I enjoy writing about the European Union

Interview: Ivan Radak, Serbian winner of the European Young Journalist Award 2010

When you hear in public about the EU or European banks granting certain resources to Serbia, it usually means money allotted to large state projects, such as roads, bridges, reforms or the budget, and, reasonably so, great attention is paid to that. I wanted to show the readers that the money gets to the so-called ordinary people, that is, that the projects concerning their immediate surroundings are being financed

By MILENA STOŠIĆ  (Serbia)

European Young Journalist Award (EYJA), established by the European Commission – Directorate General for Enlargement, is awarded for the third time this year, in Istanbul, the European Cultural Metropolis for 2010. This pan-European competition awards national winners from 36 Member States, candidate and possible candidate states of the EU, its subject matter being the enlargement of the European Union. Journalists, younger than 35 years of age, have the right to participate.

Members of the Serbian jury – professor Miroljub Radojković of The Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, Đorđe Vlajić, a BBC Serbian radio journalist and Tanja Miščević, professor at The Faculty of Political Sciences and the former CEO of The EU Integration Office, this year gave the award to Ivan Radak, a journalist and editor of the economic section of a daily paper “Danas”, for his article entitled “Brussels not thrifty about good ideas”. With regard to that, the national winner of Serbia, spoke exclusively for the WAVE magazine about the importance of the competition, the award he got, his motivation and his upcoming travel to Istanbul.

Ivan started his career as a journalist six and a half years ago, writing for the economic section of “Danas”. However, he gets the most pleasure out of writing about the European Union.

- It did not take extra motivation to write the awarded article, since it is my pleasure to write about the European Union and the integration process of Serbia. Unfortunately, I used to do that more often in the past; while today I am obliged to do with the economic section more. Every Saturday “Danas” publishes a supplement entitled Plave strane (Blue Pages) dedicated to the EU themes, and it is a sort of escape for me, from all the economy talk.

The article “Brussels not thrifty about good ideas” presents some of the most interesting international cooperation projects of Serbia. What were your guidelines when choosing which stories to cover?

- When you hear in public about the EU or European banks granting certain resources to Serbia, it usually means money allotted to large state projects, such as roads, bridges, reforms or the budget, and, reasonably so, great attention is paid to that. I wanted to show the readers that the money gets to the so-called ordinary people, that is, that the projects concerning their immediate surroundings are being financed. I chose the ones which might be interesting to a large reading audience, such as – friendship of Serbian and Romanian tennis clubs members, fire protection of Vršačke Mountains, program for drugs protection of the young in Bor, education for children about Palić Zoo animals, employment of women in the south of Serbia. I believe that many people were not aware of such projects, which are financed by the EU.

How do you see this award in terms of your career and profession? What does it mean to you?

- This is another confirmation that those six and a half years spent being a journalist have certainly been meaningful and that I am really developing and advancing. The day I was notified about the award I was very anxious and angry about a problem I had, and then I had a call and a lovely female voice informed me that I was the winner, that I am the best at something. The feeling, when somebody tells you you got the award, it is the best feeling a man can have! Since I had a similar experience with the award I got in 2008, I knew how to enjoy myself. All the bad things of the day just vanished.

The award is not going to get me “promoted” to a higher position in “Danas” since I am already the editor of a section, but it is not bad for my CV, and maybe some future engagement

To what extent is the European Young Journalist Award acknowledged as relevant in Serbia? Do you think it is promoted enough, concerning that the topic of the EU enlargement itself is ever present and current?

- I think that the award is not promoted enough in Serbia, and even less acknowledged by the media. In that sense, the support it gets from your WAVE magazine is certainly encouraging for young journalists. Previous winners were not adequately represented in the media either, therefore it would be too much to ask on my part that someone should publish the news about the award I was given. Of course, there is always the old problem of some quasi competition among the media, who usually do not publish the news about the awards given to editorial staff other than their own. However, it should not discourage the journalists in Serbia to apply for the competition in the following years, since it is not so insignificant to get a European award, see your article in the book compiled from all the awarded articles, and, as I have already said, it is not bad for the damn CV as well.

This year, all national winners shall be presented with the award in Istanbul. What are your expectations regarding the journey there?

