Serbian ruling party MP continues assault on N1, Nova S

Printskrin / RTS

Ruling party MP Nebojsa Bakarec continued his attacks on N1 and Nova S in parliament on Monday, the second time in less than a week.

Bakarec called the two TV stations “polluters of media space and morals”. His statement was recorded and posted on the Twitter and Facebook accounts of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

“The members of the REM (Regulatory Body for Electronic Media) nor the Radio TV Serbia (RTS) are to blame for the two tragedies that happened three weeks ago. The blame lies with the killers, their parents and schools and their surroundings,” he said.

Bakarec claimed that opposition MP Aleksandar Jovanovic Cuta was the first to mention “polluters of media space and morals”. “He said those are all the media with national frequency licenses. I would say that the primary polluters of media space are N1 and Nova S TV according to all indicators,” Bakarec said adding that the two stations have been that since they were launched in 2014 and 2017.

He also accused United Media newspapers of doing the same. “Their tabloids, owned by (United Group co-owner Dragan) Solak, have been doing the same, Danas for Decades and Nova somewhat shorter,” he added.

This was not the first time that Bakarec targeted N1 and Nova S in parliament blaming them for what he called “the sick atmosphere in society which is suitable for tragedies” like the mass shooting at a Belgrade elementary school and villages in the Mladenovac area.

Bakarec’s example was followed by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic who told MPs that “tycoon media” (a term used by ruling coalition officials to denote United Media outlets) were to blame for “poisoning the nation and sowing hatred”.
Bakarec also made a number of serious accusations against N1 when an N1 reporter asked him for a statement at the SNS-organized rally in Belgrade on May 26.

The accusations led N1 Program Director Igor Bozic to sayd that Bakarec and Brnabic made statements full of hate towards N1 and Nova S, endangering their journalists.