STA, 7 April 2020 - Demand for content on Slovenian digital platforms surged to record values in the second half of March as Slovenia switched to a coronavirus lockdown mode, an analysis carried out by advertising agency Iprom shows.

The number of users of online platforms increased by 52% over February and they consumed an average of 75% more content daily.

Content for children and youth posted the biggest rises: its average daily reach was up 166% and daily visits by 213%.

Health was the second faster growing category in terms of daily reach, posting a 92% rise, followed by food (+68%) and business (+66%).

The steepest drop, although of just 16%, was recorded for tourism content.

"Interest in digital platforms rose over the past two weeks by almost as much as in the entire last decade," Iprom said in a release.

It said that an average annual rise in the past used to range between 5% and 15%.

"What we are witnessing these days is a phenomenon. I have never seen such growth in my career," said Iprom Labs boss Tomaž Tomšič.

He believes such a massive rise in interest in online content is a major challenge for all those who run and maintain digital platforms.

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 3 April 2020. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Govt using coronavirus to push its own agenda

STA, 3 April 2020 - Commenting on the government's actions in the light of the coronavirus epidemic, the left-wing weekly Mladina argues that Prime Minister Janez Janša is capitalising on the coronavirus crisis and driving his own political agenda by proposing extreme measures that use people's fears to appear warranted.

One would hope that Janša has learned his lesson after three "thunderous falls from power", that he "finally knows he must respect democracy, the existence of different opinions, that experts' opinions are professional even if people have different political beliefs, and most notably, that in this country one cannot rule this way".

When he started showing first signs of doing just that, driving disproportionate measures to bend Slovenia's society to his will, it was first thought that the extreme times called for a bit tougher ruling methods to ensure that citizens internalise Covid-19 containment measures or it was said that the government was still finding its feet during difficult circumstances.

However, the situation has escalated quickly, says the commentary headlined Propaganda War, adding that Janša's party, the Democrats' (SDS), is truly admiring the developments in Hungary.

History teaches us that there is plenty of people who "want to have absolute power and who actually see democracy as something which limits them. And that such people are currently leading quite a few countries".

"Everything that seems like a bad version of a grotesque is true," says Mladina, listing a few examples when Janša pushed his own agenda of "transforming this nation into one great SDS party", such as convincing people that some citizens were actually flocking to tourist spots over last weekend.

Some media found families and individuals at the seaside and lakeside resorts, but they talked about "an invasion". The government knew this did not actually happen - "the police issued only some 90 warnings across Slovenia, and only a few in the Gorenjska and Primorska regions" which are deemed the most popular for weekend trips, but the situation nevertheless paved the way for a ban on movement outside municipal units.

On top of that, the government's coronavirus crisis spokesperson Jelko Kacin scolded couples and families for sitting closely to each other on benches in parks as if they were children.

The weekly wonders why such conduct is tolerated if families are after all allowed to stay together during the crisis. Moreover, it also points out that the government has made a clear distinction between couples and "couples" by laying down that only those living in shared households are allowed to be with each other during the lockdown.

After the introduction of the municipal ban, children of divorced parents are not even allowed to see the other parent if they live in another municipality.

Mladina hence argues that the government is "abusing the epidemic of a dangerous virus for its own political purposes", capitalising on our fears and distress.

Such actions should not be tolerated, particularly in such circumstances, says editor-in-chief Grega Repovž, adding that relevant data show citizens are actually respecting the restrictions and should deserve praise for that.

Demokracija: Condemns media critical of govt

STA, 2 April 2020 - The right-wing weekly Demokracija is critical in its commentary on Thursday of "leftist mainstream media attacking the centre-right government willy-nilly with heavy artillery". It says this reaction is understandable because anti-coronavirus measures have not only been well-received by the people, but also undermine the leftists' agenda.

This agenda is known as cultural Marxism and is based on the undermining of traditional values. These ideas have long been spread by a variety of NGOS, mostly founded and funded by George Soros, the weekly's editor-in-chief Jože Biščak says under the headline Resurrection.

