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Press Freedom: The Case of Slovenia

Hanno Hardt

All is not well with journalism in Slovenia, where the current government has methodically undermined freedom of expression with the shifting control of media ownership. This crisis of Slovene journalism continues with Slovenia's pending presidency of the European Union on January 1st, 2008.

Over 400 Slovene journalists have publicly denounced Prime Minister Janez Jancar's attempts to restrict media freedom, claiming that the government has established an informal and influential decision-making pyramid, which ultimately prevents editors from respecting the autonomy of journalists and results in censorship of texts which are critical of the authorities. In addition, the government refuses access to certain media and obstructs the work of journalists, who are being fired, degraded or removed from their beats.

The petition was launched by Matej Surc (Slovenian public radio) and Blaz Zgaga (Vecer); it is supported by the Association of Slovenian Journalists (DNS) and was submitted with 570 signatures to the speaker of parliament, France Cukjati, in mid-October. Slovene journalists also sent a letter to the presidents, the heads of parliaments and the prime ministers of all European Union member states.

Spela Stare, Executive Secretary of the Slovene Association of Journalists (SAJ), suggests that editorial autonomy and the protection of journalists from the pressures of their editors, owners and politicians remain major issues in an atmosphere of strong political influence on the media.

For instance, visits to the Slovenian Assembly (since April, 2006) require reporting to the respective authorities, thus controlling the work of journalists and members of parliament. In addition, there is a restriction of movement for journalists within parliament.

The politically motivated dismissal of Ervin Hladnik Milharcic of Delo, who had been a correspondent in Jerusalem and New York for years, resulted in an unsuccessful written protest by his colleagues, who also reacted against political moves against the newspaper. Vida Petrovcic, a senior journalist at TV Slovenija, claims that the cause for her removal was an October 2006 news feature, which highlighted the finance minister, Andrej Bajuk's unwillingness to answer her questions.

These and other developments have not gone unnoticed around media circles in Europe, however organisations like the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and Reporters Without Borders have come to the aid of Slovenia's beleaguered journalists. At the EFJ general meeting in Zagreb last March, EFJ members had jointly condemned the situation in Slovenia; more recently, EFJ General Secretary, Aidan White, said, 'we are appalled that after months of protests and appeals by national and international media organisations the Slovenian authorities keep putting pressure on journalists in a grotesque manner'.

In October, Reporters Without Borders asked the Slovenian parliament to investigate these serious allegations of censorship and harassment of the news media. The request suggested that the news media's editorial independence is crucial for a society's well-being, and that if the government really has used financial and commercial pressure to influence media content, as it is alleged, this would be a serious press freedom violation.

Also in October, the International Press Institute (IPI) had expressed its support for the 'Petition Against Censorship and Political Pressures on Journalists in Slovenia'. In the meantime, the Slovene government denies any charges and continues to exploit its business relationships with companies, whose financial holdings in a variety of media organisations provide the means of interference. As a result of these developments, the IPI may send international media representatives to Slovenia at the beginning of 2008 to investigate the problem and use pressure to ensure editorial independence.

The struggle over defining democracy continues in Slovenia, where press freedom has become the most important battleground in a society still conscious of its history and the consequences of authoritarian rule.