- Since journalists from all Member States and those who wish to become members of the EU will be present there, my goal is to see how they think about the EU, what they like about it and what they disapprove of. It will certainly mean a lot to me once I start writing new articles about the Serbian integration process. Apart from that, since I am still a university student of history, who left his studies once he got to preparing for The History of Byzantium exam, I hope that visiting Istanbul, former Constantinopole, is going to give me at least some motivation to pick up my studies, since nothing else seems to help.

Apart from the European Young Journalist Award Ivan Radak was also awarded The Best Young Economic Journalist of Serbia award in 2008, by the National Bank of Serbia. He wrote extensively about economy, covering almost every topic, had interviews with the current Prime Minister, a few ministers, both domestic and foreign, and is very much pleased with his journalistic career up to now. However, he does not fit in a stereotyped role of sterile economic topics author, maybe not so appealing to the young, which is certified by the fact that – in his own words – he is “a music addict, loves football, as well as films which have nothing to do with Hollywood”.

- I would like to write a book, but judging by the amount of time I commit to that, it will probably happen in, say, a hundred years time – Ivan jocularly concludes his interview for the WAVE magazine.

(Published in International youth web magazine WAVE: 10.04.2010.)

srpski

Intervju: Ivan Radak, dobitnik Evropske nagrade za mladog novinara 2010

Uživam da pišem o Evropskoj uniji

Kada se kod nas u javnosti pomene da su EU ili evropske banke odobrile određena sredstva Srbiji, to se najčešće odnosi na novac namenjen velikim državnim projektima, kao što su putevi, mostovi, reforme ili budžet, i tome se, razumljivo, posvećuje ogromna pažnja. Ja sam čitaocima želeo da pokažem da novac stiže i do takozvanih običnih ljudi, odnosno da se finansiraju i projekti koji mogu da se tiču njihove neposredne okoline

Piše MILENA STOŠIĆ (Srbija)

Evropska nagrada za mladog novinara (EYJA), koju je ustanovila Evropska komisija – Generalni direktorat za proširenje, biće ove godine dodeljena treći put, i to u Istanbulu, evropskoj prestonici kulture za 2010. Ovaj panevropski konkurs nagrađuje nacionalne pobednike u 36 zemalja članica, kandidata i potencijalnih kandidata za EU, a tema je proširenje Evropske unije. Pravo učešća imaju mladi novinari, do 35 godina.

Članovi srpskog žirija – profesor Miroljub Radojković sa Fakulteta političkih nauka u Beogradu, Đorđe Vlajić, novinar BBC radija na srpskom jeziku i Tanja Miščević, profesor Fakulteta političkih nauka i bivša direktorka Kancelarije za pridruživanje EU, ove godine nagradu su dodelili Ivanu Radaku, novinaru i uredniku ekonomske rubrike u dnevnom listu “Danas”, za tekst “Brisel ne štedi za dobre ideje”. Tim povodom nacionalni pobednik u Srbiji, ekskluzivno za WAVE magazine govori o značaju ovog konkursa, nagradi koju je osvojio, svojoj motivaciji i predstojećem putovanju u Istanbul.

Ivan je svoju novinarsku karijeru započeo pre šest i po godina u ekonomskoj rubrici “Danasa”, ali mu je zadovoljstvo da piše o Evropskoj uniji.

- Nije mi bila potrebna posebna motivacija za pisanje nagrađenog teksta, jer mi je uživanje da pišem o Evropskoj uniji i procesu integracije Srbije u EU. Na žalost, to sam češće radio prethodnih godina nego sada, jer imam više obaveza oko ekonomske rubrike. “Danas” subotom objavljuje redovni dodatak Plave strane koji je posvećen temama o EU, tako da mi to dođe kao neki prostor za beg od ekonomskih priča.

Tekst “Brisel ne štedi za dobre ideje” prikazuje neke od najinteresantnijih projekata prekogranične saradnje Srbije. Kojim kriterijumom si se rukovodio pri odabiru ovih priča?

