The Government established on Thursday an Interministerial Working Group to determine the need for public funding of press distribution as a service of general economic interest, so that all citizens can exercise their right to public information.
The group will prepare a proposal based on which the selection of the operator of the public service of press distribution will be organized.
Members of the working group will be representatives from the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Ministry of Finance, the Croatian Regulatory Agency, and representatives of the Croatian Employers’ Association, the Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Koržinek reported.
The chair of the working group will be the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković.
The government decision followed after Tisak plus d.o.o. terminated contractual agreements regulating the distribution and sale of press, commission sale of press, intercity transport of press, and the purchase of waste paper.
The Croatian Employers’ Association – Newspaper Publishers Association, as well as other smaller newspaper publishers, informed the Ministry of Culture and Media about the contract termination.
The Media Act prescribes that the Republic of Croatia promotes and protects pluralism and diversity of media and encourages the production and publication of program content which, among other things, relates to the exercise of the right to public information and the awareness of all its citizens. This obligation is also regulated by the Electronic Media Act.
“Considering that access to a public call for publishers with printed media has thus been prevented, and due to the disrupted distribution possibilities, it is necessary to proceed with establishing press distribution as a service of general economic interest and determine the possibilities of conducting a public procurement procedure for the selection of the operator of the public service of press distribution, so that all citizens of the Republic of Croatia can exercise their right to public information,” the decision’s rationale states.
The government proposed to the Croatian Parliament to accept the Report on the Work of Hina’s Supervisory Board for 2023.
According to the Report, Hina ended the analyzed financial year with a surplus of income over expenses of 75,808 euros, which is 54.3% less compared to 2022. In 2023, Hina continued to operate positively, as indicated by the financial results shown, values of the current liquidity ratio (2.0), and the debt ratio (0.17), as well as the timely settlement of obligations.
In 2023, Hina’s editorial office delivered 230,500 texts, photographs, and audio and video recordings to users through various services. Hina’s services are used by eight Croatian daily and weekly newspapers, 24 radio and TV stations, 55 internet portals, 15 foreign news agencies, and 21 foreign media outlets.
During 2023, almost 72,800 news items in Croatian and English were delivered through Hina’s services.