By: C. R.
The Association of Journalists and Publicists (ZNP) has just awarded this year’s Meško awards to selected Slovenian journalists for journalistic achievements, lifetime achievement and debutant. The editor of the weekly Demokracija, Dr Metod Berlec, was among those who received the Borut Meško honorary award for special achievements, as he is among the most deserving of the development and survival of Demokracija as an important factor of plurality in the Slovenian media space. Dr Metod Berlec also earned the Meško honorary recognition for his other journalistic and publicist work.
Metod Berlec, born in 1970, graduated in history and geography, and recently received a doctorate in social sciences from the Faculty of Applied Social Studies. In the late 1990s, he was employed at Mag for a short time, and then became a contributor to the weekly Demokracija. In 2001, he became deputy editor-in-chief, and a year later, editor-in-chief until 2018. As of this year, he is editor-in-chief again. This year he also published the book “For a democratic and European Slovenia”.
In the following, we publish the explanation of the ZNP in its entirety:
“Metod Berlec, a new Doctor of Science in the field of sociology, author of the book “For a democratic and European Slovenia! Against totalitarianism!”, the host of Nova24TV, and the editor of Demokracija can hardly be described in just a few words. His journalistic, publicist and leadership work so far are rich enough to deserve a more detailed review.
Metod Berlec was born in 1970 in Ljubljana. He grew up in Kamnik, where he still lives today with his family. If anyone thought that, as today’s prominent journalist and editor, he was primarily interested in the social sciences, they would be mistaken. After finishing elementary school, Metod Berlec went on to train as an electrician in the field of energy. As such, he worked for a year in the Central Workshops of TOZD Moste, where, interestingly, he maintained electric locomotives. As the last generation of Slovenian boys in the former Yugoslavia, he also served in the army, namely in Sombor and Priština.
After that, however, he devoted himself to the social sciences. He studied at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana and in 1998 became a professor of history and geography. His diploma thesis is titled The Demos Coalition and its role, which shows that during his studies he also became interested in broader social and political topics, and slowly he apparently also started flirting with journalism. After graduating, he taught for a while at one of the elementary schools near Ljubljana and guided visitors through the permanent exhibition Slovenes in the 20th century in the Museum of Recent History of Slovenia, and then in 2001 he became part of the so-called Slivnik’s unit at Mag.
In the middle of 2001, together with Dejan Steinbuch, he left Mag for Demokracija and became Steinbuch’s assistant in the position of editor-in-chief. After the departure of Steinbuch, in early 2002 he took over the management of Demokracija as editor-in-chief. He held this position until 2018, when Jože Biščak became the editor-in-chief of Demokracija, and he remained his assistant. He took over the management of the newspaper as editor-in-chief again in June of this year.
Colleagues can tell that he is dedicated to his work and loyal to his journalistic mission. With his precision, which he obviously developed while studying history, and his ability to analyse in depth, he knows exactly what the current problems in society are, how to draw attention to them, and how to respond to them. The latter is also reflected in his editorials, which are among the most read in the magazine. He constantly encourages his journalists to think about current and social issues, so that they can also grow and develop alongside him.
Under his leadership, Demokracija maintains its circle of readers and influence in the public, despite the general decline in print media circulation. The latter can be attributed, among other things, to a clearly defined editorial policy, which focuses on topics that the dominant left-leaning media either deliberately silences or interprets in such a way that the interpretation does not correspond to the truth or distorts the truth. That is why Demokracija has always been and is an important factor in the Slovenian space, despite some accusations and attempts to discredit it as a party newspaper. It should not be forgotten that when Demokracija began its publication in 1996, apart from Mag, it was practically the only print media in the country that dealt with current political issues and held up a mirror to the strongly dominant left-wing politics of the LDS and its media satellites.
Of all the previous editors of Demokracija, among whom, in addition to the already mentioned, we should also mention the first editor, Vida Kocjan, it was Metod Berlec who is among the most deserving of the development and survival of Demokracija as an important factor of plurality in the Slovenian media space. Because of this and because of his other journalistic and publicist work, he deserves the Borut Meško honorary award for special achievements, which is awarded by the Association of Journalists and Publicists.”
Association of journalists and publicists
All members of the editorial staff of the weekly Demokracija sincerely congratulate the editor of Demokracija, Dr Metod Berlec on receiving the honorary Meško’s recognition for special achievements! It is an extremely important recognition at a time when the ruling elite wants to forcefully silence the media, which have a different political orientation than the majority.
The Meško Award was also given to: journalist Vida Petrovčič for lifetime work, Domovina weekly, and SiOL journalist Ksenija Mlinar as a promising young debutant journalist. We sincerely congratulate them too!
GALLERY (Photo: Polona Avanzo):
