Big and swift changes coming to Croatian public broadcaster?
One day after the Parliamentary Media Committee nominated him for the position of acting director of Croatian Radio Television (HRT), Siniša Kovačić was appointed by a majority decision of the whole Parliament on March 4, 2016. It is expected that he will assume his new duty on Monday. “My goal is that HRT should be exactly what its name suggests – Croatian Radio Television. In the past that was often not the case and many of our viewers have not been pleased with what they were seeing. I will do my best to change that”, said Kovačić, reports Jutarnji List.
Some close colleagues of the new director have disclosed some of his views and plans. His main task will certainly be to solve the problem of accounting deficiencies in the HRT’s books, which was the issue which, at least officially, initiated the dismissal of former director Goran Radman. It is also expected that Kovačić will conduct a review of all business contracts concluded over the last few months – especially since the new government took power. “If the media reports are true, that various annexes to business contracts have been signed in the period when it was already clear that the old management no longer enjoyed the confidence of the new parliamentary majority, that would be absolutely unacceptable. The same applies to all other business contracts”, says one well-informed source.
Kovačić’s colleagues did not want to comment on his appointment. They believe that the direction of HRT in the future will be clearer after he appoints his closest associates – directors of production, program, operations and technology. “You have to be a little bit patient. Besides, who says that everything will change? Why would, for example, director of technology have to be dismissed if he has a good track record? The new director will certainly not implement a purge like SDP did when they came to power”, says one source.
Those who know Kovačić claim that in the past he was critical of Radman’s decision to choose program editors without taking into account the opinion of employees. Also, they argue that he will try to strengthen production within the company. “HRT has turned into a buyer of shows produced by other companies. We should end that and turn towards in-house production”, says the source who claims that the bureau network will also undergo major changes.
“It should be strengthened, because during Radman’s term the bureau network completely collapsed. It is a shame that today we practically have no permanent bureaus in Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of the first moves of the new leadership should be the establishment of an HRT bureau in Mostar, with a presence in Sarajevo as well. Diaspora must be better represented on HRT”, concludes the well-informed source.
