The Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) strongly condemns the remarks made by the Deputy Mayor of Split, Bojan Ivošević, who on Monday accused the Dalmatinski portal and journalist Živana Šušak Živković of ‘doing dirty work’ for his political competition. The reason for Ivošević’s remarks was an article that problematized the changes to the regulations on the use of city ‘personnel’ apartments and the fact that this move will indirectly affect the status of his father, also a user of a city apartment.
The Croatian Journalists’ Association believes that the mentioned article was written entirely in accordance with professional standards – in fact, it implies that the changes to the regulations at this time primarily benefited another individual, a doctor who owns a house and thus did not fit the previous criteria for the allocation and use of city properties.
This fact is clearly stated in the allegedly controversial article’s headline. With his remarks, Deputy Mayor Bojan Ivošević accuses journalists and media professionals of doing their job professionally, without reason or cause, subjecting them to additional public criticism and disdain, which we consider unacceptable behavior for a public official.
We consider the paranoid constructions about alleged journalistic ‘dirty work’ for political competition completely unfounded, inappropriate, and unworthy of the position held by Ivošević.
Croatian Journalists’ Association, Branch of the Split-Dalmatia County
President: Damir Petranović