"Now this delusional dream of Slovenia again becoming a swampy socialist community, are bursting... The hardest blow being that LGBT activists and retarded social scientists can no longer brainwash students."

Now, for at least a few months, upbringing in back in "the right hands - the hands of parents". Parents must build a mental wall in the heads of their offspring so that "no degenerate leftist idea will ever again come near the brains of our descendants".

Children must come to understand that there are only two sexes and that each has its own historical burden in preserving a nation. They must understand that "hordes of foreigners from Africa and the Mohammedan world cannot replace noble Slovenian women and courageous Slovenian men".

"These days, luckily, we are witnessing a slight turning in Slovenia back to the family, religion, patriotism, the almost forgotten principles, above all there can again be seen a return to values that allowed the Slovenian nation to survive."

Demokracija says leftist media fear that Slovenia would wake up a different nation after the coronavirus epidemic. "Not a dictatorship, a threat they have been using to scare the people, but a country of free people, who showed in isolation their true solidarity and brought back humble pray to God."

"This will be a renewed resurrection, in which progressive 'rebellion' will disappear and Slovenia will be on its way to a new future, where nothing will be out of reach of hard-working hands."

All our posts in this series are here

STA, 1 April 2020 - Three teams of journalists of the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija have been assaulted in recent days; in two cases they were harassed verbally, and in another the company's vehicle was damaged. The incidents have drawn condemnation by Slovenia's top officials and Journalists' Association (DNS).

RTV Slovenija reported of a verbal assault and damage to the company vehicle in the Odmevi late night show on Tuesday evening, noting the attack had been reported to police.

According to the broadcaster, police unofficially stated that an increase in violence in society had been detected in these challenging times. The broadcaster stressed that any form of violence was unacceptable and called for tolerance.

The same call was made in the Odmevi show by Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina.

The DNS said today that in the first case journalists had been verbally assaulted by the head of the Velenje municipal administration, Iztok Mori, a few days ago, in the second incident that happened on Tuesday, an unknown perpetrator in Ljubljana first threatened a team of journalists and then cut the tyres on the vehicle of the camera crew, while the third assault happened this morning.

In the incident, a team of journalists from the Dobro jutro (Good morning) show from the Maribor regional centre was harassed while making an interview in a street in Maribor.

RTV Slovenija reported the two most recent cases to police, the DNS noted, condemning both assaults.

Any assault on journalists, who are conducting their work in line with professional and ethical standards, is completely unacceptable, especially in times of crisis, when reporting is crucial to keep the public informed, the association said.

"As a society we may not accept a situation in which verbal and also physical assaults become occupational risk that journalists are exposed to while on the job."

The association has prepared a set of instructions for journalists who are targets of threats or attacks or on-line harassment. It has also called on all journalists to report all threats to police and urged their employers to provide journalists with the necessary support.

The attacks were condemned by senior officials and parties, including Prime Minister Janez Janša, who tweeted: "We condemn any form of street violence targeting journalists or anyone else, as well as any instigating of such acts".

The assaults were also denounced by the opposition Social Democrats (SD) and the junior coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC).

On his Twitter profile, Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik, an SMC member, described intimidation of journalists and their work as an unacceptable and abject act. "During the Covid-19 epidemic journalists are risking their own health to keep the public accurately informed about the developments, for which I'm truly grateful to them."

The SMC added that at this time in particular the need was for powerful, loud and autonomous media that make sure that the public is informed on the developments.

The SD condemned violence by anyone against anyone in the strongest term on its Twitter account, adding that there was no democracy without free and independent media, and urging the government to establish conditions immediately allowing journalists free and safe work.

"I condemn the intimidation that journalists are subject to in the strongest terms! At a time when those in power want to curb democratic standards in the country through various legal acts, media independence and confidence are the more important," SD leader Dejan Židan tweeted, adding that the party would do everything to protect democracy.

