News

The largest local media players received hundreds of millions in budget funds again this year. Radoica "Maša" Milosavljević, companies linked to Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić, Goran Lalić, and former officer Slavko Stijaković fared the best. For Vidosav Radomirović, whose media outlets began covering the protests, the amount was drastically reduced.

The selection of a new Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) is entering its final phase, while the European Commission, in its latest progress report on Serbia, insists on strengthening the independence of media institutions. Journalist and former member of the REM Council, Višnja Aranđelović, and attorney from the Association of Journalists of Serbia, Gordana Konstantinović, point out issues regarding transparency, irregularities in the selection of proposers, and uncertainty about the further course of the procedure.

Comparing students who walk from Novi Pazar to Novi Sad to "Islamic fanatics" and "trained extremists," and labeling these students as "Hamas members" on the Informer and Pink television networks is prohibited by law as it constitutes hate speech and creates a climate of fear, humiliation, and hostility towards members of the Islamic faith, warned Brankica Janković, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, today.

The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) has established a Fund to Support Local Media.

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) has published a Guide for Gender-Sensitive Reporting, intended for young journalists, developed within the framework of the Journalism School. This publication, created in collaboration with the Council of Europe, explains journalistic responsibility in avoiding gender stereotypes, as well as in ethical reporting on violence against women and women's political participation.

The authorities are trying in every way to maintain control over the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM). After the agreement, it became clear that four independent candidates can be elected to the Council of REM, which has nine members. To facilitate the election of Ištvan Bodžoni, nine unauthorized proposers were brought forward for the voting of the Council of National Minorities.

The non-governmental organization Citizens' Initiatives has assessed that the Expert Service of the National Assembly, by including nine new proposers in the voting on candidates for the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM), has violated the Law on Electronic Media.

The Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS) and the Journalists' Association of Serbia (UNS) condemned the new threats directed at the Chairman of the Management Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) Veran Matić, journalist and co-author of the program "Good, Bad, Evil" Nenad Kulačin, and the editorial staff of the portal Mašina, which represent a serious attack on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists in Serbia.

All pro-government media only promoted what the authorities were doing before the collapse of the awning, instead of providing citizens with truthful, complete, and timely information. Afterwards, they broadcast statements from Aleksandar Vučić, who, in an effort to control the damage, blamed the professionals, which resulted in the arrest of 13 engineers, as noted in the authors' text by Dubravka Valić Nedeljković and Zoran Gavrilović.