- Kada se kod nas u javnosti pomene da su EU ili evropske banke odobrile određena sredstva Srbiji, to se najčešće odnosi na novac namenjen velikim državnim projektima, kao što su putevi, mostovi, reforme ili budžet, i tome se, razumljivo, posvećuje ogromna pažnja. Čitaocima sam želeo da pokažem da novac stiže i do takozvanih običnih ljudi, odnosno da se finansiraju i projekti koji mogu da se tiču njihove neposredne okoline. Odabrao sam one koji bi mogli biti zanimljivi za čitanje široj publici, kao što su – druženje članova teniskih klubova iz Srbije i Rumunije, zaštita Vršačkih planina od požara, program zaštite mladih od droga u Boru, edukacija dece o životinjama u zoo vrtu na Paliću, zapošljavanje žena na jugu Srbije. Verujem da mnogi nisu znali da postoje i takvi projekti koje finansira EU.

Šta za tebe i tvoj profesionalni angažman predstavlja ova nagrada?

- Ovo mi je još jedna potvrda da svih šest i po godina u novinarstvu itekako ima smisla i da zaista napredujem. Tog dana kada mi je javljeno da sam dobio nagradu celo pre podne bio sam nervozan i ljut zbog jednog problema koji sam imao, a onda je usledio poziv i jedan ljupki ženski glas mi je javio da sam pobednik, da sam najbolji u nečemu. Taj osećaj, kada ti neko saopšti da si dobio nagradu, to je nešto najlepše što čoveku može da se dogodi! Pošto sam imao slično iskustvo sa nagradom koju sam dobio 2008. godine, znao sam da uživam. Sve ono loše što mi se pre toga događalo odjednom je nestalo.

Nagrada me neće “unaprediti” na neku višu poziciju u Danasu, jer sam već urednik rubrike, ali nije loše za biografiju, i za možda neki naredni angažman u budućnosti.

Koliko je Evropska nagrada za mladog novinara u Srbiji prepoznata kao relevantna? Da li smatraš da je dovoljno promovisana, s obzirom na činjenicu da je sama tema proširenja EU konstantno aktuelna?

- Mislim da nagrada nije dovoljno promovisana u Srbiji, a još manje je prepoznata od strane medija, tako da je podrška koja stiže od vašeg WAVE magazina svakako podstrek za mlade novinare. Ni prethodni pobednici nisu dobili zaslužen prostor u medijima, pa bi i od mene bilo previše da očekujem da neko prenese vest da sam osvojio nagradu. Naravno, tu ima i nešto od onog starog problema nekog nazovi-takmičenja među medijima, koji uglavnom ne prenose vesti o nagradama koje su dobili novinari drugih redakcija. Međutim, to ne treba da sputava novinare u Srbiji da konkurišu i narednih godina jer nije mala stvar dobiti jednu evropsku nagradu, videti svoj tekst u knjizi svih nagrađenih radova, a ponavljam još jednom, nije loše ni za taj prokleti CV.

Ove godine svim nacionalnim pobednicima nagrada će biti dodeljena u Istanbulu. Šta očekuješ od tog putovanja?

- Pošto će tamo biti novinari iz svih zemalja Evropske unije i zemalja koje žele da postanu članice, cilj mi je da vidim kako oni razmišljaju o EU, šta im se sviđa, šta zameraju. To će mi sigurno značiti kada budem pisao neke nove tekstove o integraciji Srbije u EU. Pored toga, kako sam i dalje student istorije, koji je sa studijama stao tokom spremanja ispita Istorija Vizantije, nadam se da će me odlazak u Istanbul, odnosno nekadašnji Konstatinopolj, bar malo motivisati da pokrenem stvari sa mrtve tačke, što se tiče fakulteta, jer mi više ništa drugo ne pomaže.

Ivan Radak je osim Evropske nagrade za mladog novinara, dobitnik i nagrade za najboljeg mladog ekonomskog novinara u Srbiji za 2008. godinu, koju dodeljuje Narodna banka Srbije. Pisao je o gotovo svim ekonomskim temama, radio intervjue sa aktuelnim premijerom, nekoliko ministara, domaćih i stranih, i veoma je zadovoljan dosadašnjom novinarskom karijerom. Ali, da se ne uklapa u stereotip o autoru sterilnih ekonomskih tema, možda ne tako bliskih mladima, svedoči i podatak da je – kako sam kaže – “ovisnik o muzici, voli fudbal, kao i filmove koji nemaju veze sa Holivudom”.

- Voleo bih i da napišem neku knjigu, ali koliko radim na tome verovatno će se dogoditi za jedno sto godina – uz šalu zaključuje Ivan razgovor za WAVE magazine.

(Objavljeno u International youth web magazinu WAVE: 12.04.2010.)