We offer our full support to Zoran Kesić and all our colleagues working on the “24 Minutes” show. We received the news that the show will no longer air on TV Nova with great disappointment and concern, according to a statement from employees of N1 and Forbes Serbia.
It is difficult for us to accept the explanation that a show which has for years been one of the television station’s trademarks, attracts a large audience and is among its most-watched programs can be reduced to an assessment that its commercial performance is “marginal,” N1 reports.
This is not just about ratings, costs and balance sheets.
“In a country where the space for free speech is becoming increasingly narrow, ‘24 Minutes’ is much more than a television show. It is a space for freedom, satire and criticism, a place where questions are asked that cannot be heard on many other television stations. In the media darkness that has been growing thicker for years, Kesić and his team are one of the few lights helping citizens see the reality they live in more clearly.
Because light may have a price. But it is much more expensive when it goes out.
That is why we believe that the value of such a show cannot be measured only by tables of income and expenses. Free media also have a responsibility toward the public, especially today in Serbia.
Zoran and the ‘24 Minutes’ team have always stood by us, the male and female journalists of N1, whenever we were attacked, insulted and persecuted. That is why we now stand by them, when their work is being measured in some currency while the significance they have for society as a whole is being ignored. Perhaps it is time for those who were happy to hear the news that ‘24 Minutes’ is gone to start counting their small change.
Solidarity among people who do the same job is particularly important when there is less and less room for free, critical and courageous voices.”
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Source: Nova Foto: Ivan Dinić, Nova S
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