The obligation of television stations that a fifth of their content should be children’s, scientific-educational, documentary and cultural-artistic programs was removed from the draft REM Rulebook, which is up for public discussion until Friday. In practice, this means that Pink or Happy could, unencumbered by regulations, broadcast only reality shows all day, along with what they call entertainment and informational programming.
Although, according to the previous by-laws, television stations had the obligation that a fifth of their content should be so-called quality programs (scientific-educational, cultural-artistic, documentary and children’s programs), if the new draft of the Rulebook on Conditions and Criteria for Issuing Licenses for the Provision of Media is adopted services – that obligation will no longer exist, writes Cenzolovka.
While the currently valid rulebook on that area states that “a quality program is considered to be a program in which scientific-educational, cultural-artistic, documentary or children’s programs, i.e. programs for minors, together or individually, make up more than 20% of the total annual published program”. in the draft of the new Rulebook – there is not even a word about it.
Instead of a quality program, the draft of the new Rulebook mentions “diversity” and does not deal specifically with the quality of content. According to the proposed Rulebook, television stations would be obliged to show several different types of programs, “such as informative, educational, cultural, scientific, sports, entertainment and other program contents”. As before, there is no specified minimum display of the so-called quality program, which practically means that televisions can either not show it or show it minimally.
In practice, this means that TV Pink could only broadcast reality, entertainment and informational programs all day long, without the obligation to broadcast scientific, documentary or children’s programs.
Despite the fact that the reports of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) showed that televisions with a license to broadcast with national coverage do not show “quality programming” to a sufficient extent (or do not show it at all), even though the by-laws prescribed certain obligations, which some REM Council that respects the rules could react to non-compliance.
Ivana Stevanović, the executive director of the Slavko Ćuruvi Foundation, says that, “if this Rulebook is adopted, we could expect a series of propaganda and a series of reality shows on national TV channels.”
“The REM reports themselves, when they were published, state that these programs, which practically cease to be mandatory, were previously broadcast in millions. Instead of imposing measures and, ultimately, revoking licenses, REM is now legalizing the reckless behavior of broadcasters.”
When asked by Cenzolovka how the REM will assess what constitutes a quality program, if the Rulebook is adopted with this amendment, the president of the Council of this body, Olivera Zekić, said that “they are not running in front of the ore”:
“Slowly. Public discussion is there to change something.”
And about why REM decided to remove the part about the quality program, he answers briefly:
“Read the worst Law on Electronic Media and it will be clear to you.” It will certainly have to change.”
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