STA, 26 February 2020 - Three local communities in the north-eastern region of Prekmurje are upset after a cable operator announced it was expanding its TV package in the area with programmes catering for the Hungarian minority, which does not in fact live in the three municipalities. The development comes amid concerns about Hungary's expanding influence in the region.

Telemach said it would include five Hungarian programmes in its package in Lendava, Odranci, Velika Polana and Črenšovci, in response to the wishes of the Hungarian community in the area. The latter three communities are not bothered by the new programmes, but rather by the reason given for the move.

Jožef Horvat, the head of the parliamentary faction of the conservative party New Slovenia (NSi), has alerted the government in a letter that Hungary's influence in the municipalities with exclusively Slovenian population is expanding through the programmes.

"We are not bothered by the programme scheme and business decisions of a private subject even when it comes to bilingual programmes, but it does bother us that in its official release the company stated that this was in accordance with the wishes of our municipalities' residents and labelled them as bilingual, which they aren't," Velika Polana Mayor Damijan Jaklin said.

In his letter, MP Horvat said that it was commendable that the Pomurje Hungarian community was aspiring for Hungarian programmes, but that it was unacceptable that in public explanations Črenšovci, Velika Polana and Odranci were listed as mixed ethnicity areas populated by a sizeable Hungarian minority. "This is simply not true and it is common deceit."

Horvat, whose party has just agreed to be part of a new government formed by Janez Janša, the leader of the Democrats (SDS), accused the outgoing government of silently watching developments in Prekmurje, asking what it was planning to do to protect the majority nation and language in the region.

Črenšovci Mayor Vera Markoja says that Telemach has apologised to the community for declaring it is home to a Hungarian minority. The company told the STA its purpose was not to cause discord or "declare ethnically mixed areas", but rather to offer a choice of quality content to all viewers across the country.

Telemach said that as part of its switch to the digital programme scheme new Hungarian programmes would be available throughout the country. The company has one TV signal for Lendava, Odranci, Velika Polana and Črenšovci, which means separating the programme scheme by municipalities impossible.

Prekmurje has in recent time seen extensive Hungarian state and private investment, which has sparked considerable attention. While some see the investment as welcome aid benefiting the entire population of the underdeveloped region, others see it as Hungary expanding its influence in a region what used to be part of the Hungarian empire.

Hungarian investments in the region include the acquisition of the spa Terme Lendava, unofficially at the cost of EUR 9 million, EUR 6 million investment in the Lendava football academy as well grants distributed to individuals and entrepreneurs commanding Hungarian language.

Opinions on the Hungarian aid are also divided within the Hungarian ethnic community in the region with some arguing that the investments do not generate economic effects and questioning the motives behind them, suggesting that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was trying to assert his ways also in Slovenia.

Hungarian MP Ferenc Horvath believes that the aid is welcome. "Slovenia too should give as much here. Aid is welcome in the region. These are public funds, we know where they are destined, and they are also a contribution to Slovenia because money is spent here and taxes are paid here as well."

A similar view was taken by the SDS, which is facing allegations that media with ties to the party have received funds from Hungary.

The SDS believes that the Slovenian government is neglecting Prekmurje as well as the Slovenian minority in Hungary, "which is why the Hungarians help both". "If our investment was sufficient, the Hungarians would have nowhere to invest".

All our stories on Hungary are here

STA, 18 February 2020 - The Trade Union of Journalists and the Journalists' Association (DNS) issued a protest on Tuesday against the ongoing layoffs at Delo, the largest newspaper publisher in the country. The two organisations say the management is abusing social dialogue and demolishing the newspaper and Slovenian journalism.

The first pink slips were issued at Delo on Tuesday as part of a programme that last envisaged 11 layoffs along with 94 contract terminations tied to a new contract offer, the press release says.

The trade union and DNS claim the management is laying people off in a way that is at odds with the law and social dialogue requirements.

They said that 16 workers had already left by mutual agreement in fear of layoffs before 15 January, meaning that not 11 but 27 workers will end up leaving.

