The Istria Branch of the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) strongly condemns the public attack by the Mayor of Labin, Donald Blašković, against Labinština.info journalist and Deputy Editor-in-Chief Kristian Stepčić Reisman over a news article in which, based on publicly available decisions of the City of Labin, he raised questions about possible changes to the city’s parking fee system.
Drawing on a publicly available municipal decision, the journalist concluded that the new regulation could potentially lead to an expansion of paid parking zones and reflected this possibility—framed as a question—in the article’s headline. The portal’s Editor-in-Chief, Nenad Čakić, subsequently removed the article, explaining that the journalist had not sought the City’s comment before publication. At the same time, however, he strongly condemned the Mayor’s reaction, describing it as inappropriate and scandalous.
In preparing the article, the journalist compared the consolidated version of the 2017 municipal decision with the new decision published in the Official Gazette of the City of Labin. Based on these publicly available documents and his journalistic analysis, he raised legitimate questions arising from the content of the decisions.
If the Mayor believed that the conclusions presented in the article were inaccurate or premature, he had access to all legal remedies available under Croatian law. He could have submitted a response or a correction to the editorial office and publicly explained the City’s decision instead of launching personal attacks against the journalist. Instead, he chose to insult the journalist on social media, claiming that “the heat had gone to his head” and accusing him of “lying,” “unprofessionalism,” and “malice.” In doing so, he focused far more on discrediting the author than on addressing the substance of the article or the issues it raised.
Particularly concerning is the part of the Mayor’s statement in which he declared that he would “only consider whether the City of Labin would continue cooperating with this so-called public media outlet after receiving a public apology.” Such a statement constitutes unacceptable pressure on the media and creates the impression that the City administration intends to make the public’s right to information conditional upon the way a particular media outlet reports on its work. Cooperation between public authorities and the media is not a matter of a mayor’s personal discretion but a legal obligation that public institutions owe to citizens.
As Mayor, Donald Blašković represents all citizens of Labin, including those who expect the media to critically scrutinise the work of local government. Following his public post, the journalist became the target of a wave of abusive comments on social media. Among them were comments calling for people to “urinate on journalists,” as well as messages openly supporting attacks on the media and portraying journalists as enemies.
We remind the public that journalists are not opponents of those in power but representatives of the public whose role is to analyse, compare and critically examine the decisions of public authorities. They have both the right and the professional duty to scrutinise the actions of public officials, draw conclusions based on publicly available documents, and warn about the potential consequences of public decisions without fear of insults, intimidation or political pressure.
The Istria Branch of the Croatian Journalists’ Association reiterates that criticism of journalistic work is entirely legitimate when it is based on facts and reasoned arguments. Personal insults, attempts to discredit journalists and threats to withhold institutional cooperation, on the other hand, constitute an unacceptable form of pressure on the media and undermine freedom of public information.
On behalf of the Istria Branch of the Croatian Journalists’ Association
Danijela Bašić-Palković, President of the Istria Branch
On behalf of the Executive Board of the Croatian Journalists’ Association
Hrvoje Zovko, President of the Croatian Journalists’ Association