LIVING WITHOUT CULTURE: THE MEDIA AND CULTURAL POLITICS IN SERBIA

Text topic: (Lack Of) Culture

Text author: Весна Ђукић

Media are intermediaries in the system of culture. Their role is one of a watchdog, carefully monitoring the Government. This is why the topic of this presentation is the relationship between the media and cultural policy. The basic research question is: If cultural policy represents a response to cultural needs and problems of the society and particular social groups in culture and arts, in what way do media mediate to fulfill this function? Another question is whose interests the media represent. If they are privately owned – are they protecting the interests of the citizens in whose name the Government is carrying out public policies or are they protecting the interests of the capital owners? The number of published articles on contemporary art production and the national cultural heritage indicates that there is no correlation between cultural policy and the media content in Serbia. Cultural policy favors non-commercial cultural and artistic content, while the media favor commercial ones.