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''Nezavisni dnevnik Vijesti'' (; English translation: ''News'') is a Montenegrin daily
newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
. The paper is published and managed by an entity called Daily Press d.o.o. - a
limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
based in Podgorica. The company's ownership is currently split between Montenegrin partners (59%), Austrian Styria Medien AG (25%), and an independent US-based fund MDIF (16%), formerly MDLF, which has received funding from multiple investors and foundations, including
Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a Grant (money), grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the wo ...
. Published under the "nezavisni dnevnik" (independent daily) mantra, the paper's editorial policy was initially very much in favour of
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister o ...
and his government's policies and of his relations with Serbia. However, this editorial policy changed sometime after the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum when ''Vijesti'' turned into Đukanović's critics. On 9 May 2018,
Olivera Lakić Olivera Lakić is a Montenegrin investigative journalist for the Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti. In May 2018, she was wounded by a gunman after investigating corruption in Montenegro. She became an International Women of Courage Award The Int ...
, Vijesti's investigative reporter who covers crime and corruption in Montenegro was shot and injured in an attack.


History

The legal and financial entity behind the paper, Daily Press d.o.o. company, was founded on November 25, 1996 and registered on December 16, 1996. The company's founding capital of $5,000 was provided by three entities:
Miodrag Perović Miodrag "Miško" Perović (born in Belgrade) is a Montenegrin journalist, media publisher, university professor, political activist, and businessman. Most notable for starting various media outlets in Montenegro during the 1990s and 2000s such as ...
's company Montenegropublic, journalist
Milka Tadić Milka Tadić, or Milka Tadić Mijović, is a well-known Montenegrin journalist, media executive and international civic activist. Biography Milka Tadić Mijović was one of the co-founders and the executive director of ''Monitor'', the first priv ...
, and Slavica Popović acting on the behalf of Podgorica Tobacco Factory director Dragoljub "Mićo" Dautović. The paper was started on September 1, 1997 as only the second daily newspaper in
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
at that point with the long running
state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
''
Pobjeda Pobjeda ( cyrl, Пoбjeдa, , lit. "The Victory") ( MNSENIPO is a Montenegrin daily newspaper. Having been published for 75 years, it is the oldest Montenegrin newspaper still in circulation; in the media, it is also the oldest Montenegrin activ ...
'' being their only competition. Listed as the paper's owners were four individuals:
Miodrag Perović Miodrag "Miško" Perović (born in Belgrade) is a Montenegrin journalist, media publisher, university professor, political activist, and businessman. Most notable for starting various media outlets in Montenegro during the 1990s and 2000s such as ...
, Ljubiša Mitrović, Slavoljub Šćekić, and
Željko Ivanović Željko Ivanović is a Montenegrin journalist, producer and human rights activist. He was born in Nikšić (Montenegro). After graduating from University of Belgrade's Faculty of Political Sciences, Ivanović found employment as a journalist.Peter D ...
. At the precise time of the paper's launch, the political situation in Montenegro was fairly tense as former longtime
DPS DPS may refer to: Schools United States * Dalton Public Schools, the public school district in Dalton, Georgia * Dearborn Public Schools, the public school district in Dearborn, Michigan * Decatur Public Schools District 61, the public school sys ...
(ruling political party) allies
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister o ...
and
Momir Bulatović Momir Bulatović ( sr-cyr, Момир Булатовић; 21 September 1956 – 30 June 2019) was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin politician. He was the first President of the Republic of Montenegro from 1990 to 1998, after which he served as the Prime ...
were in the middle of a campaign for the 1997 presidential elections.
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
, at the time a part of
FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...
(federal country that also consisted of
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
) was choosing between a pro- Milošević leader in Bulatović, and Đukanović who at that time started to cautiously distance himself from his former mentor Milošević although he still favoured the idea of a unified country with Serbia. ''Vijesti'' openly supported Đukanović who eventually won the highly controversial elections and thus became the
president of Montenegro The president of Montenegro ( cnr, Предсједник Црне Горе, Predsjednik Crne Gore) is the head of state of Montenegro. The current president is Milo Đukanović, who was elected in the first round of the 2018 presidential elect ...
. ''Vijesti'' generated plenty of criticism during the initial period from all sides of the
political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions politi ...
in Montenegro. Pro-Serbian camp saw it as an aggressive proponent of Montenegro's separation from Serbia. On the other end, the pro-independence camp (especially members and sympathizers of LSCG party) wasn't entirely happy with it either, criticizing the paper's pro-independence stance as being tailored for and by Đukanović's day to day political needs. Some have even claimed (most notably LSCG leader
Slavko Perović Slavko Perović (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Славко Перовић; born 2 August 1954) is a Montenegrin politician. He is best known as a co-founder and former leader of Liberal Alliance of Montenegro (LSCG), former party that was fighting for in ...
) that the initial funds for paper's launch were in fact provided by Đukanović who needed a seemingly
independent media Independent media refers to any media, such as television, newspapers or Internet-based publications, that is free of influence by government or corporate interests. The term has varied applications. Within the United States and other developed ...
support at a time when he was distancing himself from Milošević. Similar criticism came from journalist Nebojša Redžić who worked at ''Vijesti'' for six months - in 1999 he accused the individuals behind the newspaper of creating it "solely for the purposes of manipulating the electorate in Montenegro and steering the pro-independence voters towards Đukanović and DPS", referring to his own involvement in the paper's formation as the "biggest mistake in my career". Although occasionally critical of Đukanović and the Democratic Party of Socialists on minor municipal issues in the years to come, ''Vijesti'' firmly supported his government's policies on all the major issues such as the relations with Serbia. Furthermore, the paper ignored all the evidence and foreign reports of widespread tobacco and oil state-sponsored smuggling that took place in Montenegro under Đukanović as well as his involvement in Milošević's war efforts during the early 1990s.


