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The years of living dangerously
By Zeljko Ivanovic
Vijesti is a daily newspaper that started and survived despite all the laws of economic science and, one could say, even contrary to logic and common sense. In late 1996 the newspaper’s supporters were trying to explain the inexplicable to potential creditors: How is it possible to produce and sell a daily newspaper and earn a living from it in a country that is so small (650,000 inhabitants), with a destroyed economy (GDP under US$1,000), with a low standard of living (average monthly income $130) and with a shattered value system? In response to a question asking what the paper could offer as a guarantee for the repayment of the loan, Vijesti's supporters answered that their word was all they had.
So, thanks to their given word, and perhaps even more to the creditors' trust, the project began. It has since fundamentally changed not only the media but also the entire social scene in Montenegro. Before 1 September 1997, when the first issue of Vijesti was published, only the advertisements of the ruling party claimed that there was freedom of speech in Montenegro. Newspaper marketing was non-existent because of poor quality staff − they were actually journalists recruited as punishment for writing about sensitive political issues. No one was interested in newspaper circulation and sales because neither the communist nor the national-socialist regime that followed cared about a market economy or productivity. All losses were covered by budget and quasi-budget funds, and the only measure of successful performance by directors and editors was their obedience and service to those in power.
In the nine years since its inception Vijesti, which means News, has shown that it doesn't have to be loved but that it must be respected. In a very short time it asserted standards of professionalism, and journalistic autonomy became the norm. Even anti-democrats from the government and opposition could not, at least publicly, denounce it. In setting new standards, Vijesti opened a space for other media, both those that followed it into existence and those that preceded it, to attain standards of freedom and professionalism unimaginable before, by following its lead and slowly edging out from underneath the umbrella of political and quasi-political influences.
In addition to circulation, influence, marketing and economic success, Vijesti is most proud of the trust it has earned through its writing in the eyes of individuals and institutions – the audience – both in Montenegro and abroad. We followed the path of truth and exclusivity but not sensationalism, and that created a prevailing opinion in all sections of society that what Vijesti published must be taken seriously. This has been crowned by public praise from time to time, such as an acknowledgment by the leader of the opposition SNP, Predrag Bulatović, in a live transmission of a parliamentary debate: “Regardless of our huge ideological and other differences, we have to acknowledge that Vijesti is a respectable newspaper and when they publish something, we take it as true and reliable information.”
The environment in which we work is best described by the following: a former director of the state newspaper became Minister of the Interior; a former public prosecutor and his deputy have actively participated in human trafficking; people who have until recently headed criminal gangs have acquired a number of Montenegrin companies in the privatisation process. Therefore, to run a media company carries a high level or risk in a society in which there is no clear line of separation between the government and the mafia, to the point that it is rarely clear who are friends and who are foes.
The years behind us were the years of living dangerously. The years ahead of us, unfortunately, will be the same or even worse. But that is the price of our choice: if you want to do this job honestly then, in a society like this, you risk being killed. If this is a risk you are not willing to take, there are other options – leave the country or accept the protection of the mafia. We at Vijesti made the choice: we are staying here and staying true to our values. Those who survive will tell our story.
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