If Satire Fails To Cock The Eye, A Farce Will Soon Arrive

Michael Hedges March 21, 2016 - Follow on Twitter

Satire, of course, can bite. That makes this comedic form perfect for television; quick, witty and to the point. Farce is theatrical, blending exaggerated characters with seemingly random nutty events. The human mind benefits from humor, noted Sigmund Freud, to “outwit the internal censor.” External censors, having no sense of humor, are relegated to tragedy.

The satirical TV show Montirani Proces was abruptly removed last week from the Croatian public TV (HRT) schedule for “content that is inappropriate for broadcasting,” according to the official statement, quoted by Balkan Insight (March 17). Writers at Croatian satiric website News Bar have been producing the show, which HRT has broadcast fairly regularly this year. Featured during its hour have been the kind of comedy sketches that keep TV alive and irritate the thin-skinned.

“They were looking for anything to get rid of us.” said Borna Sor, the show’s host. “If HRT’s goal was anything else but banning the show, the (contract) terms could be moved and the script revised.” He said the government and newly appointed HRT executive want “to create some kind of cultural conservative hegemony.”

“Disgraceful in the 21st century,” observed the Croatian Journalists Association (HND), quoted by news portal narod.hr (March 17). “A country that is a member of the European Union, whose task is to protect the public interest, is trying to stop Reuters,” a figurative reference to the respected international news agency.

The small but vocal Croatian Party of Pensioners (HSU) called the Montirani Proces cancellation “a complete lack of understanding of the world we live in and a return of single-mindedness that we thought was behind after the fall of communism.” HRT policies, said the HSU statement, should “not depend on political whim but guided only by professional standards because (HRT license fee payers) are also voters.”

In the short time since a new Croatian government was formed, itself a draw-out process, funding for independent non-profit media has been withdrawn, the public broadcaster brought to political heel and the media regulator attacked. “Croatia's government pledged sweeping financial changes,” said German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (February 21), “but has so far only delivered pitched ideological debate.” Comparisons with the far-right lurch in Poland, resulting in similar purges, has cocked the eye of many observers. The European Commission is “closely following recent developments,” said a spokesperson. “Reports of increased political pressure” on HRT drew the “particularly worried” attention of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), trade association of European public broadcasters.

A vote of the Croatian parliament dismissed HRT director general Goran Radman in early March. Within a week more than twenty HRT television news anchors and editors were replaced. Mr. Radman had been named to a five-year term in October 2012. Named acting director general was Sinisa Kovacic, an off-and-on journalist most recently president of Croatian Journalists and Publicists (HNiP), a group formed last year to counter the Croatian Journalists Association (HND).

Because “it creates crowds and people complain,” Croatian MPs also voted to ban reporters from “recording the arrival” of MPs at the parliament building. “All of these ambushes in front of the government building would disappear when ministers begin answering journalists’ questions, but they do not do that,” offered Nova TV political reporter Tatjana Krajac in a commentary. “Under the guise of introducing order, they are trying to censor reporters.”

"I expect Croatian Radio and Television to continue as a public service, open to all groups in society but also to protect Croatian national interests, the Croatian identity and culture,” said Mr. Kovacic on his first day on the job, quoted by Jutarnji list (March 4). “We have a big job to do. I expect all employees to engage in raising the level of professionalism in order for objective news reporting.“

HRT operates four national TV channels; general interest channel HTV1, general entertainment channel HTV2, culture and educational channel HTV3 and mostly news channel HTV4. On the radio side there are three national channels and eight regional stations. HRT became an EBU member in 1993.

Cultural interests are, of course, very important. The Croatian Composers Society complained that the tune selected as Croatia’s entry at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) “was written by foreigners,” noted index.hr (March 15). Perhaps with other things on his mind, Mr. Kovacic seemed to shrug, wishing nominated Croatian singer Nina Kralijc good luck.

Of more interest, arguably, Mr. Kovacic reversed Mr. Radman’s decision last year refusing to pay rights fees for matches of the Croatian national team, resulting in the matches being shown on a pay-TV channel. “The message is that sports are back for our viewers,” said Mr. Kovacic, quoted by index.hr (March 16). “This is the first but not the only test for us to pass.”

Saying budget-strapped HRT had no money for sports rights Mr. Radman infuriated the Croatian Football Federation but, about the same time, its administrator Zdravko Mamic was busted for tax evasion, widely reported on HRT and other Croatian media.

Brewing, too, is removal of all members of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) and the subordinate Agency for Electronic Media. The CEM’s annual activities report delivered to Culture Minister Zlatko Hasanbegovic was rejected for “obvious and particularly serious failures.” Official ire was raised when the report did not sufficiently excoriate HRT for irregularities in financial disclosure. Minister Hasanbegovic called for the Croatian parliament to make the changes.

Unofficially but widely understood CEM president Mirjana Rakic was the specific target. She had been a journalist for Yugoslav state broadcasting before transitioning to HRT as a correspondent specializing in human rights and women’s issues, eventually becoming executive director. She was named CEM president by parliament in February, 2014 for a five-year term over objections from conservative/nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party.

Nationalists were particularly incensed when the CEM ordered Zagreb television channel Z1 Televizija off the air for three days in January for broadcasting a talk show hosted by Marco Juric, a founding member of the HNiP group, railing about religious minorities. The CEM called it hate speech, condemned in Croatian law. Others said the decision violated freedom of speech. Both sides demonstrated in Zagreb.

It was about this time Zlatko Hasanbegovic, an HDZ supporter, was named Croatia’s culture minister. His primary credential appears to have been extensive writings defending the ultranationalist, Nazi collaborators Ustasa. Parliamentary elections last November gave the HDZ a slight plurality though insufficient to form a government. After two and a half months of negotiations Tihomir Oreskovic, an independent and political newcomer, was named prime minister, replacing Zoran Milanovic of the center-left, anti-fascist Social Democratic Party (SDP) that fell short in the elections and was unable to form a coalition government.

HDZ party president and deputy prime minister Tomislav Karamarko personally called for Goran Radman’s head, demanding that HRT “at last begin to act professionally, objectively and not like a supporter and party member.” Similar to Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Mr. Karamarko is considered the de facto head of state in Croatia. When elections last October solidified PiS control, the newly installed government, through its Culture Ministry, upended public broadcasters TVP and Radio Polskie and made threats directed at privately owned media outlets.

On Friday Mirjana Rakic resigned. “I’m too old and I’m really fed up,” she said to tportal.hr (March 18). “We were as alone as Pale was alone in the world,” a reference to the Ustasa massacre in the Bosnian-Serb village of Pale during the Second World War. “From the beginning all the pressure was focused on me. After two months, I've had too much as a person, a professional and a one who has integrity.”

The tragedy is well documented. The farce continues.

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