Thus, the leading media company in the country in the field of printed media will have shed a quarter of its workforce within three years, the two organisations said, noting that Delo has practically given up on its entire network of correspondents.

Delo, which first announced the latest layoffs last October when it highlighted a drop in sales of newspapers and magazines, and advertising revenue, confirmed it had laid off seven journalists and photographers today.

It however rejected the accusations, saying the Trade Union of Journalists as well as the Pergam trade union confederation had been included in the talks.

The management tried to consider social criteria to the greatest extent possible and adopted a number of measures to mitigate the consequences of the layoffs, Delo said, while arguing reorganisation was inevitable.

As for the reproach that the paper and access to quality information were being undermined, Delo said its workforce was still larger than envisaged by international standards and that concerns that content would suffer were unjustified.

Securing a sustainable business model in the changing situation in the media market, especially for printed media, requires adjustments and this must not be seen as something that undercuts the social role media play in democracy.

Delo already said in October that new media technologies and reading habits, which changed drastically in the last decade, affect media operations. It adding that printed media sales were dropping globally, while people's readiness to pay for on-line media contents remained low.

At the time, Delo employed 322 people, of whom 150 were journalists.

The circulation of papers issued by Delo - its namesake broadsheet, weeklies Nedelo and Nedeljske Novice, tabloid Slovenske Novice, and magazines Ona+ and Suzy - dropped by almost 2,000 a paper on average in 2018.

The most popular is Slovenske Novice, which was issued in 48,516 copies a day on average in 2018, which compares to 53,404 in 2017.

The circulation of the broadsheet Delo dropped from 27,116 to 25,512 in 2018, Delo's audited business report suggested.

The publisher Delo recorded EUR 34.9 million in net sales revenue in 2018, a 5% drop from 2017. Net profit shrunk by 46% to EUR 598,000. Operating profit stood at EUR 857,700, which is 30% less than the year before.

STA, 18 February 2020 - The Culture Ministry joined on Tuesday the condemnation of different forms of attacks on journalists reporting about alleged funding from circles around Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of media with ties to the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS).

Echoing last week's reaction by the Journalists' Association (DNS), the ministry wrote that the recent outburst of public stigmatisation and even street assaults on journalists is a worrying indication that pressure is escalating.

Undermining the independence of media and attacks on journalists present a serious challenge for democracy, as nobody can perform their work at the highest possible level if they are not safe.

"Violence, harassment and bullying targeting journalists and often also their families does not only cause fear among them but also mistrust and uncertainty in society at large," the ministry wrote, noting undermined freedom of speech leads to poorly informed voters.

It pointed out that reports on the safety of journalists have been included by the European Commission in the regular monitoring of the state of the rule of law in member states, with rising pressure on journalists also appearing in countries with long democratic traditions.

Verbal attacks and bullying, especially when coming from public figures, are often only one step away from physical forms of violence, the ministry said, pointing to reports of international organisations about this becoming a trend in many countries especially before elections.

The ministry said it would continue to push for comprehensive efforts to secure a safe environment for journalists, including with the currently shelved new media bill that entails greater autonomy and social security for journalist and greater transparency of the operations and financing of media outlets.

All our stories on Hungary and the media are here

STA, 13 February 2020 - The Democrats (SDS) have accused the Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) of leaking classified information to journalists about Hungarian financing of media outlets with close ties to the party, accusations that the LMŠ denies.

The head of the SDS deputy group, Danijel Krivec, yesterday sent a letter to Jani Möderndorfer, the chair of a parliamentary inquiry into the financing of political parties, implying that the vice chair of the inquiry and LMŠ MP Aljaž Kovačič, and another LMŠ member, were looking at documents on money transfers from private Hungarian companies in the safe room of the National Assembly on 31 January and 3 February.

Related: NBI Examines Hungarian Funding of SDS-Friendly Media

The documents in question had been obtained during the parliamentary inquiry and were labelled as classified.

Later that week, media reported of the allegedly controversial financing of the SDS from Hungary, publishing data on transactions, which Krivec thinks "could not have been obtained legally", as NKBM rejected media requests for an insight into the transactions.

