Serbia

Media Bias, Legislative Challenges, and the Fight for Freedom

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Number of Students

↓ Declining

Number of Daily Newspapers

↑ Growing

Number of Protests for Media Freedoms

↑ Growing

Intrusive Surveillance and Unprotected Journalistic Sources

Misuse of Media Financing

Weak Journalist Unions

Executive Summary

Alongside the rise of new technologies and the evolving global conditions in the media industry, journalism and media in Serbia will face numerous challenges, particularly in the areas of basic media freedom and journalist protection, based on the findings of this research:

There is no reliable data on the number of journalists in Serbia, or how many of them are women or members of marginalized groups.
Media ownership in Serbia is highly concentrated, particularly in the television broadcasting sector, which affects media reporting. Channels with national frequencies often align their narratives with the government’s or ruling party’s agenda.
The state and ruling party demonstrate tendencies to control the media. This is evident in the newly updated law that allows business companies engaged in electronic communications, such as the state-owned Telekom, to own media outlets. Additionally, findings indicate that some media owners at the local level are connected to the ruling party.
Media financing is often misused to encourage biased reporting. Public calls for funding are corrupted by GONGO media organizations, which prioritize funding pro-government outlets; state advertising is not regulated by law, and the media community was left out of the discussion on new advertising laws; despite receiving the majority of its budget from citizens’ subscriptions, the national public broadcaster RTS is still perceived as one of the most pro-government outlets in the country; foreign donors, including the EU, US and UK, provide significant financial support for media projects in Serbia, but there is no transparent data on the total amount of money donated.
National minorities are represented through media outlets funded by National Councils of National Minorities. However, journalists from some of these media outlets work under political pressures and engage in self-censorship. National minorities living in the northern province of Serbia, Vojvodina, are also served by the provincial public broadcaster RTV. RTS does not provide content in the languages of the Bosnian, Vlach and Bulgarian communities in Serbia’s eastern and western regions. Romani and Albanian communities are represented on RTS, but the amount of content is minimal.
Television is the most commonly used source of news and information, with citizens watching up to eight hours of television daily. The most-watched TV news programmes are central-informative political shows on channels with national frequencies, which are widely considered pro-government.
Only 30% of Serbian citizens trust the media. Social media is the least trusted media type, while television is the most trusted.
The number of protests regarding media freedom has been growing in the recent years, but the right to protest has often been undermined by violence and intimidation from politicians and pro-government media.

Serbia

Valentina Sigeti, Teodora Koledin

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CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX

↑ in 2023

ON A 0-100 SCALE
RANK 104/180

VOTER TURNOUT

46%

2024

LOCAL ELECTIONS

MEDIA RANKING FOR TRUST

8th

2024

OUT OF 10 INSTITUTIONS

MEDIA TRUST

30%

↓ 2023

POPULATION “TEND TO” OR “TOTALLY” TRUST

NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING BUDGET

€124.5M

↑ 2023

TOTAL AMOUNT

NATIONAL ADVERTISING MARKET

€259M

↑ 2023

TOTAL VALUE

PUBLIC FUNDING TO MEDIA

€16.5M

↑ 2023

TOTAL AMOUNT FROM THE NATIONAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

COMPLAINTS TO THE NATIONAL SELF- REGULATORY BODY

125

↑ 2023

TOTAL NUMBER