The

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today called the authorities in

Croatia to reconsider their plan to close down the daily newspaper Vjesnik.

 

"Closing

down Vjesnik would send a very negative signal for journalism in

Croatia", said EFJ President Arne König. "It would mean the end of a cultural

institution but it would also mean that a hundred journalists would lose their

jobs despite their commitment ".

Vjesnik is a daily newspaper in Croatia,

working with 80 employed journalist and editors and 30 freelance journalists.

The state-owned paper was founded in 1940 by

the anti-fascist movement and it survived through Second World War and the

Yugoslav War in the 1990´s.  Declining

circulation means that it is now on the verge of bankruptcy and the government

has proposed its closure.

"Considering its record of

journalism in Croatia, Vjesnik should be given another chance for its

transition into a private media" said the EFJ affiliate the Croatian

Journalists' Association (CJA).

The EFJ

suggests that the Croatian Government could establish a crisis management board,

which would allow the editorial staff to develop the paper while giving more time

to attract private investors.

The EFJ is the European group of the International

Federation of Journalists
The EFJ represents over 260,000 journalists in 30

countries
For more

information contact the EFJ at +32 2 235.2200