Television management N1 submitted on October 2 Regulatory Agency for Electronic Media (REM) request for a broadcast license, and the editorial office claims that it was not informed or consulted about it.
The editorial office found out about the submission of the request by accident, when the director of N1 news, Branislav Šovljanski, was contacted by a person who introduced himself as an employee of REM and requested to supplement the documentation. That's when Sovljanski found out that he was listed as the editor-in-chief in the application and that the information from his ID card was used for the purposes of the request, reports N1.
Sovljanski: I was not informed
Sovljanski said that he was not informed about the use of his personal data nor did he consent to it.
"Today I received a call from the REM service from one of the employees of that regulatory body, who asked me who is the contact she can talk to, since the submitted documentation is not complete. I asked what kind of documentation it was, and received a new question - you did not submit the report, and we have data from your ID card. When asked what my ID card was used for, I received the answer that I am listed as the chief and responsible editor in the application," says Šovljanski.
"I emphasize that no one informed me that they would use my identity card, nor did I consent to such a thing," he adds.
A request to the management of N1 to explain what it is about
The editorial office of N1 therefore requests an explanation from the management, especially since it is a significant change in the status of the television, as well as due to the fact that the editors and journalists were not informed about the submission of the request.
The editors also asked whether the management's decision means that they consider the REM Council to be functional now. Four members of the REM Council, however, stated in a letter to the international community on October 1 that the body was formally constituted but essentially blocked.
Alpac Capital CEO Pedro Vargas David previously said he understood the argument that national television channels should be regulated in the country where editorial decisions are made or where they are based, but at the same time he assessed that the regulator must be independent and functional.
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