How did we survive for three and a half decades? That belongs to a serious mystery, especially since in "Vremen", from the first issue until today, it was never good. It could only be worse (often) and slightly better (rarely). And here we are, 35 years later...
satirical illustration: vladimir stankovski...
Like the United States of America, "Vreme" has founding fathers and - to be politically correct unlike the Americans - founding mothers. That group of top journalists and intellectuals was convinced that the weekly, whose first issue was published on October 29, 1990, would be the leading Yugoslav mainstream news-magazine, following the example of "Time", "Njuzvik", "Špiegl", "Ekonomist" and some others.
They were right, even though Yugoslavia disappeared and war broke out, the fundamental concept of "Time" survived. The reason is that behind the publication and survival of our newspaper was the moral imperative of all of us who created it. It is about resistance to wars, demagoguery, nationalism, personality cults, autocracy, crime, robbery of the people and, at the same time, our strong fight for human and civil rights, democracy, a life worthy of man, all insulted and humiliated.
This editorial policy has lasted all thirty-five years of "Vremena". It sums up – partially and inadvertently borrowed from Pulitzer – our current slogan: "Always independent, never neutral". Indeed, as the first private and independent media in Serbia since 1945, we do not justify ourselves to anyone but the audience.
......
In the editorial of the first issue of Vreme, the first editor-in-chief, Zoran Jeličić, wrote that our goal will be "the pinnacle of achieved values in the journalistic profession and society in general. Beyond that, Vreme has neither permanent allies nor constant opponents."
As far as we're concerned, that's how it stayed. Nevertheless, we have gained permanent enemies whose pressures, subterfuges, and attacks have only changed form and continue throughout our entire history - both on October 29, 1990, and on October 29, 2025, and there will be no shortage of them in the future. These are the ones who would replace the truth with a lie, subjugate personal interests to those of the people, destroy personal integrity with hypocrisy, relativize robbery, wars and all their other wrongdoings. We have never given in to them, and we never will.
During our three and a half decades, a lot has changed in Serbia and the world. We are no exception. Carefully preserving the basics and tradition, we always tried to keep up with the times. This means that, in addition to printed and digital editions, today we have an internet portal, podcasts, video production of documentaries, newsletters, profiles on social networks and other media forms of the digital age. What does the future bring? This is not a question for the journalist veteran and the signatory of this text, but for the young people in the editorial office who will make up "Vreme" in the next thirty-five years.
Every jubilee - including this one - serves for the celebrants to praise themselves and pat themselves on the back. Indeed, we have done all kinds of good, useful and smart things during our existence and existence. There were mistakes and detours, thanks for asking. Our apology is as follows: we have never knowingly and deliberately stated untruths, it was always about rashness, ignorance, banal human error and, perhaps, too strong passion, but not about evil intent.
"Time" has never morally failed. During all the past years, we have always been on the right side of history. It is the same now. Presidents, prime ministers, ministers and their regimes come and go, we stay. Without us, it is impossible to see and understand the history of Serbia and the post-Yugoslav area in the last thirty-five years, and as for them - let them see for themselves what they will tell their children and grandchildren.
In the end, "Time" is made, was made and will always be made by people. If we except the basic postulates, we have never been like-minded. Why then do we hold on to each other so much, enduring constant stress and pressure, sacrificing our personal and family standards? Why is "Time" if not the most important, then at least a particularly important item in their career, for current and former members of the editorial staff - regardless of their current attitudes?
The answer is simple. Working at "Vremen" was never just an ordinary journalistic job. It is about something incomparably greater than that - it is about a call. As long as that feeling is alive, so will "Time". In this name, we continue for the next thirty-five years.
