As the 25 Sept referendum on the new government-sponsored act on RTV Slovenija is ever closer, heated debates about its pros and cons could be witnessed, yet with no new insights.
The only change was a rise in the public support for the new act: the Politbarometer poll, published on Friday, 9 Sept, showed that advocates of the law outnumbered its opponents for the first time (by 7pp). One of the focuses of the debates was license fee, with the act's advocates claiming it could be lowered through a more efficient organisation of the broadcaster, and the opposition and the broadcaster stressing this would imply reducing the volume of shows. The opposition was upset by what it said was an non-credible study, carried out by the Culture Ministry, proving the new law was in line with European standards. The same study was outcried by a new informal group for RTV Slovenija, bringing together media experts, university lecturers and journalists, and urging the public to vote against. On the other hand, President Janez Drnovsek said on Friday, 9 Sept, that regardless of its outcome, the referendum might turn out to be positive just because it is a warning that "this is an important issue, that the public has an interest in it, and that the media must be independent".
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