Vujinović: It is difficult to find a more stressful and less paid profession than journalism

11.09.2023. 14:03

politicki.ba

Journalism cannot be done seriously without engaging in conflict.

Vujinović: It is difficult to find a more stressful and less paid profession than journalism - slika 1

Mladen Vujinović has been in journalism for 10 years. His first experience began as a volunteer, and then as a journalist, reporter and presenter at the Public Service of Republika Srpska. For the last two years, he has been employed as a reporter at TV N1. Vujinović reports on current, everyday stories from the Banja Luka region and its surroundings in a particularly responsible and creative way, which makes him recognizable and authentic. He is frequently the subject of attacks, labeling and name-calling by politicians, most often the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik. For Politicki.ba, he talks about freedom in journalism, pressures and other topics.

Politicki.ba: What is it like to be a freelance journalist in Republika Srpska, and what problems do freelance journalists face?

- Thank you for this "free journalist" and for having this perception of me. I can truly say for myself that I am free, but I would not dare to say that I am rare or exceptional because of it. First and foremost, that is because everyone's perception of freedom is different. Thus, we will often meet colleagues who work in media, for whom it is widely believed that they are not free, but nevertheless that colleague will try to convince us of their freedom. And I respect that - just as I respect the choice of how my colleagues each approach and do their work, as long as that work is not to the detriment of the public and as long as that work does not constitute deception. But, to return to the question - the more mature I am, the more inclined I am to the opinion that the perception of freedom is directly proportional to the level of one’s income, and this logic of mine leads to the conclusion that there are few free journalists in our society, for the simple reason that journalists are not adequately paid for their work. I would like to use the opportunity to recall the information from 2020, which reads: "The average journalist's salary in Bosnia and Herzegovina is below the average salary in the country". And that is devastating and it is the reason for the low perception of freedom. Many preconditions are necessary for freedom in this society, and a stable and sufficiently high income that is used to meet personal needs is certainly one of the preconditions. Of course, this does not mean that we would then have ideal media if all of my colleagues had high salaries, but competition would increase with that, and I think that the quality of content would also increase, simply because the range of possibilities would be greater. And I can say this from my own experience, without stable working conditions I would hardly be able to consider myself free, and I am not sure that my employer would be able to deal with the different types of pressures, which of course I know nothing about, but I am convinced are happening "behind the curtain". I believe that they do happen, from the experience I have, which comes from working for another employer.

(Check his video statement HERE)

Politicki.ba: What kind of pressures are we talking about?

- These pressures are mostly political, yes, but they go hand in hand with economic ones, because it is clear that domestic economic processes are governed by politics and it is a vicious circle from which media with weak means of financing can hardly get out. Maybe what I'm about to say won't be a popular opinion, but I think the reason for that is the increasing competition on the media market. The media space has been oversaturated for a long time and the regional saying "A small pond full of crocodiles" really applies to it. The only problem is that the pond has dried up, and the crocodiles have become stunted and are no longer that dangerous, so they are easy to manage. In return, the public did not gain anything from this oversaturated media market. If we look at things as a whole, of course, we cannot say that we have free media, quality media content and a well-informed public. We can only say we have too many small media which are dependent on mostly political factors, who completely openly expect absolute servitude. And then we come to the key question, who are the media that offer freedom to their journalists and objective, verified and comprehensive information to the public? The answer is those who have stable sources of funding. Apart from them, we also have those small-but-big heroes who create miracles with their personal enthusiasm, and as a rule, with a small number of employees. It is clear that I put them aside and now, while answering the question, spoke about the mainstream media. And I think that this is actually where the answer to the question of what it is like to be a free journalist and what difficulties freelance journalists face lies. It is about existence. You cannot expect pertinacity, awareness of the importance of being able to report freely, and constant encounters with danger, from journalists who work for average or minimum wage. That's just not fair.

Politicki.ba: Do you feel like a target or someone who has been labeled, since you are often the target of government attacks and is the opposition prone to the same narratives?

- I have different experiences both with the government and with the opposition. I have been working in this profession for almost ten years; I have worked for media that have created a perception of themselves as "regime" media, but also for media that are considered "free". And when it comes to labeling, there is no difference. Politicians label you if you are not to their liking and that's just the way it is. It doesn't frustrate me, really. I consider it something that simply comes with this job. Journalism cannot be done seriously without engaging in conflict. No one will like my report tonight, no matter how seriously it is done and no matter how important the topic is. That's a fact. Should I allow myself the luxury of being guided by someone else's perception of my report? Of course not. The key thing for me is the perception of the public who will consume the content I create. As long as the public perceives that my report is comprehensive, complete and of high quality, I am satisfied. The politician’s perception really does not affect me. It will sound like generalization when I say that the government and the opposition are the same. They are, if we talk in general about the fact that both are prone to labeling. But one should be honest and say that in both groups we have individuals who deal well with questions that, from their own perspective, are not easy to answer. Nevertheless, these honest individuals answered each of those questions without a single ugly word addressed to the journalists.

