Perhaps everything about our relationship with Hrvoje was said in one of the farewell messages on the web: ‘Hrvoje, we loved you so much!’
|
Written by: Miodrag Šajatović
[email protected]
|
He was full of optimism, which makes it even harder for us to accept that he lost the battle not due to his own fault. In establishing the truth, the editorial team will support the family in its decision, whatever it may be.
|
|
We have decided to establish an annual ‘Hrvoje Mateljić’ award for the best young economic journalists.
|
On Saturday, December 13 at 6 PM, our journalist and friend Hrvoje Mateljić sent me an email from the editorial office informing me that he had sent the agreed interview for authorization and that we should check on Monday if it had been returned. That Saturday, he also wrote the text for this double issue. As always, he was a perfectionist in the best sense of the word.
On Monday, he was supposed to go to the hospital, so he was resolving everything on Saturday. I knew that Hrvoje would not want us to visit him in the hospital, so we agreed that he would send an SMS a few days after the procedure. Unfortunately, on Friday, instead of an SMS, incredible news arrived: Hrvoje passed away after what was supposed to be a routine operation.
Four days have passed since then, and the editorial team of Lider cannot believe that the best among us left at the age of 35. The good spirit of the editorial team and all of Lider press has departed. Feelings of sadness, pain, disbelief, and anger are mixed…
Hrvoje was, above all, a great man, a friend, exceptionally intelligent, modest, and humorous. It is hard to believe, but in the 12 years I worked with him – he never raised his voice at anyone! He won people over at the first meeting. This is confirmed by the expressions of sorrow that flood the editorial office. He gained countless friends and, very likely – no one who was ever angry with him for any reason.
As a journalist, no matter how cooperative he was, he firmly defended his analytical approach to topics. He would gather facts, and in that, he was more persistent than all of us, so he did not need harsh words and qualifications, which are often used in journalism today when there are no arguments. If the editor insisted on ‘enhancing’ the text, Hrvoje would simply – gather more arguments.
He will be missed most by his family, but also by us with whom he shared journalistic days. His departure is a great loss for Croatian journalism. He was a journalist who proved that an impressive journalistic career can be built without aggression and sensationalism. Hrvoje had just entered his mature journalistic phase.
I am angry with myself because these words do not sound warm enough, but behind them is truly great respect for a friend and colleague. Hrvoje was in love with journalism. He joined the editorial office of Poslovni svijet of Večernji list in 1996. He wanted to bring his colleagues from the student magazine Manager to see what a real editorial office looks like. He came and stayed. Although as an excellent student he could choose a company where he could work as an economist, he was a freelance journalist for four years.
Since then, we have gone through many exciting, often difficult times: Poslovni svijet, Poslovni tjednik, Poslovni dnevnik, and finally, Lider. Hrvoje believed in this project when many doubted. Indeed, it was known that he noted that the moment of truth would come only after two years. When we celebrated the third birthday of Lider, he happily assessed that we had ‘made it’.
Upon arriving at Lider, he only asked not to be an editor anymore. He wanted to be a writer. He wrote for Lider, but he was an informal yet respected mentor to younger colleagues. I will never know how many times he was a motivator for those younger who did not yet have experience in difficult moments. But I know how many times he advocated in his own way, fine but determined, for their suggestions on how to improve the work in the editorial office.
Hrvoje did not like to talk about his health problems. He would not be pleased to see how his operation is being discussed in public today. But since his intimacy has become public, it should be said that he had already won the battle with weight once (2001). In recent months, he had started to win again, but he wanted to be sure of the final victory. He was full of optimism, and because of that, it is even harder for us to accept that he lost the battle not due to his own fault. In establishing the truth, the editorial team will support the family in its decision, whatever it may be.
We will never forget Hrvoje. There will not be a week that we do not conclude: ‘This is a topic for Hrvoje!’ To ensure that new generations learn about him, we have decided to establish an annual ‘Hrvoje Mateljić’ award for the best young economic journalists. If fate had not taken him, he could have been a teacher to many. Let him at least be an example. Perhaps everything about our relationship with Hrvoje was said in one of the farewell messages on the web: ‘Hrvoje, we loved you so much!’
