbye to the viewers of Nova S and invite them to continue watching all those shows that they have loved so far, and which they themselves will continue to watch.
"We wish our colleagues who remain on television to persevere in this job that we love the most in the world and to tear as long as they can," they added. "To all colleagues who support us these days, offer help and space on the air, perhaps risking our positions, we say - we didn't expect anything less from you because we know each other. We love you!"
They also announced the continuation of their work.
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