Slovenian PEN berates govt over treatment of STA

Ljubljana – The Slovenian PEN centre has urged the government to fundamentally change its attitude to the STA as well as media and journalists in general, arguing that its actions constituted an attempt at dismantling the agency and silencing a source of trustworthy information.

Expressing “deep concern” about the government’s action, the Slovenian PEN said the government was ignoring the institutional independence of the STA and disrespecting its editorial independence, both of which are guaranteed by the law.

Its actions display “a conscious effort to transform Slovenia into an uninformed province in which it will be simply impossible to access objective reports about events in Slovenia and the world, except with the help of foreign media”.

It said the agency’s contribution was “extraordinarily important” amidst the “cacophony of fake news, politically and otherwise doctored information, hate speech and damaging disinformation that various online platforms are flooding the market with”.

The statement comes after government proposed that the STA supervisory board dismiss Bojan Veselinovič as director, alleging violations in the fulfilment of the agency’s legal obligations.

Veselinovič has denied all the allegations and highlighted the government decision as a “new chapter in a series of attacks on the independent STA and an attempt to replace its leadership”.

STA wins gold creditworthiness rating

The Slovenian Press Agency (STA) has won the gold creditworthiness rating from Bisnode in what the consultancy says is a certificate awarded to the most reliable, creditworthy and low-risk businesses.

As a partner to the rating firm Dun & Bradstreet Bisnode performs financial analyses of businesses in 19 European countries, including Slovenia. The STA was ranked in the highest rating for 2020, at AAA.

The companies that have achieved the top rating for three consecutive years are awarded with the golden creditworthiness certificate of excellence, a certificate recognised Europe-wide. Only 4.4% of the 177,562 companies registered in Slovenia have one.

The excellence credit rating represents above-average value of business entities. It is based on financial statements for the past business year and predicts safety of operations for the next 12 months.

Such a rating is awarded to best companies with a key differential advantage, Bisnode said.

The STA’s financial stability has been under threat after the Government Communication Office again suspended payments to the agency for the services it provides as a public service this year.

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