Home
up

NIP “Poljepress” d.o.o.

Independent Review “Polje”, Bijelo Polje, Montenegro

• Socio-political environment

Although the immediate threat of a civil war and other conflicts in the region have been diminished by the fall of the repressive regime in Serbia, many of the pressing problems remain unsolved. The fact that the future of the community between Serbia and Montenegro is still an open question creates even more tension in the already complex situation in the northern region of Montenegro which borders with both Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia. This region of mixed ethnic and religious structure marks absolutely no progress in political and economic terms over the past 10 years. Political differences in Montenegro, and especially in the north, are great, and ethnic and religious intolerance is still very intense. Economic decline and high unemployment rate have caused grave social problems.

The poor economic situation is further burdened by a high number of displaced people and refugees from Kosovo and Bosnia. The difference in regional development are more striking every day, the north falling behind at a fast pace compared to other parts of the Republic while the government does very little to change this situation.

Local authorities are not accountable for their actions. Corruption remains, especially in the sphere of privatization.

• Profile of the magazine «Polje»

The first number of «Polje» was issued on 17 May 1997 in 1000 copies. Today, it is a regional publication, the only one of such concept in the north of Montenegro with a circulation of 3000.

On 5 September 2000, the frequency increased from monthly to by-monthly so «Polje» is now released every second Tuesday. The changed dynamic caused the distribution area to expand. Earlier, «Polje» was sold in the northern municipalities and Podgorica only. Today, it covers the whole republic. 

«Polje» has 3 full-time employees (director, editor-in-chief and techical editor), and 25-30 part-time journalists. It is our plan to continue with this dynamic of employment. This year, «Polje» intends to hire three more workers: one journalist, a secretary and a marketing and sales assistant. The gender structure at the moment is unbalanced (men being predominant) but this is an issue we want to tackle in the future.

In year 2000, the independent review «Polje» has marked progress in many aspects, which added to the credibility and importance of the publication in the media space of Montenegro. The support we have received enabled «Polje» to upgrade and renovate its premises, purchase quality IT equipment and office furniture. We have established a good staff structure and a correspondent network, three of the staff members becoming full-time employees. The graphic design of the review has also been improved.

Since September 2000, the frequency of «Polje» increased from monthly to by-monthly. Every other Tuesday, the publication can be found at all sale points throughout Montengro. The circulation became more stable currently totaling 3000 copies. The distribution network now covers all municipalities in the republic. The weak purchasing power of the population dictates the low retail price of DEM 1which has not been changed despite the significant increase of paper and print costs. The trade blockade created difficulties in paper supply which consequently affected its cost. 

The distribution of «Polje» is carried out through the «Papirpress» enterprise from Podgorica which further increases total expenditure. 

The quality of the review has significantly improved since its frequency changed from monthly to by-monthly publication. This shift enabled provision of timely and up-to-date information and subsequently expanded the readership. Our review is a much cited medium.

The orientation of «Polje» can best be described in two words: independence and openmindedness.

One of the greatest problems of «Polje» is still the lack of proper marketing and promotion policy, however, it is our plan to hire a marketing expert in 2001. Although the overall economic situation is grave, «Polje» must prepare for the up-coming period by securing means for its survival through putting into better use its advertising space.

• Purpose and objectives of the project

The objective of this project is create conditions for the expansion of the distribution onto the seven municipalities belonging to the Serbian Sandzak region and thus to increse its circulation. Geographically, this region borders with the northern Montenegrin part of Sandzak which is in all aspects covered in our publication. Historical, cultural and economic ties bond these two regions closely together. «Polje» would, therefore, be the only publication to bring hot issues of both parts under the same umbrella. In this way, both the circulation and impact would visibly increase. «Polje» attempted to carry out this project earlier, but only now, after the changes in Serbia, did the prospects for its realization become realistic.

For the year 2001, «Polje» plans to carry out two parallel projects we believe will create conditions for the publication to become self-supporting. The recent economic and political environment did not provide for basic conditions for such projects, primarily due to the weak economic power of the consumer. 

The first project is to positively affect the distribution network and circulation which we discussed earlier, and the other provides for the purchase of the printing equipment. The latter is intended to reduce the current cost of printing, while on the other hand, it would enable us to increase revenue by providing printing services to other clients and thus fill the existing financial gaps. The aim of this project is, therefore, to enable a level of self-sufficiency, a requirement for a long-term development concept as an independent medium.

• Target group

Given the fact that the area in which «Polje» operates is very limited, with a rather low number of total population, we tend to attract as wide an audience as possible with diverse and interesting topics. The priority, however, are young people between 20 and 40 years of age, intellectuals, students, and, in economic terms, the middle class readers who support democratic changes of a society in transition such as Montenegro.

go to top

P.O. Box, CH-8031 Zürich, Switzerland
Phone +41-1-272 46 37,  Fax +41-1-272 46 82, email: info@MEDIENHILFE.ch