Exactly two years ago, "Vreme" first reported that BC Partners, the majority owner United groups, is having a big sale. That news is in ours journalistic the bazaar caused a frown - some told us that it was not correct, others that maybe it was, but that it was not "recommended" to publish it and spread defeatism.
Today, two years later, everything is going according to the master plan that was devised a long time ago.
The latest news says that Brent Sadler, a retired journalist and Serbian son-in-law engaged as a special operations man, listed as director of N1, Nova and Danas, all media owned by the United Group.
And again, the official message is the same - nothing will change in the editorial policy!
The game of mongoose and cobra
This same message has been sent for years, although things are slowly changing. First, he was removed from a leading role in the company Dragan Šolak (who previously voluntarily sold majority shares). Then cable operations and sports rights were sold, and informers, couriers and flashes metastasized everywhere. Then a new "body" was created with an "editorial board", so now Sadler became the director.
So, ostensibly, nothing will change, and everything has already been changed - except for the program and the tone of the reporting. It is the last step for which there is still time, probably until the extraordinary parliamentary elections.
Photo: Printskrin / N1Brent Sadler
Because, what else is the purpose of this whole concoction other than to silence the most financially - and therefore programmatically - powerful media that are still allowed to criticize the government?
Those who expect a guillotine or some cancellations in waves are mistaken. The pace of the moves so far shows that everything is going slowly, with occasional jumps and jerks, like a game of mongoose and cobra. He knows how to make it exciting, but the mongoose wins in the end.
Capital always chooses money.
The cries for "Europe" to intervene have not and will not bear fruit. "Europe" respects the so-called private capital, although this is a dibidus government business.
Because the rich owners of the United Group will be even richer, and a good part of that money comes from the people's money through the state-owned Telecom. In return, the people will receive a slight imitation of the only remaining critical television stations of national importance - so, double naked.
The government will get the vain hope that it will blunt the rebellion in Serbia, and it will be deceived - the process cannot be stopped.
The audience (I guess!) has already received an important lesson - media within corporations, even when they work honestly, are extremely vulnerable to the interests of the capital that owns them. Big capital always chooses money over public interest.
The only way for citizens to have a media that is truly and fully devoted to the public cause is to finance it themselves. To buy newspapers, to subscribe, to donate. If they are not aware of this, they will be left with informers, couriers and the like, and the chaos of social networks, regardless of who is in power.
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!