Politicki.ba: Does it ever get to be too much, and how do all these attacks affect your family?

- When it's too much for me, I'll probably change something - either the environment or the job. Today, the world is truly generous, and the possibilities are numerous. There are so many jobs and every day new vocations and new occupations arise. I would never want to be bitter about a choice that I made and just come to terms with it. Therefore, the first moment I feel that this is not it anymore, I will change something. Until then, I'm set. When it comes to my family, I don't tell my parents about those petty squabbles with politicians. For the simple reason that I think it would be difficult for me to convince them that they have nothing to worry about.

Politicki.ba: Can you figure out the motives behind the attacks and making the work of journalists more difficult? Is it to intimidate you, make you give up your job…?

- First of all, I think the motive is to bring me under control. Whether it is the government or the opposition, politicians like to have journalists and the media on their side. Of course they are angry at those who refuse to take sides. Of course they would shut them down. Often, the motive of the attack can also be attention-grabbing. In the absence of a topic to mask a problem or a crisis, politicians often resort to verbal attacks on journalists. Also, an attack is often the best defense - this also applies in cases where politicians try to "defend" themselves from questions. For this reason, for example, I am not inclined to speak publicly about the verbal conflicts that politicians have or try to have with me. There were already and are becoming even more frequent. However, I still think that it does not endanger me; I am doing the same as I have been doing and I do not want to give them the luxury that, even to a minimal extent, their attempt to clash will lead things in the direction they wanted. As long as their attempt does not endanger me, I do not want to find myself on the news. The news should be their answer or that they avoided the answer. My sacrifice is implied, insignificant and certainly minimal.

Politicki.ba: How would you generally assess the state of media freedom and the atmosphere in which journalists work in Republika Srpska?

- In short, bad with a tendency to worsen, and that is not characteristic only of the Republika Srpska. It is the same in the other entity. We are expecting the start of the application of the amended Criminal Code, which criminalizes defamation. It is unfortunate that the government did not see in the complaints of the media community a desire to save the already fragile media freedoms. I agree with the intention to regulate the media space, but the criminalization of defamation is by no means the path that leads to that goal. Not to mention that the government will never provide an organized media space by itself. After all, the concept of an organized media space that media workers and the government have is completely different. The motives are completely different. Media workers want financial stability and absolute freedom. Which government is ready to provide absolute freedom to media workers? This is why the explanation about the regulated media space, which should result from the criminalization of defamation, is really ridiculous, disgusting even. We will, in fact, get the opposite.

Politicki.ba: Will the law lead to less defamation in the public space?

- Those media that have slandered already will continue to slander. It is clear that the majority of these are media that are under the control of the government. The others who will not agree to being controlled could face lawsuits. And here we come to the key point - the process will last a year, two, maybe five. During this process, the media and media workers will be faced with various blockades, searches, confiscation of work equipment, blocking of accounts. In the end, when there is an acquittal, will it matter to anyone after such a painstaking process, which is mainly based on political anger? So, the state of media freedom is not good, the atmosphere is bad. And it is not only because of the criminalization of defamation. I see the absence of any consensus among media workers as a bigger problem. It is difficult to find a more stressful and less paid profession, with as many divisions. They divide us on all accounts. In relation to the media we work for, the way the media are financed, the topics we cover, nationality, the script we use, the city we come from, the association we belong to or don't want to belong to... There are an incredible number of ways to divide us which, and that is the saddest part, comes from the media workers themselves. This saddens me, regardless of the fact that I am completely satisfied with every segment of my professional life. This amount of division is deplorable; it does not contribute to anything except the further decline of the profession and the scope of media rights. It is unfortunate that media workers have given everyone the right to represent them and speak on their behalf. What is even more unfortunate than that is that they do not see a problem in this, nor do they want to find the will to solve that problem, or even the need to ask these self-proclaimed representatives of the media community, when it is time to talk and act on the real existential issues of media workers.

The article was realized as part of the Transition program of the Government of the Czech Republic and with the financial assistance of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina @CzechiainBiH. The content reflects the views of the interlocutors who are the choice of the editorial staff of Politicki.ba and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Czech government.

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