Activity Details (ID# 15439)

Activity Synopsis

The aim of the meeting was to discuss transparency, scope of improper media concentration and ownership limits with Ms Sandra Basic, Council of Europe expert.. Of significant importance for members of working group was to learn more about Slovenian experience, laws on media concentration, their practice in this field and possible solutions for regulation of concrete problems regarding the media concentration.
 

Meeting was very successful with concrete outcomes.
Below please find some of the most important remarks and outcomes:

Transparency
 Ministry of Culture should administer media registry. In Slovenian Ministry there are two employees in charged for it;
 In Slovenia, each change in ownership structure of media, which changes more than 1%, has to be indicated to the Ministry and published in Official bulletin;
 Ministry of Culture and Republican Broadcasting Agency should collaborate regarding the work of the Registry;
 Content of the Registry is defined by the law in Slovenia. The Registry is a public document and it is published on the Internet (web page of Ministry);
 Record on ownership structure should be in Official bulletins published in Republic and in all foreign newspapers which are assigned for Serbian market;
 Legal entities: need to use definition of committed persons in Law on Banks;
 To contact Commission for protection of competition and Commission for securities.

Scope of improper media concentration
- Participation of each particular media in total profit from advertising should be limited up to 40% (on basis of data monthly submitted to Republican Broadcasting Agency, and that should be basis for calculation of total profit from advertising); for printed media - limit is made in relation with circulation;

National level:
- One owner can own one TV and one radio station with national broadcasting licence;

Regional level:
- In one region, one owner can own only TV and one radio station but he/she can also own one more TV / radio station in other region (which is not neighbouring region of the first one)

Local level:
- One owner can have one TV and two radio stations with local broadcasting licence (at one municipality), and can own unlimited number of TV and radio station in municipalities which are not located one near by other.
- Telecommunication companies can not be owners of radio or TV station.
- Cable network providers can not be owners of radio or TV station.
- Advertising agencies can not be owners of radio or TV station.
- News agencies can not be owners of radio or TV station.

Printed media:
- Owner of one TV or radio station with national broadcasting licence can have up to 5% of shares of newspaper printed in circulation of 30 000 copies.

Ownership (how many daily newspapers can be owned by one owner?)
 One owner can own more than one daily newspaper, with a limit that number of sold copies is not higher then 40 % of complete circulation.
 Newspapers should publish information about number of sold copies for previous day. Daily average of sold copies should be also published because that information is relevant for determination of improper media concentration
 Owner of printed media can be shareholder in TV or radio station with national, regional or local broadcasting licence, up to 5%.

 

A follow-up meeting will be organised in March 2008. 

Members of Working group 

Ms Sandra Basic 

Mr Vladan Joksimovic