Political and business elites in the countries that are the subject of this report have acquired control over a large number of public and private media, mostly through non-transparent privatizat
Izveštaj o finansiranju medija iz budžeta lokalnih samouprava, 2012.
The report analyzed every form of public spending from local budgets related to media in 33 local municipalities in Serbia.
Distribution of funds was analyzed according to the way of decision-making (public procurement procedure, free competition, direct deals) and to location, type of media, media ownership and reach of the audience. The report points out that local budgets are a substantial source of media revenues (about 8, 5 million Euros). However, only a few media benefit from it. About 70% of these funds are used as subventions to public enterprises, which in turn are used mostly for covering salaries and business operations and very rarely for media production. Most private media get public funds through direct deals with executive bodies of self-governments, and only rarely these funds are distributed through public procurement procedures and public competitions for financing media projects, which offer equal chances for all the media. The report concludes that local budgets for information of local importance disable free competition and can be used as an instrument for influencing media editorial lines.