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The system of project co-financing for media content, which is intended to ensure media pluralism and the production of content in the public interest, has, in practice, become one of the most controversial mechanisms for distributing public funds in Serbia over the past few years. Instead of supporting professional journalism, numerous competitions increasingly end up as a model of political allocation of funds, where the fate of hundreds of millions of dinars is decided by a small group of people who appear year after year in dozens of competition committees across the country.

For months, the authorities have been attacking Veran Matić, and the latest overt threat to his life came from the favorite child of the regime - the Center for Social Stability, stating: "If any of you see Veran Matić in the next month or two, tell him he is not the only (pseudo) journalist who has grown a beard and to be a little more patient; the continuation is coming soon."

During the past month, the Center for Social Stability, a non-governmental organization known for targeting independent journalists, has intensified its ongoing smear campaign against Veran Matic, the president of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) and a member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemns these shameful attacks and calls on the Serbian authorities to respond swiftly by initiating an investigation into the Center for Social Stability.

Are they listening to you? Don't worry – they are listening. Are they collecting your personal data? Of course they are. Are they monitoring you? Quite possibly. Do they threaten you? If you want to know what it's like to feel this firsthand, ask Veran Matić.

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) is concerned about the threatening and alarming statement made by the Center for Social Stability regarding Veran Matić. It calls for the Ministry of Interior to conduct a security assessment of Matić and provide him with police protection, and for the Prosecutor's Office to urgently carry out an investigation.

Written by: Branko Čečen

More than one-third of journalists have been diagnosed with a mental disorder, or believe they have one even though they have not sought help, which is twice the rate of the general population in Serbia. The percentages of anxiety (72.1%), depression (40.4%), panic attacks (31.7%), and PTSD (19.2%) are shocking. More than 81 percent of journalists have experienced burnout at least once due to work, according to a study by the OSCE.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Jan Bratu, stated that he is deeply disturbed that "the campaign of threats and intimidation against prominent Serbian journalist and media freedom advocate Veran Matić continues."

Written by: Jovana Gligorijević

The title of this text is a line from the song “Gitare morte,” a duet by Arsen Dedić and Kemal Monteno. The music is by Arsen, and the lyrics were created based on the letters they exchanged during the siege of Sarajevo. It is in poor taste to compare anything to the hell of Sarajevo, but here we are discussing a line, not an event.

The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) strongly condemns the threats directed at the President of the Management Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), Veran Matić, by the Center for Social Stability and demands an urgent and decisive response from the competent prosecutor's office.