Krivec therefore proposes that the chair of the parliamentary inquiry into alleged money laundering at NKBM, Jani Möderndorfer of the Modern Centre Party (SMC) reports Kovačič and other unknown perpetrators to police.

Krivec also proposed to parliamentary Speaker Dejan Židan that the issue be discussed by deputy group leaders.

The LMŠ rejects the accusations, saying that its MP and vice chair of the inquiry, Kovačič, has the right and duty to go through the documents that are relevant for the inquiry.

"After all it is his task and duty as member of the inquiry to get acquainted with the content before it is put up for debate or a vote," said LMŠ deputy group head Brane Golubović.

He added that Kovačič and his college had acted in line with the rules, recording the date and the documents they had inspected. Meanwhile, Möderndorfer labelled the demand inappropriate and a pressure on the parliamentary commission.

Kovačič rejected the allegations that he had leaked the confidential information to the press, while SDS head Janez Janša said that only two people had looked into the data on transactions of private companies and that they were both from the ranks of the LMŠ.

Kovačič, on the other hand, said that he and his colleague had definitely not been the only ones looking into the documents. "I'm probably one of the few people who always sign their names when they look into documents. If I wanted to play James Bond I probably would not have been doing that."

Web portal Necenzurirano.si reported of transactions of funds originating from Hungary from accounts in the UK and Hungary to Slovenia on Monday. It said EUR 4 million had been wired, of which EUR 1.5 million landed on the bank accounts of two media companies that are behind the TV channel and web site of Nova24TV, both of which are co-owned by senior SDS officials.

The remaining EUR 2.5 million was reportedly wired to North Macedonia to finance the purchases of media companies with ties to the biggest opposition party, the centre-right VMRO-DPMNE.

The National Bureau of Investigation has confirmed it is investigating the funding of some media outlets close to the SDS.

The SDS has denied the accusations on several occasions, and has even threatened the outgoing PM, Marjan Šarec, with a lawsuit over the statements he made on public TV regarding the financing of the SDS from Hungary.

Möderndorfer confirmed for the STA on Wednesday that he had received the letter from the SDS, which he labelled "highly unusual". "I admit I am surprised this came from someone who has no access to the documents of the parliamentary commission and is neither its member nor substitute member," he said.

All our stories about Hungary and Slovenia are here

STA, 11 February 2020 - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI, Nacionalnega preiskovalnega urada – NPU, “Slovenia’s FBI”)) is investigating the funding of some media outlets close to the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), public broadcaster TV Slovenia reported. The police refuse to comment.

The media are suspected of having received funding from Hungarian business people with close ties to Fidesz, the party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, TV Slovenija said.

The news comes after web portal necenzurirano.si reported on Monday that EUR 4 million were transferred since August 2018 from accounts in the UK and Hungary to accounts in Slovenia.

EUR 1.5 million allegedly ended up on the accounts of media companies NovaTV24.si and Nova Hiša, the broadcaster of the TV programme and publisher of Nova24TV.

Related: Hungary’s Influence in Prekmurje and Beyond

The rest allegedly went to North Macedonia for the purchase of media companies from the circle of Macedonia's biggest opposition party VMRO-DPMNE.

Necenzurirano.si also said that the funds were the key source of income for NovaTV24.si and Nova Hiša.

In 2018, total earnings of NovaTV24.si reached EUR 1.54 million, only EUR 300,000 more than the total sum of Hungarian funds since August 2018 until today. Whereas the earnings of Nova Hiša in 2018 reached EUR 324,000.

The portal said that the two media are close to the SDS, because several party members sit on the management board of NovaTV24.

Related: Parliamentary Committees Condemn Hungarian Interference in Slovenian Media

SDS leader Janez Jaša accused NBI head Darko Muženič in a tweet today that he had allowed millions to be laundered in NLB bank and was now investigating the media that reported about it.

