Kurir
Encyclopedia
Kurir is a high-circulation daily tabloid published in Belgrade
. Its first issue appeared at the news stands on May 6, 2003.
Kurirs tone is abrasive, direct and irreverent. It runs sensationalist stories, the other publications won't touch. Although the paper heavily relies on celebrity gossip it also achieved considerable political influence.
of Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić, when another daily tabloid named Nacional was shut down.
Using its broad powers under the state of emergency act, Serbian government's Ministry of Culture and Information headed by Branislav Lečić
issued a temporary ban on publication of Nacional
daily on March 18, 2003 for "publishing a number of articles relating to the state of emergency and for questioning the reasons behind the state of emergency".http://archiv2.medienhilfe.ch/News/2003/SER/IWPR429.htm Then on April 1, 2003, the Belgrade city commercial court started liquidation proceedings against Nacionals publisher in Belgrade, Info Orfej. Despite an appeal, the company's equipment, including 118 computers, was seized on April 21, 2003, two days before the state of emergency ended.
Many of the former Nacional staffers found employment in newly formed Kurir, including Dragan J. Vučićević, ex Nacional deputy-editor-in-chief who took the same post at Kurir. New paper bore an uncanny resemblance to the old one, both in tone and layout. This led many critics to conclude that Kurir continued right where Nacional left off. In addition to Kurir, another similar daily tabloid Balkan attempted to move into the void left by Nacionals ban. Even the original Nacional sort of reappered - under the same financial backing, new staff, and a new name Internacional. However, neither publication could keep up commercially. Balkan folded in early 2005 while Internacional changed its name to Srpski nacional along with a format makeover.
Many credit Kurir for providing the final nudge to Prime Minister Zoran Živković
's shaky government, in effect forcing it to call early elections for December 28, 2003. Throughout fall of 2003, Kurir ran stories of dodgy voting practices in Serbian parliament and blasted the ruling coalition (DOS
) MP Neda Arneric
for misusing her parliamentary voting rights.
They also wrote to no end about Minister of the Interior Dušan Mihajlović
's alleged shady deals done through his own Lutra company. Sources that supplied Kurir with all this insider info appear to be members of G17 Plus
which led some observers to accuse this party's leadership of deliberate character-assassination by feeding information to a tabloid they knew would publish anything.
Kurir, for their part quickly turned on G17 too, as soon as they came into power. Tabloid wrote about their party's president (and since March 2004 deputy PM) Miroljub Labus
' conflict of interest in arranging for his daughter to get a scholarship through Ericsson
company while later taking part in negotiations between that corporation with state-owned Telekom Srbija
.http://arhiva.kurir-info.rs/Arhiva/2005/maj/10/V-01-10052005.shtml
Later, they turned on National Bank of Serbia
governor Radovan Jelašić
(also from G17 plus). The issue was his plush villa in the elite Belgrade suburb of Dedinje
that governor said he bought for 350,000 euros. Kurir on the other hand claimed it could not have cost under million and a half and finally even found a buyer who offered Jelasic a million for the house. This buyer was, it turned out, business tycoon Bogoljub Karic which was strong opponent of G17 plus policies, and during this period Kurir was heavily influenced by Bogoljub Karic.
Since May 6, 2006 there is a special issue of Kurir for the western European countries.
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. Its first issue appeared at the news stands on May 6, 2003.
Kurirs tone is abrasive, direct and irreverent. It runs sensationalist stories, the other publications won't touch. Although the paper heavily relies on celebrity gossip it also achieved considerable political influence.
History
While Kurirs history is relatively short, it is also a checkered one. It goes back to the state of emergency declared following the assassinationAssassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Serbia's Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić, when another daily tabloid named Nacional was shut down.
Using its broad powers under the state of emergency act, Serbian government's Ministry of Culture and Information headed by Branislav Lečić
Branislav Lecic
Branislav Lečić is a Serbian actor, and politician. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts of the University of Belgrade as an actor in 1978...
issued a temporary ban on publication of Nacional
Nacional (newspaper)
Nacional was Daily newspaper of Serbia published in Belgrade from 2001 until 2003.Financially supported by publishing company NIP INFO ORFEJ, whose general manager was Milorad Antonić, and by income realized from the sale of items of Ekskluziv magazin, Nacionals first issue appeared on December 4,...
daily on March 18, 2003 for "publishing a number of articles relating to the state of emergency and for questioning the reasons behind the state of emergency".http://archiv2.medienhilfe.ch/News/2003/SER/IWPR429.htm Then on April 1, 2003, the Belgrade city commercial court started liquidation proceedings against Nacionals publisher in Belgrade, Info Orfej. Despite an appeal, the company's equipment, including 118 computers, was seized on April 21, 2003, two days before the state of emergency ended.