WAZ-Mediengruppe arrives

During May 2002, ''Vijesti'' announced a strategic partnership with German media concern WAZ, which bought a 50% stake in ''Vijesti''. The amount was not disclosed. On March 15, 2003 at a ceremony attended by WAZ director
Bodo Hombach Bodo Hombach (born 19 August 1952) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Early life and education Bodo Hombach was born in Mülheim on the Ruhr, North Rhine-Westphalia. After training to become a telecommunicati ...
, the deal was officially inaugurated. After the acquisition, the paper has slightly shifted its focus towards citizens' everyday problems.


2006 Montenegrin independence referendum

In the dawn of
2006 Montenegrin independence referendum An independence referendum was held in Montenegro on 21 May 2006. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1372 It was approved by 55.5% of voters, narrowly passing the 55% threshold. By 23 May, preliminary refere ...
, ''Vijesti'' was a moderate supporter of independence, but eventually fully joined the campaign by shipping traditional Montenegrin flags, bracelets and caps with Montenegrin insignia used by pro-independence bloc, along with copies of the newspaper. Still, OSCE/ODIHR gave it the best marks among the all Montenegrin media for observing professional
journalistic standards Journalistic ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and good practice applicable to journalists. This subset of media ethics is known as journalism's professional "code of ethics" and the "canons of journalism". The basic codes and c ...
during the referendum. Since the referendum, ''Vijesti'' has switched in a more opposing view and is greatly criticizing
Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović ( cnr, Мило Ђукановић, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician serving as the President of Montenegro since 2018, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the Prime Minister o ...
and his
Democratic Party of Socialists The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro ( cnr, Демократска партија социјалиста Црне Горе, Demokratska partija socijalista Crne Gore, DPS) is a populist political party in Montenegro. A former long-time ...
(DPS). The portier of the newspaper, Luka Đukić, was threatened to quit under allegations that something bad will happen to his family, two suspects were arrested on Monday 3 September 2007.


Ivanović assaulted

On Saturday, September 1, 2007, at around 4am, ''Vijesti'' director
Željko Ivanović Željko Ivanović is a Montenegrin journalist, producer and human rights activist. He was born in Nikšić (Montenegro). After graduating from University of Belgrade's Faculty of Political Sciences, Ivanović found employment as a journalist.Peter D ...
was approached on the street near Ribnica restaurant and severely beaten by three men, two of whom were masked. As he was being attended to in the hospital, Ivanović publicly accused DPS president Milo Đukanović's "biological or criminal family" for orchestrating the attack in an attempt to "..destroy the very last fringes of journalist freedom". Ivanović also referred to them as the people who want to control every aspect of life in Montenegro. Milo Đukanović in turn sued Ivanović for libel and the trial began in Podgorica on November 26, 2007 under the
presiding judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...
Nenad Otašević. Đukanović is represented at the trial by a legal team consisting of his sister Ana Kolarević and Dragoljub Đukanović, while Ivanović is represented by Branislav Lutovac and Milan Đukić. ''Vijesti'' was the first newspaper in Montenegro to publish books like a collection of 20th century authors (on the string of other
European newspapers Below are lists of newspapers organized by continent. Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America See also * * Newspaper of record {{DEFAULTSORT:Newspapers ...
), an anthology of Montenegrin authors (in 2006) and ''Pečat umjetnosti'' (2007), an interesting (but not original) edition of the greatest painters.


WAZ leaves

In early October 2007, after four-and-a-half years of co-ownership, German media concern WAZ sold its stake in ''Vijesti'' to the other ownership party (four individuals). In a vague public statement following the sudden decision, WAZ's representative Andreas Rudas said: "The weight of the past was too strong, and this had to be done". Vijesti established its television division in October, 2007 and was launched throughout Montenegro on 11 May 2008. In mid March 2009, Styria Medien AG bought 25% in the Daily Press company that oversees the publishing of ''Vijesti''.Austrian Styria buys 25% in Montenegrin daily Vijesti, SEEbiz.eu, March 16, 2009


Television division

Launched on 11 May 2008, Televizija Vijesti (TV Vijesti) aims to become the leader in informative programming in Montenegro. TV Vijesti employs around one hundred workers, including expert journalists and technical experts using the network's latest technology. Over 50 percent of the network's programming is informative, with an addition of external programming, including films and television series and diverse sports and educational programming.


References


External links


Official Website
(Montenegrin) {{Media of Montenegro Newspapers published in Montenegro Television stations in Montenegro Mass media in Podgorica