The smell of power

With the hyped announcements, this week we got to see a new incarnation Milomir Marić, one of the most important media propagandist in these areas. He belongs to the generation of journalists that introduced the form of a political tabloid to the previously boring party propaganda.

In newspapers such as "Duga", "Interview", "Profile" and others, with the help of always unnamed sources, and usually close to the authorities, a yellow press was introduced, as an imitation of free media. That "freedom" instead of pluralism, a critical attitude towards the government, building and defending the democratic institutions of society, brought into the public space stories about our criminals, "tough guys", quasi-patriots, singers and starlets, deposed party leaders, informers and collaborators of the Udba and BIA, in short to everyone except free-thinking people, as a rule from the opposition. In our transitional media circus, three types of journalists were in charge of the tabloids.

Robert Čoban "covered" variety shows, recipes and hertz novels, as well as "ladies' literature".

Another type of homo tabloids are those who do the dirtiest jobs. He took on that role with us and performs it with enthusiasm editor and owner of "Informer", whose task is to make the people hate him more than the Leader he currently works for. The work is boring at times, in fact most of the time it is like that, but it is very rewarding. Here too, cooperation with the Service is implied, which is not hidden today on "Informer" - the show is called "Measures", and the channel is practically a screen of the secret service for compromising political opponents.

At the end, or at the top of that pyramid which implies that you are not disgusted by the smell of power, but that you are attracted to that combination of Eros and Thanatos, that's where Marić is at his best. While the journalists who were investigating were killed by the mafia, the Service, the leaders or their wives, he was able to sit unusually close to the powerful, whether they were Mira Marković, Bogoljub Karic and Peconi, whose television was hosted by Vučić today.

Milovan Đilas was imprisoned for political heresy when he wrote "New Class", and Marić made a bestseller "Children of Communism" out of it, but from a safe distance. A question of style or principle?

He hosted "Couples", launched a whole generation of starlets and reality show participants, and they called him when it was supposed to look like his current employer was a serious interlocutor. Of his employers, only Pecconi did not interview - he is old school, he does not trust Marić, even when he pays him.

For years, Milomir Marić tried to create a mimicry of neutrality, and the last interlocutor who reset him was Boris Tadić, who forced him to apologize to the students who were scolded to protest for money. That didn't happen anymore, because now others send him interlocutors according to the directive.

The latest incarnation is the digital platform "TS media", which represents Telekom's info content that it plans to add to its portfolio. After series and movies, sports, children's and documentary channels, it now has some kind of quasi-informative program, which will be transmitted and rebroadcast by other Telekom channels. This has actually removed the last fig leaf of kobayagi media pluralism, because you will now watch the interview with Vučić on at least five channels live, plus on dozens of channels in replay. Marić is the voice of Big Brother that Telekom will broadcast on all channels, you don't need a remote control.

This media "platform" is an announcement of the centralization of media editing, which is openly financed and edited in one place. This completely destroyed the media market, introduced media monopoly and concentration of media power, and used our legal anomaly that the provider has the possibility to be a producer of media content to the point of absurdity. Unfortunately, this has been a source of media manipulation for years Telecom and SBB, only now it is hitting the viewers' heads again.

What is actually broadcast on that channel because it is a separate cable channel on Telekom's network? Throughout the day, you have repeats of the morning program, like on "Happy Television", with a repeat of the interview with Vučić that lasted for hours. In this episode of "Ćirilica", which was similar to "Goli život", a thriller directed by Vučić is described, in which he chases snipers, protects citizens, plays music in Ćaciland, procures oil and gas, lines up prosecutors and judges, starts a "colored revolution" and there is probably something else, I just forgot. I don't know what he will do in the rest of the program, but it doesn't really matter, because in the digital world it doesn't matter what comes before and what comes after.

As "Pink's" platform "Apollon" for film and serial programs advertises itself as the "God of home entertainment", I wonder what ancient deity Marić would be as the master of the underworld. Now, is Marić the media Charon, who transports the souls of the dead to the underworld by boat, and you pay the obol with a gold coin that is placed under the tongue, or with two - one on each eyelid - depending on whether you want both image and tone?

How else to describe a special media task in the form of "Ćirilica", and after the anniversary of the fall of the canopy, which should have been meaningless and tarnished by the media, just like the strike of Diana Hrka, who is seeking justice and the truth about the death of her child.

In the end - Marić's presence in the media will be the best indicator of whether something will fundamentally change in this country even after Vučić, or whether the powerful will continue to screw the viewers through him and his ilk.