Newsroom

Fresh and Independent, B92 TV News Goes Live!

October 2001
By Russell Peasgood, IREX Broadcast Consultant

One year after the fall of Slobodan Milosevic, the people who stood up to the Yugoslav president for more than a decade are preparing for their latest challenge. It’s two minutes before 6.30 pm and there is frantic activity on the 11th floor of a downtown Belgrade tower block.

The studio lights go up, the studio director counts down and the presenter, Jelena Kosanic is on the air announcing the latest developments in a national coal strike that threatens the government of Serbia. Yugoslavia’s problems did not end with the ousting of the former dictator and just as B92 Radio never caved in to Milosevic, the new sister station B92 TV will not kowtow to the new administration that replaced him.

B92 TV began broadcasting in Belgrade and other parts of Serbia just hours after Milosevic’s demise. One year on, the station has launched a new news program that shares the high editorial integrity of the world-renowned B92 radio station. Now B92 TV has a real face for its news. The main presenter, Jelena Kosunic, and colleagues will rotate to present two half-hour daily news shows, one at 6:30 pm; the other at 10:00 pm.

The news program will provide comprehensive coverage of the main political stories in Yugoslavia as it continues to come to terms with the post-Milosevic reality. It will also cover all major international stories—the war in Afghanistan providing an immediate challenge in the first days after the program’s launch.

In addition, the program will reflect the lives of real people in the dire economic circumstances inherited from the Milosevic era. And it will do so with the human face and the skepticism that has become the trademark of B92. The program will be seen throughout Serbia either from its own transmitters or re-broadcast by stations in the ANEM TV network, of which B92 is a member.

In the six weeks before the re-launch, a team of trainers from IREX advised the staff at B92. Two trainers helped the producers and journalists to shape the new program and two provided specialist advice to the studio directors and designers.

Veran Matic, editor in chief of B92 Radio and Television, says the media role has never been more important in Yugoslavia because the democratic changes have not automatically brought with them a new democratic media sphere. “B92 is recognized for its credibility, professional standards, and incorruptible staff members. B92 TV News will maintain these standards. We will provide a TV news program that people throughout the country can trust and we will never change our editorial policy in accordance with changes in power.”

Aleksandar Timofejev, chief editor at B92 News had this to say about IREX’s assistance:

“After six days of broadcasting, B92 News attracted large number of viewers and were in the same time quoted on other media outlets within Serbia, which speaks best about the quality and exclusiveness of the news and the team that prepares it. Despite the fact that the conditions under which we decided to launch our program of so-called ‘’live’’ news were more than complicated, and despite the fact that it was hard to imagine that it would be possible to broadcast news from the studio consisting of literally 16 square meters, we succeeded in resolving all the problems we faced with due to generous help from our friends from IREX, who helped us in launching news program the best way possible, which makes me feel particularly happy and proud.”

The ProMedia/Serbia program implemented by IREX is funded by USAID.

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