Many of the former Nacional staffers found employment in newly formed Kurir, including Dragan J. Vučićević, ex Nacional deputy-editor-in-chief who took the same post at Kurir. New paper bore an uncanny resemblance to the old one, both in tone and layout. This led many critics to conclude that Kurir continued right where Nacional left off. In addition to Kurir, another similar daily tabloid Balkan attempted to move into the void left by Nacionals ban. Even the original Nacional sort of reappered - under the same financial backing, new staff, and a new name Internacional. However, neither publication could keep up commercially. Balkan folded in early 2005 while Internacional changed its name to Srpski nacional along with a format makeover.
Many credit Kurir for providing the final nudge to Prime Minister Zoran Živković
Zoran Živkovic (politician)
Zoran Živković is a former Prime Minister of Serbia who replaced assassinated Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić in March 2003. He was born on December 22, 1960 in Niš where he finished high-school Bora Stanković. Živković received a community college diploma in Economics in Belgrade and worked as...
's shaky government, in effect forcing it to call early elections for December 28, 2003. Throughout fall of 2003, Kurir ran stories of dodgy voting practices in Serbian parliament and blasted the ruling coalition (DOS
Democratic Opposition of Serbia
The Democratic Opposition of Serbia was a wide alliance of political parties in Serbia , formed as a coalition against the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia and its leader, Slobodan Milošević in 2000...
) MP Neda Arneric
Neda Arneric
Neda Arnerić is a Serbian actress.-Selected filmography:*Shaft in Africa *The Republic of Užice *The Sensual Man *Who's That Singing Over There...
for misusing her parliamentary voting rights.
They also wrote to no end about Minister of the Interior Dušan Mihajlović
Dušan Mihajlovic (politician)
Dušan Mihajlović is a Serbian politician. Mihajlović was the founder and president of the New Democracy political party with its base in Valjevo, Serbia. Mihajlović earned a degree from the University of Belgrade's Law School...
's alleged shady deals done through his own Lutra company. Sources that supplied Kurir with all this insider info appear to be members of G17 Plus
G17 Plus
G17 Plus , abbreviated to G17+, is a centre-right political party in Serbia. With 22 seats in the National Assembly, it is the third-largest party, and currently participates in a coalition with, amongst others, the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party...
which led some observers to accuse this party's leadership of deliberate character-assassination by feeding information to a tabloid they knew would publish anything.
Kurir, for their part quickly turned on G17 too, as soon as they came into power. Tabloid wrote about their party's president (and since March 2004 deputy PM) Miroljub Labus
Miroljub Labus
Miroljub Labus is a Serbian economist and politician. Currently he's a University of Belgrade professor, lecturing political economy at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law...
' conflict of interest in arranging for his daughter to get a scholarship through Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
company while later taking part in negotiations between that corporation with state-owned Telekom Srbija
Telekom Srbija
Telekom Srbija is a telecommunications company based in Serbia, with its headquarters in Belgrade...
.http://arhiva.kurir-info.rs/Arhiva/2005/maj/10/V-01-10052005.shtml
Later, they turned on National Bank of Serbia
National Bank of Serbia
National Bank of Serbia is the central bank of Serbia; its main responsibilities are the protection of price stability and maintenance of financial stability....
governor Radovan Jelašić
Radovan Jelašic
Radovan Jelašić is a Serbian economist. He is the former Governor of the Serbian National Bank....
(also from G17 plus). The issue was his plush villa in the elite Belgrade suburb of Dedinje
Dedinje
Dedinje is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Savski Venac...
that governor said he bought for 350,000 euros. Kurir on the other hand claimed it could not have cost under million and a half and finally even found a buyer who offered Jelasic a million for the house. This buyer was, it turned out, business tycoon Bogoljub Karic which was strong opponent of G17 plus policies, and during this period Kurir was heavily influenced by Bogoljub Karic.
Since May 6, 2006 there is a special issue of Kurir for the western European countries.
Editorial history
- Đoko Kesić May 2003 - December 2005
- Antonije Kovačević December 2005 - September 2007
- Đuro Bilbija September 2007 - ??? 2008
- Rade Jerinić ??? 2008 - ??? 2010
- Jovica Krtinić ??? 2010 - 2011
- Branislav Bjelica ??? 2011 - present