ZAGREB, April 23, 2020) – Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Thursday met with Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) president Hrvoje Zovko and the leader of the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists, Maja Sever, who informed him of their proposals for helping media outlets affected by the coronavirus crisis.
“President Milanovic supported the efforts of the HND and the SNH to help journalists and the media. He believes that it is important to protect and promote the autonomy of the media, especially in crisis situations,” the Office of the President emphasised.
The HND and the SNH propose that the government adopt special measures for journalists and the media as they have not been covered by existing measures.
As key measures, they point to the establishment of an emergency fund to help journalists from non-profit and local media outlets, as well as freelance journalists, photo journalists, cameramen and other media workers. The fund would be managed by the Agency for Electronic Media.
They propose that media employees be protected by making state aid to publishers conditional on their not laying off employees or cutting their wages.
They also propose that the state give financial help to freelancers and that local media outlets too be eligible for government benefits.
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