In Slovenia, it will now be more difficult for politicians to influence the editorial line of public media. The Slovenians validated Sunday by referendum a law aiming to prevent political appointments within public television, after a deterioration of the media climate under the previous Prime Minister Janez Jansa.
More than 62% of voters gave their approval, according to the results published in the evening by the Electoral Commission, paving the way for its entry into force in the Alpine country of two million inhabitants, probably at the beginning of 2023. Several defense associations media organizations, such as the South East European Media Organization (SEEMO), welcomed an amendment intended to “protect the editorial independence” of the RTV Slovenija channel from “political abuse and certain destruction “.
The country’s fall in the RSF ranking
Conservative leader Janez Jansa, in power from 2020 to 2022, had stepped up attacks on the media, accusing them of bias, and replaced most RTV officials to appoint relatives. The channel has since been rocked by a series of strikes and protests against program redirection and pressure on journalists, while Slovenia has fallen from 36th to 54th place in the latest ranking by the NGO Reporters Without Borders ( RSF).
It was the party of the former Prime Minister who had asked for a referendum in the hope of burying this new law, adopted shortly after the arrival in April of a center-left coalition. Janez Jansa undergoes a new snub there. According to the text, the government and Parliament will no longer have the right to make appointments, and the channel will be placed under the supervision of civil society groups (employees, defender of rights, Academy of Sciences, etc.).
“There is irreversible damage but editorial autonomy will be preserved” by this amendment, commented Helena Milinkovic, spokesperson for the main television union. More than 40 employees have left the editorial staff, which brings together some 2,100 members in total, she said. A dozen journalists, who previously worked for pro-Jansa media, have arrived in the meantime. “The new system of governance will significantly limit the ability of any government (…) to interfere in the work of the public media”, added RSF and other signatories in a press release, judging the current legislative framework “outdated”.