Milena Đergović built her career simultaneously through media, production, culture, and strategic communications, which is why today she has a very precise understanding of how both the public sphere and the audiences we address actually function. During her career, she worked as a journalist, editor, producer, and PR manager on numerous television, cultural, and socially responsible projects across Montenegro and the region, and today she serves as Director of Strategic Partnerships at the international KotorArt festival. She is especially recognized for projects that use communication as a tool for real social impact, rather than only promotion and visibility.
In the interview that follows, she talks about the dominance of paid and politically shaped narratives in regional media, the space culture is given in public discourse today, and the problem of a market in which artists rarely become true media stars. She explains why communication and cultural stories are often reduced to protocol-style event announcements, how closely PR and production are connected today, and why she believes public trust can only be built through authentic and responsible communication. A special place in the conversation is dedicated to her original project “We Hold Your Hand”, through which, as she says, she best understood the true power of the communications profession.
Your mission connects people through socially responsible projects, and your ideas bring together media, the business community, and individuals. What inspires you in your everyday work?
Only gestures, events, and projects with purpose and a higher goal can truly inspire me. It feels as though there is no personal, material, or any other kind of benefit that could motivate me to move even a centimetre unless it is something that will create at least the smallest wave of positive change in people or society, even on a micro level. Aware that the world is rushing toward an unknown and not particularly good place at great speed, that we are becoming alienated and losing empathy, true honour, responsibility, and interest in one another – because of the many real traps modern society sets today – my inspiration lies precisely in that vision of finding that spark in people again and bringing back that old feeling that we are not alone in this world, and that by extending a hand to someone else we can witness small miracles every day. It seems that I tirelessly search for those miracles.
Do you believe that the media space in Montenegro today is dominated by paid narratives? In your opinion, what should paid content actually include, and are younger generations interested in business, lifestyle, cultural, and similar stories?
Absolutely, paid narratives occupy the largest share of media space, most often clearly political and even visibly party-defined, which is nothing new. The rest of the content consists of intriguing news through which media stimulate stress hormones or hidden passions among audiences, more rarely positive emotions, although those still exist too. The fight against a media system that most often tries to “stab” us with information strongly enough to provoke reactions such as shock, anger, rage, fear, sadness, or even pride, especially feelings of national belonging, often seems pointless, because almost anything can fall under the clause that “media censorship is strictly prohibited”.
Of course, there are media outlets that have maintained a dignified level of informing the public. That often does not pay off for them, and they constantly live in fear of potential existential risk.
I will allow myself to say that, on a national level, there should be a clear strategy that would encourage media, through stimulative measures, to reshape and repackage the way they operate. We are all smart enough to know that the average consumer eventually gets used to any programme that is persistently imposed on them. That is why reality shows and similar programmes filled with content beneath basic human dignity have lasted for decades.
And the same fate, or at least a similar one, could happen with cultural content if only we gave it a greater chance.
How would you define the status and value of communication and cultural stories today? Are they represented creatively enough, or are they mostly reduced to informational event announcements?
In Montenegro, stories about culture are most often reduced to the simple transfer of official information that PR teams provide to journalists, along with the occasional interview with relevant actors. And for everything I have mentioned so far in this conversation, journalists are not really responsible, or to say guilty; our market is simply too small, while the flow of information, as everywhere in the world, and the demand for a large number of daily articles are relentless, while media outlets do not have enough staff or financial benefit to engage a larger number of authors. And let us not forget: we are one of the rare countries where the media do not recognize stars among artists, athletes, or even entertainers. Our stars are politicians, and everything revolves around them. So, in the end, whoever gives space to stories about art, even if it is only a reposted piece of news or an ordinary announcement, we are grateful to them, as people here would say, beyond exhaustion.
If you were not working in public relations, what would you choose to do professionally?
I am fortunate to work both in production and public relations; in my mind those two fields are inseparable, and I entered production precisely thanks to the PR profession, which became the foundation for everything else. We live in a time when we must not and cannot allow ourselves to be limited in that sense, and I am certain that every good PR manager also possesses excellent organizational abilities and a quick, sharp mind that thinks ahead, which is very necessary for a producer. Without communication skills, a producer simply cannot function. All of it is beautifully connected in a way that makes me very happy and gives me a constant sense of fulfilment and purpose.
What moment in your career has left the strongest mark on you, aside from the awards and recognitions you have received?
The recognition truly came as a great surprise because it came from colleagues whom I deeply value and respect, although I cannot say that I move within their circles. They are professionals and pioneers of communications in Montenegro, but above all good people, which makes the award even greater for me. Still, I must emphasize that every breast cancer detected in time through my original project “We Hold Your Hand” is the greatest award and honour I humbly and gratefully carry. That is where the true power of our profession becomes most significant, because trust with the public can only be achieved through good communication. Every cancer detected early, especially among women who had never previously gone for a breast examination and never would have if it had not been for the project, is a blessing I can live from.
