Zagreb, (IKA) – On March 5, a statement was presented by the Justice and Peace Commission of the CCB, “Croatian Media and the Market,” at the Secretariat of the Croatian Conference of Bishops. The participants in the press conference were the president of Commission, Auxiliary Bishop Vlado Košić of Zagreb and its members, Dr. Željko Tanjić, Dr. Neven Šimac, Gordan Črpić, Fr. Bože Vuleta and Dr. Ante Sekulić, together with the secretary of the Commission, Dubravka Petrović.

At the beginning of the press conference, Bishop Košić greeted the assembled journalists, after which Dr. Tanjić presented the statement, which, as he said, had been announced in December of last year, and addresses some aspects of the media in the Republic of Croatia. There is an awareness that in the current economic and financial crisis, comprehensive, precise and accurate information is needed that the media should be required to provide and without which recovery will not be possible. However, the interests of the owners and advertisers engaged in the race for maximum profits are being placed ahead of the rights of readers to be properly informed. Dr. Tanjić said that the media is governed by norms of “market fundamentalism,” a secular form of exclusivity and domination, the consequences of which are evident in the current economic and social crisis. Furthermore, Dr. Tanjić spoke about specific phenomena that seriously jeopardize the common good of the Croatian society regarding the media. He spoke, first of all, about the “publicizing of evil,” i.e. most of the media in Croatia devote the largest amount of space to reporting crimes and accidents. Furthermore, they offer cheap forms of entertainment, neglecting their responsibility to inform and shape public opinion. They publish unverified information, violate the right to privacy, presenting predominantly sensational reporting. They also forget the principle of “the presumption of innocence” but instead label suspects and proclaim their guilt.

The method of “publicizing of evil” is also evident when disclaimers are ignored. Dr. Tanjić then spoke about the alliance of politics and the media in the “media racket,” in which public officials enter into agreements with the media, according to which the media receive monetary compensation paid from taxpayers’ pockets in exchange for reporting on politicians’ work, thereby providing them with free promotional publicity. He cautioned that under such circumstances, reporting to the public no longer becomes the goal but a “collateral effect” of interaction among three powers: capital, media and politics, leading to the demise of “public opinion.” In the statement, as pointed out by Dr. Tanjić, there is also reference to the “censorship of the good,” i.e. denying the public’s right to information about that which is good or marginalizing it, all subject to the logic of money and profits. Moreover, the media are contributing not only to the impoverishment and decline of the standard Croatian language but also to its vulgarization. Due to all the aforementioned, said Dr. Tanjić, at the end of the statement there is reference to the need for a suitable legal framework and greater emphasis upon “publicizing the good.”

In the continuation of the press conference, Bishop Košić pointed out that this statement is being issued at a time of economic and financial crisis, which has demonstrated the unsustainable nature of the existing market model in which profit is the exclusive consideration. The media must recognize their role. First priority should not be afforded to earnings but instead to the values that people have built up for many long years. The bishop announced two meetings that will deal with questions regarding the economic and social but also the moral crises, as well as their spiritual dimensions. This month, Croatian Caritas is organizing a symposium devoted this topic, while the Center for the Promotion of the Social Doctrine of the Church is organizing an international symposium of social ethicists and economists from April 12 to 16.

Bishop Košić mentioned that at the meeting there was also discussion about Croatian-Slovenian relations, which have become heated. He cited the excellent relationship between the Slovenian Conference of Bishops and the Croatian Conference of Bishops, as witnessed by their joint statement on cemetery rights, a topic that has again become current in recent days. He emphasized that it is necessary for the existing dispute to be resolved in the spirit of good neighborly relations and that this is only possible in compliance with international law, upon which the entire European Union and European associations are founded.

Dr. Neven Šimac also spoke at the press conference about the strained political relations between Croatia and Slovenia due to the border dispute, pointing out that the relations between the two states had been pleasant and idyllic for the past fourteen centuries. Therefore, the Commission expressed concern not only due to the mutual alienation of the two nations arising to this dispute but also due to concern about the possibility that intolerance could grow into hatred, emphasizing that Slovenian politics have become a hostage to egotistical nationalism. For the resolution of this dispute, according to Dr. Šimac, there are two paths: resolution according to justice and law or injustice, emphasizing that injustice will satisfy no one. He said that the Commission is considering initiatives toward Slovenia and the European Union.