Analysis

The prestigious international organization Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has warned of serious security risks and threats of violence faced by journalists in Serbia ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. CPJ calls on President Aleksandar Vučić to ensure that journalists can report on the voting on October 25 “safely and without fear.” “Journalists reporting from polling stations face serious risks of threats, violence, and hostility, which have become extremely common during Vučić's term in office,” stated CPJ. We present the full analysis of the security risks that journalists in Serbia are exposed to in its entirety.

Written by Veran Matić, President of ANEM

“This is not about a SLAPP lawsuit; we only have one criminal and one civil lawsuit, although it could have been two criminal and two civil lawsuits” – this statement was made today during the main hearing by Aleksandar Đorđević, lawyer and husband of Appellate Court Judge Dušanka Đorđević, with whom he has sued the Crime and Corruption Research Network KRIK. The fact that this does indeed involve a lawsuit with SLAPP elements, aimed at preventing further investigation by this globally awarded journalism team and editorial office, is best illustrated by the fact that the Đorđević couple first sued the Editor-in-Chief Stevan Dojčinović and journalist Bojana Pavlović. They filed criminal charges against them seeking prison sentences of 10 months each and two-year bans on practicing journalism, which is the most extreme demand in Europe in recent years. Following the lawsuit against Dojčinović and Bojana Pavlović, lawyer Đorđević and Judge Đorđević, just a few months later, also filed a lawsuit against Deputy Editor-in-Chief Bojana Jovanović and journalist Jelena Radivojević with the same demands. Thus, the Đorđević couple is seeking a total of approximately three years in prison for the journalists and eight years of prohibition from practicing journalism, while in the civil lawsuit, they are seeking 700,000 dinars in damages.

The guide for members of project evaluation committees within the project funding process for media content in Serbia has been created with the intention of helping members establish clearer boundaries between professional judgment and arbitrary decision-making.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has published an analysis of the co-financing process for media content production projects in Serbia for the year 2026.

Media associations and journalistic organizations (Association of Independent Electronic Media, Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia, Journalists' Association of Serbia, Local Press, and Media Association) have agreed on a proposal regarding the necessary changes in the process of project co-financing of media content, which has been officially sent to the addresses of the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications.

A total of 47.23 million dinars was distributed in the competitions held in Novi Pazar, Nova Varoš, Priboj, and Prijepolje. RTV Novi Pazar received 19.8 million dinars, while Slađana Ostojić, a candidate from PROUNS, served on four committees.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has launched several public online databases that provide information to all interested parties regarding the actions of the police, prosecutors, and courts in cases of threats and attacks on journalists, as well as all cases of SLAPP lawsuits against journalists and media outlets.

In Šumadija, 80 media projects were supported through competitions for co-financing media content in 2026, with a total of 71,700,000 dinars. Every third funded project focuses on cultural and historical heritage, while nearly a quarter addresses tourism; however, none of them have been identified as dealing with corruption, public spending, or oversight of institutional operations. In this way, the project co-financing model, which is currently crucial for the financial sustainability of local media, has completely displaced investigative and critical journalism from local media and communities.

As part of the project "Improving the system and mechanisms of prevention and response in cases of threats to the safety and life of female and male journalists in Serbia", the Association of Independent Electronic Media with partners the Center for the Development of Local Media (CRLM) from Požarevac and Insider TV strives to improve the system of protection of journalists and media workers. One of the activities of the project is the preparation of a report by the CRLM on the state of local and smaller media, both in terms of security and financial and every other relevant aspect for the independence and professionalism of the media.