RTV Slovenija

Ljubljana – A group of coronavirus deniers and anti-vaccination protesters stormed the headquarters of the Slovenian public broadcaster last night, managing to get into the newsroom studio before the police intervened.

Ljubljana – The director general of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija Andrej Grah Whatmough has dismissed Natalija Gorščak, the director of TV programmes, after accusing her of violating bylaws and allowing ratings to plummet. Gorščak, who is on sick leave, said she had received the notice of dismissal via courier.

Ljubljana – The coming months will be difficult for public broadcaster RTV Slovenija as the government intends to undermine it similarly as it strives to ruin the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), says the weekly Mladina in its latest editorial, noting that RTV Slovenija’s greatest ally in this fight will be the public.

Brussels/Ljubljana – The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a coalition of press freedom organisations and journalism groups, stressed on Monday that media freedom was at risk in Slovenia. Attacks on Slovenian media take place at multiple levels, both legislative and administrative, and on social networks, the group said.

Ljubljana – President Borut Pahor has announced he will award presidential decorations to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), the Koper bureau of public broadcaster RTV Slovenija and the Slovenian bureau of Italian public broadcaster RAI.

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša told the National Assembly on Wednesday as it debated an impeachment motion against him that Slovenia was not in for a disaster as claimed by the opposition, but very optimistic times. He believes that Slovenia could be back to the pre-crisis level in record time and faster than the EU on average.

Ljubljana – CIVICUS, an international organisation of NGOs, warns in its latest report of the attitude of Prime Minister Janez Janša and the Democrats (SDS) towards the civil society and media. It expresses concern over government attacks on the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and a ban on protests.

Ljubljana – World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on Monday, was dedicated to the situation at the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) as a fundraising campaign in support of the STA officially kicked off.

The campaign comes after the government suspended financing of the agency. It has been organised by the Association of Slovenian Journalists and the Trade Union of Journalists.

Ljubljana – The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, EUR 2.5 million granted by Slovenia to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) in compensation to fulfil its public service mission.

Ljubljana – President Borut Pahor talked on Monday with Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović about freedom of the press and hate speech in Slovenia. Pahor stressed the importance of supervisory mechanisms of international institutions, including the CoE, and the need of regular and open dialogue with them.