Original article (in Slovenian) was published on 14/11/2023; Author: Eva Gračanin
The Slovenian Press Agency (STA) says that it could rack up an operating loss of up to €70,000 by the end of the year, but that it will probably be able to cover the loss with the planned release of provisions or with donations collected in the #zaobSTAnek” crowdfunding campaign.
The Moja Dolenjska portal claimed in an article on 2 November, that the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) would record the first loss in many years in 2023. They claimed that low government payments and rampant inflation were threatening the agency’s very existence.
Under the special law governing the STA, the agency is funded from the state budget on the basis of an annual agreement concluded with the Government, from commercial activities, sponsorships and donations, and from other sources provided for by the law and its Articles of Association. Under the law, adequate funding for the full and uninterrupted performance of the public service is the duty of the founder – the government.
The funding for STA is provided in each year’s budget in a line item for the Government Communications Office (UKOM). UKOM explained that each year, in addition to the public service agreement, they also purchase in a public procurement procedure access to the agency’s newswire for the state administration.
The article claimed that STA’s revenues “have decreased after the arrival of the government of Robert Golob” compared to what the agency had been receiving under the previous government. They also published a table on UKOM’s payments to the STA until 2022 that indicates UKOM paid more money to the agency last year than in 2020, but claimed that the actual amount of funds was lower in real terms due to inflation.
STA’s annual report shows that in 2022, when UKOM was headed by Uroš Urbanija, the agency finished the year with a net loss of €16,584.64.
STA explained to Razkrinkavanje.si that the loss at the end of 2022 was the result of several factors, including the hiring of new workers to replace those who had left the agency, an increase in public sector wages, and the fact that the amount of public service funding which it received that year was only slightly higher than in 2015.
In 2021, when STA was not receiving public funds for more than 300 days, the agency managed to break even mainly thanks to donations collected in a crowdfunding campaign led by the Slovenian Journalists’ Association, the annual report says.
STA will receive €2,271,600 in public funds this year under the public service agreement, an increase of almost 12% compared to the previous year, and €120,960 under the agreement for the purchase of agency newswire for the state administration, 11 times more than in 2022.
STA notes that at the end of the year, it could post an operating loss of up to €70,000, which it will probably still be able to cover through the planned release of provisions. The reasons for the negative performance, they explained, were higher input costs and a relatively low increase in public financing. If they are unable to cover the losses from provisions, they will tap into the funds left over from the 2021 donations campaign.
The findings were shared with Moja Dolenjska. Razkrinkavanje.si will share their reply upon receipt.
The claim that STA will make a loss for the first time in a long time is false, since it already posted a loss in the preceding financial year.
