By: A. G. (nova24tv.si)
Attacks on our media outlet are escalating from all sides, and with them, the attack on media pluralism and freedom of speech, which is nothing new in Slovenia since “Svoboda”. We have already reported on how the deep state, through Telekom, targeted Nova24TV (more here – in Slovene), as well as the political attacks by the Oštro portal and its Razkrinkavanje project on our media house (more here), which have also begun to resonate abroad. Odlazek’s Reporter also published an interview where Marko Crnkovič (formerly a recognisable name in Delo) stated that he would destroy Nova24TV and Demokracija. Oštro and its editor Anuška Delić, an extreme leftist, have now targeted advertisers who advertise on Nova24TV. This was already the tactic of former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec when he publicly called on state-owned companies to consider where they advertise, obviously referring to Nova24TV.
That these attacks are happening is not unexpected, as Robert Golob announced before the elections that it would be best to “simply shut down certain media outlets”. Oštro has used the Erar website to find advertisers and sent them provocative questions about the procedures of public procurement, asking why they chose the company Nova obzorja založništvo Ltd., and why they advertise with this company, claiming that it publishes Demokracija, which is “according to the findings of Oštro’s Razkrinkavanje.si project, one of the most common sources of disinformation in the Slovenian media space,” which is, of course, untrue. Their manipulative tactics and political activism are already being reported on by foreign media; you can read more about it on the link below.
So, they went after the municipality of Brežice because, as they claim, it allocated €4,818.54 to the company Nova obzorja založništvo Ltd. for advertising between January 1st, 2021, and December 31st, 2022. They demanded copies of all orders and invoices issued by the company for all advertisements or advertising campaigns in 2021 and 2022.
The municipality responded by saying that they worked with the provider Nova obzorja založništvo Ltd. for four posts on tourism, agriculture, and the economy. These posts were published in print media with additional online publications. They also provided them with the amounts and the type of advertising, but they mentioned that copies of the orders and invoices could only be obtained through a request for public information.
Why does the municipality advertise with the mentioned company? They simply explained that it is because the company has a large volume of publications and a large number of users, something that Oštro and their pseudo-projects “Razkrinkavanje” cannot boast about. They did not just target the Municipality of Brežice but also Slovenian Railways with similar questions, asking why they chose Nova obzorja. “According to Erar’s data, Slovenian Railways allocated €3,999.5 to Nova obzorja Ltd. between January 1st, 2021, and December 31st, 2022. What services were paid for? If it was for advertising, please send copies of all purchase orders and invoices issued by the company for all advertisements or advertising campaigns,” demanded their journalist Samo Demšar on behalf of Oštro.
Hollow attempts at discreditation
Slovenian Railways alerted us to the questions and stated that the journalistic inquiries or requests for public information pertain to our accounts. Oštro’s attacks are merely empty attempts to silence our media, but in doing so, they only discredit themselves.