Ljubljana - After rejecting the candidacy of RTV Slovenija journalist Urban Laurenčič for the position of director of TV Slovenija (TVS), the public broadcaster's TV arm, the RTV programme council endorsed on Tuesday the appointment of music advisor Patrik Greblo as TVS acting director.

Andrej Grah Whatmough, RTV Slovenija director general, intends to publish a new call for applications for the post of TVS director as soon as possible.

Greblo, a journalist, conductor, composer, arranger of popular music and the director general's music advisor, will assume his new post on Wednesday for a maximum of one year or until the appointment of a full-fledged TVS director.

The director general said Greblo had an exceptional knowledge of the public service media, having worked in it for 25 years with the exception of some short hiatuses, adding that he was an appropriate candidate, especially in the current situation, in reference to ongoing tensions at RTV Slovenija which led to another journalists' strike yesterday.

At today's programme council meeting, Grah Whatmough could not guarantee whether Greblo will participate in negotiations with the strike committee on their strike demands.

Greblo graduated in arranging and composition from Berklee College of Music in Boston, the world's largest independent college of contemporary music, in 1995, and studied conducting with conductors George Monseur and George Pehlivanian. He is the author or co-author of more than 300 musical works for a wide variety of ensembles.

The programme council, meanwhile, did not back a proposal to appoint RTV sports journalist Urban Laurenčič TVS director. At least 15 members of the 29-strong council would have had to vote in favour to give their consent, but only seven did so.

Laurenčič, whose application was the only one of the three received in another open call that was eligible for consideration, intended to work in line with the seven editorial values of the British BBC if appointed. He believed he could be a bridge between the management and the strike committee.

TVS has been without a full-fledged director since the dismissal of Natalija Gorščak in August last year. She applied for the post in the previous open call, but failed to get the sufficient support on the programme council in May.