Croatian Journalists' Association condemns councilors for barring journalist from recording meeting

The Croatian Journalists' Association (HND) has sharply criticized councilors in Proložac for attempting to bar a journalist from recording and broadcasting a session of the Municipal Council. The incident occurred on July 9, with the HND deeming the councilors' actions unacceptable.

According to the HND, councilors from the HDZ party, who hold a majority in the council, demanded that Ante Dogan, a journalist for Radio NU Imotski, be prevented from recording the meeting. They reportedly justified this by claiming a live broadcast could create pressure on council members, a reason the HND found baseless. This occurred despite the municipal mayor, Toni Garac, having previously invited media to attend and approving the recording and live broadcast.

Ultimately, the journalist was only permitted to remain if he refrained from recording or broadcasting. Faced with these conditions, Dogan chose to leave the session and reported the incident to the HND. The association highlighted this as another instance of misunderstanding the media's role and the public interest.

The HND pointed out that the meeting discussed the municipal budget in a local government unit that had already undergone extraordinary elections this year. Failure to adopt the budget could lead to another election, making the session of significant public interest. "Politicians, in this case HDZ councilors, have no right to condition or demand any restrictions on media reporting," the HND stated. "If they have decided to run for public office, they must be aware that their work is subject to the legitimate interest of the public and media oversight."