The SDS has repeatedly rejected speculation about illegal funding for the party from abroad. What is more, the party has threatened to sue outgoing Prime Minister Marjan Šarec for saying that the SDS had received funds from Hungary.

A Czech oligarch set to become the biggest player on Slovenian TV screens is facing criticism in his home country. Czech as well as European journalists point out the  dangers associated with PPF’s political influence over the media in Central and Eastern Europe

The recently announced acquisition of CME by PPF (Reuters reporting here), owned by the richest Czech oligarch, has a rather significant impact for the Slovenian media market.

Provided that the EU as well as Romanian and Slovenian regulators approve the deal (Czech public TV broadcasting here), Slovenia’s PRO Plus, which belongs to Central European Media Enterprises (CME), is to become part of PPF Group in 2020. In other words both POP TV and Kanal A as well as Brio, Oto and Kino are part of a major shift in media ownership, a move which has already stirred controversy in the Czech Republic.

Although the owner of PPF Group, Petr Kellner, lives in the Czech Republic and has recently become active in promoting “conservative values” through establishing a conservative think-tank and expressing his concerns in the PPF annual report over the developments in the West and EU, particularly over the increasing “egalitarianism and relativizing of traditional values”, his PPF Group consists of numerous companies spread across the world (PPF itself is registered in the Netherlands).

While Kellner and PPF made Czech headlines in connection with the Panama Papers affair few years ago (Seznam news in Czech here), many of the PPF companies are also registered in Cyprus where they enjoy greater tax leniency and anonymity than in the Czech Republic. According to the PPF website the group’s greatest turnovers occur on the Russian, Chinese and southeastern markets in Asia, where PPF’s Home Credit International is active.

In fact, PPF prides itself in being the “first foreign entity to be licensed by the Chinese regulator to provide consumer finance services in China” (already since 2009 according to PPF’s official history, as stated here). In the meantime analysts at the Czech-based charity organization People in Need have reported that the Czech branch of Home Credit has been participating in the illegal extortion of property from its clients. (People in Need statement on Home Credit in Czech here).

It needs to be noted that Czech population is struggling with a soaring debt crisis which according to analysts has been sparked by the legislative measures resembling the debt legislation of Russia and China and falling short of the standards exercised across the EU (Observer published a report on Czech debt crisis here).

The Czech online outlet Sinopsis.cz, which focuses on China and is run by lecturers and researchers from the Institute of East Asian Studies at Charles University, regularly reports about Home Credit’s clients in China complaining of “usury practices” of “the Czech credit” as PPF is known in the People’s Republic of China (here).

In September and October much of Czech media reported on an announced controversial partnership between the Charles University and Home Credit under which Home Credit was to use the title of an “exclusive partner” of the oldest and most respected Czech university. Amid the public outcry, student petition and several faculties distancing themselves from such partnership (Charles University vice-chancellor Zima is since then facing calls to resign), Home Credit stepped away from the announced partnership (report in English available here).

Many Czech observers point out that PPF’s acquisition of CME is the group’s latest attempt to garnish their public image, but perhaps even more importantly a tool of asserting their political influence not only in the Czech Republic, but in the Central European region more effectively.

The Czech Syndicate of Journalists has called on PPF to guarantee independent journalism and democratic standards (the full statement in Czech is here) in a way reminiscent of demands Le Monde journalists addressed to another Czech oligarch, Daniel Křetínský (Kellner’s business partner and a partner of his daughter), who purchased a 50% stake in Le Monde’s parent company (Courriere International on Kretinsky and Le Monde  and Columbia Journalism Review here).

PPF’s Director of Communications Vladimír Mlynář refused to address the demands of the Czech Syndicate of Journalists when presented with the statement by the Czech public TV broadcaster. Moreover, Mlynář went as far as questioning the Syndicate’s legitimacy saying he does not know who they represent and quoted his journalist and dissident past to support his own one-sided judgment of the Syndicate and of the Czech TV reporter whom he accused of displaying emotions (debate on Czech TV available here).

