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In August 1998, journalists Đuro Slavuj and Ranko Perenić went on assignment in a blue flag 128. Since then, there has been no trace of them. A large part of the territory they headed towards was controlled by the KLA. Investigations, if any were conducted, by both the UN and the EU, yielded no results. The memorial plaque for the missing journalists has been broken eight times, and a ninth has been installed.

I am afraid, just like anyone who engages in a public profession and reveals things that are against the authorities. However, essentially, it is a healthy dose of fear. It is not a fear that will ever stop me from doing what I believe in and what I think is true and just.

Member states of the European Union and the European Parliament must send a clear message to the Serbian authorities that their passive stance – and potential complicity – in this violence is not compatible with Serbia's goal of joining the EU, reported the Reporters.

The situation in the country is such that journalists have become accustomed to the abnormal circumstance of constantly wearing vests marked as journalists, said Veran Matić, the president of the Management Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), today in Novi Pazar.

For almost a year without the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM), the situation in the media landscape is, according to the assessment of sources from Insajder, "more chaotic than ever." Following the tragedy when a canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad, the issue of the non-existence of this body faded into the background. It was brought back into focus by students during a blockade in April when they continuously disrupted the operations of the Public Service for two weeks, demanding that a competition for members of the REM Council be announced as soon as possible. The competition was announced, applications were submitted, and then withdrawn. The situation seems to be going in circles. Meanwhile, some media outlets that should always operate in the public interest, respecting all laws and codes, are exploiting this period of vacuum to disseminate propaganda and threatening content.

In places where "everyone knows each other," at the infamous "local spot," journalists have an even harder time. Threats, blackmail, and financial strangulation are bringing down the last honest local media in Serbia, while those aligned with the regime are raking in money.

During the last conference on economic measures, Aleksandar Vučić warned journalists from "Šolak's media" – N1, Nova, and Danas – not to laugh while he was speaking. Sources from Danas agree that the attempt to ban laughter is a sign of the government's insecurity and fear of criticism.

The network of 24 internet portals owned by retired officer Slavko Stijaković has received nearly half a million euros since 2021 in media financing competitions, despite having plagiarized content in the articles published as part of the projects for which they received budget funds, including quotes attributed to non-existent interlocutors that actually belonged to other individuals.