Regarding media freedom, Croatian legislation is entirely satisfactory. However, solid foundations for defending journalists do not mean they are free from numerous pressures, both from politicians and advertisers, explained lawyer Vanja Jurić on the show. The renowned Croatian lawyer, specializing in media law, highlighted the issue of SLAPP lawsuits, whose purpose is to exhaust journalists in every way to discourage them from pursuing their stories, rather than to win the case. Nevertheless, when the situation in Croatia is viewed in a regional context, it offers a different perspective. “If we compare ourselves to Hungary or Serbia, we’re at the very top,” she concluded.
One of Croatia’s most prominent criminal lawyers, Ljubo Pavasović Visković, strongly advises his clients against suing journalists, despite his negative view of the media landscape. “I believe classical free journalism in Croatia died with Feral and Novi list,” he said, noting that some newspapers still show glimpses of free journalism.
Whether journalism is dead or not, the lawyers – who met for the first time on Špica – agree that the media should be allowed to publish anything in the public interest, provided the information is accurate, and they believe this does not affect the presumption of innocence, which is a right of every individual. However, while Jurić attributes misinformation to the lack of specialized journalists, Pavasović Visković takes a harsher stance. “If a true fact hinders a good story, so much the worse for the fact,” he remarked.
This raises the question of where public interest ends and dirty laundry begins, a phenomenon that was commonly aired in the “dirty 2000s.” Can we say it’s relevant for the investigation involving the promptly dismissed minister Vili Beroš that he’s a Freemason? “To me, it’s worse for Beroš to belong to Croatian Freemasonry than to take bribes—it’s more shameful, more pathetic,” Pavasović Visković openly concluded, adding that Croatian Freemasonry is a circus even Monty Python couldn’t have imagined.
It was impossible not to comment on the most talked-about topic of the past ten days—the meeting between Mile Kekin and Nikica Jelavić. Pavasović Visković vividly described the situation: “Two adults met. One asked something, the other said no,” adding that a mountain was made out of a molehill and there was no basis for involving the police. For Jurić, however, the entire situation is quite unpleasant, especially since it’s being used in the presidential election campaign “in an ugly and unnecessary way.”
In the new season of the podcast, Krešimir Macan brings new perspectives with experts from various sectors and explores potential solutions to challenges and current issues in Croatia and the world. Špica s Macanom premieres on YouTube every Saturday at 10 a.m. and is rebroadcast on TV channels Libertas TV, TV Zelina, Trend TV, and TV Nova. All episodes are also available on Spotify.