Since then the Czech Denik N has reported on Josef Šlerka, chairman of the Czech Fund of Independent Journalism, whose participation in the TV debate was canceled shortly before the start of it, just as he was on the way to the studio. Czech TV responded by saying that this has been a regrettable mistake by an individual employee of the company (full report here).

Previously, the Fund had issued a statement warning against further deterioration of media independence in the Czech Republic, which the forthcoming acquisition will facilitate, and called on PPF to publicly declare that CME will not become an instrument of “PPF’s business, financial and political interests” in the Czech Republic as well as in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia (full statement here).

The Fund’s statement echoes the recent warnings issued by the European Federation of Journalists and Reporters without Borders about the state of journalistic independence and freedom in the Czech Republic (here and here). Once a highest-ranking post-communist country in World Press Freedom Index, the Czech Republic has been steadily sliding down the list (in 2019 sitting 40^th, a far cry from its top ten placement at the beginning of this decade).

Reporters without Borders cite the concentration of media ownership in the hands of few oligarchs and Czech PM’s political influence over the media, and police intimidation of journalists investigating the Czech PM (besides being Czech Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš is a tycoon in control of large business agro-chemical empire and the second largest media group Mafra).

Babiš’ media influence is rivaled only by that of the aforementioned Daniel Křetínský who owns Czech News Center, a large collection of dailies, magazines and lifestyle and sport outlets. Petr Kellner is now poised to join or even overshadow these two.

It will be rather remarkable to follow the respective regulators in the EU, Romania and Slovenia, whose turn it is now to assess the impact of the CME acquisition on their respective markets, and to see whether these have any legal means to address concerns voiced by the Czech and European community of independent journalists.

In what can be a glimpse at how PPF views opposition to its investments, PPF’s chief boss regarding the media, Mlynář has already downplayed the role of the Bulgarian regulator (which in the past prevented PPF from entering Bulgarian market) in the afore-mentioned debate on the Czech public TV.

Mlynář called the Bulgarian regulator’s then decision-making process “below standard”, without giving any further evidence to support this, perhaps trying to capitalize on the stereotypes associated with the post-Communist and Balkan authorities. Needless to say, his statements make the future of media freedom in the Czech Republic look ever more questionable, and may have the same implications for Slovenia.

Regular readers of TSN will probably know we run a weekly dual text, in English and Slovene, to encourage you to read more of the language. This text comes from Časoris, a Slovenian news website for children. Since the website won an award last week, as detailed below, we thought it’d be a good time to share more about the project, and so sent some questions to one of the people behind it, Sonja Merljak Zdovc, and she was kind enough to reply.

Source and subject, Sonja Merljak Zdovc

How did you come to start Časoris?

It was created in April of 2015 – in the aftermath of January’s terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris. At the time, many parents were wondering how to explain what happened to their children. An article about how a French newspaper for children did just that landed in my Facebook feed, and it reminded me that we have no such medium for children and their parents in Slovenia. That’s how it occurred to me that I could create it.

I strongly believe that children can and want to understand the news if it is put in context for them, and presented in kid-friendly language. With Časoris I am trying to help them to understand the news, to think critically about what they’re reading, and to apply their knowledge to the real world.

More personally, I love being a journalist. I believe this is the most beautiful profession in the world. At the time when I became one, we would say that we became journalists because we wanted to bring peace to the world. Just like the women in Miss World!.

However, in the last decade journalism became a failing profession. And the media, so crucial to democracy, began to lose readers, listeners, and viewers. Children growing up today live in the world of Snapchat, Instagram and You Tube, and do not see their parents read newspapers or watch the news as we did.

With a generation of readers already lost, I began to think if I could do anything to help save the profession I love so much. I came up with an idea: an online newspaper for children.

Online, because children are on the web, and a newspaper because I wanted them to read serious news, not just the fun staff.

Časoris is aimed at young children, those who won’t read the news on their own. But they are trusting souls and if the adults they respect, their teachers and parents, tell them it is good to read the newspaper, they will listen.

