Dražen Miočić is the likely new director general of Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), following confirmation from sources within the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). Miozzi is set to replace Robert Šveb at the helm of the public broadcaster, whose five-year term is expiring and who did not seek re-election. The final decision is yet to be confirmed by the Croatian Parliament.
Miočić’s career at HRT began in 1994 in the Zagreb Panorama programme, where he worked as a reporter, and later as an editor and presenter. He spent three years in The Hague reporting on the judicial proceedings against Croatian generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak, and Mladen Markač. He also served as coordinator for monitoring Croatia’s entry into NATO, overseeing numerous projects related to the trials in The Hague and defence and security issues.
He led the news department of Croatian Television from June 2011 to July 2012, overseeing programmes such as Open, Dnevnik, Vijesti and Studio 4. He also served as editor-in-chief of the fourth channel of HRT, and during Siniša Kovačić’s term in 2016, he temporarily acted as director of the HRT programme. He holds a degree in journalism from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb, having previously completed studies in history and philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities.
Miočić is a participant in the Homeland War with the rank of lieutenant and is a recipient of the Homeland War commemorative medal. He began his service in 1990 in the Ministry of the Interior, and in June 1991 he joined the ranks of the National Guard and subsequently the Croatian Army. In December 2011, following disputes over a television report on Vukovar, he suspended Zoran Šprajc from his editorial and presenting roles in the Dnevnik news. He was also among the signatories of a statement by the then-directorate, which rejected the findings of the audit by the supervisory board, standing by the way Siniša Kovačić had managed the house.
Miočić has been profiled as the frontrunner for Šveb’s successor for weeks, with his candidacy supported by the right wing of the HDZ and veteran groups. Some media outlets have reported that Prime Minister Davor Božinović also supports him. Eight applications were received for the top position, of which six were deemed valid. In addition to Mio, the race included Gordana Grand, Tomislav Štengl, Mario Raguž and Zoran Avar, who are already employees of HRT, while Fran Juraj Prižmić was the only candidate from outside the house.
The parliamentary committee for information, information technology and media is expected to confirm Mio’s candidacy on Friday, with members of the Croatian Parliament set to vote on the new director on Wednesday, 21 October. A majority of all members of parliament is required for the appointment to the five-year term. The selection process is taking place amid vocal objections from the opposition and professional associations. Uršula Raukar Gamulin, a Member of Parliament for the Possible party and deputy chair of the media committee, has called for the termination of the tender and the adoption of a new text following the alignment of domestic legislation with the European Media Freedom Act. Maja Sever, head of the European Federation of Journalists and the Croatian Journalists’ Union, warned that the current law allows the ruling majority to exert full control over the selection of HRT’s leadership, and stressed that it is necessary to ensure the real independence of the service, ahead of the legislative amendments to the law that the government has promised to implement by the end of the current year.