This way we hope that when they become teenagers they will develop a habit of reading reliable sources of information. And when a popular You Tuber suggest that a EU directive will ban memes, they will know where to double check their facts.

Who produces it, and who is it aimed at?

It is produced mostly by me together with a team of dedicated writers who contribute as much and as often they can. It is aimed at children aged 6 to 12 but we hear and are happy because of that that also older children read it and find it interesting.

Our readers like Časoris  because it has short, interesting stories using relatively simple Slovene. Do you know if it’s used to teach Slovene as a foreign language?

I don’t know about that, but I have heard that some English language teachers use Časoris in their English classes. And I also know that some teachers from the States find it useful as it brings them the news from other part of the world. They value its different perspective on current affairs.

And of course, it’s read in some Slovene schools during classes.

Časoris  recently won an award in Austria – what was that all about?

The project Stories of Children from around the World won the Intercultural Achievement Award in the media category. The aim of the project is to give a  voice to the voiceless, in our case to children from other countries living in Slovenia and going to Slovenian schools.

The award means a lot, because our work has been recognized internationally. For a small media operation, which Časoris still is, this is really huge.

The award is financial, too, so it will be easier to start next year. Časoris does not have any systematic funding and we can never be sure if we’ll have enough support.

We respond to tenders and if we are successful we get funding for a project. Stories of Children from around the World, for example, was co-financed by Government Communication Office as part of the efforts to respect and welcome members of different ethnic groups, refugees and migrants.

You used to work at Delo. What have been the biggest changes in the Slovenian print media over your career?

Hm, that’s a difficult question. In Slovenia we could add political pressures to the digital revolution. In the past we had seen examples of politicians wanting to control the media. One of the biggest drops in subscriptions was directly related to that. The readers that left did not subscribe to other newspapers, they were lost for good.

The idea that the media must bring in a double digit revenue was also not helping. A media owner should have other interests at heart, not profit. A wise media owner’s interest is the public good through credible journalism. An example of such an owner is the The Guardian’s Scott Trust.

Finally, the internet caused a disruption that we are all still struggling with. Nobody has come up with a good business model for the digital online world, at least not a model that could be used widely. There may be some exceptions, but in general the majority of the media all around the world are under pressure.

I’m still waiting for a Netflix or Deezer for news, a solution that will allow me to pay a certain amount of euros per month and then access the stories I want to read across different media and platforms – behind a paywall or not. If there’s no paywall I still want to make a donation, but I do not want the hassle of making a donation or paying every time I want to read something. I believe that there are other people out there who feel the same, so I hope someday will have a technology that will enable this.

Are there any reasons to be optimistic about the future of the media in Slovenia?

I am not sure that the future of the media in Slovenia is very different to the future of the media in other countries, but for the peculiarity of our language, of course.

I definitely believe that as citizens we need quality media and good journalism, and I only hope that more of us will recognize the important role the media plays in democracy. If we want to keep the media, we need to be willing to spend the price of a cup of coffee a day on the media of our choice – online or offline, as a subscription or a donation.

It seems easy to say, oh, I do not need the media, I get my information on Google and Facebook. But how do you know which information you are getting and why if you don’t have something to compare it to?

When something happens and the media doesn’t report it, people say, oh where were the journalists, why did they not report it? What they don’t seem to understand is that journalists are professionals who need to pay the bills, just like doctors, teachers or lawyers. They cannot do their job for free. Somebody has to pay for their service. It is either us, the readers, or advertisers, foundations or the state through various subsidies.

We can say that everybody whose paying an electricity bill is already paying for the news on public broadcasters. But if only the public broadcasters remain, it means we have only one perspective. And sometimes that’s not enough. Then there is no media pluralism.

In the States, half of the journalism jobs were cut in the last 10 to 20 years. It’s no wonder so much stuff is left unreported.

You can learn more about Časoris on the site itself, and see our collection of dual texts here. Meanwhile, if there's a project in Slovenia that you think deserves some attention in the English-language media, please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or find me on Facebook