Information

More than 27 million dinars of public funds have ended up this year in the accounts of media outlets owned by Vladan Stefanović through 16 supported projects. The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications alone contributed 17 million, while the remainder was provided by the Province and the local governments of Subotica and Novi Bečej.

The process of project co-financing for media content in Novi Pazar is non-transparent, influenced by politics, and unfair, as every year more than 70 percent of the funds are allocated to a single media outlet – Radio-Television Novi Pazar, according to representatives of local media from that city.

In the competition for project co-financing of media content in Novi Pazar, more than 75 percent of the financial resources were allocated to Radio-Television Novi Pazar this year, amounting to 30.8 million dinars out of a total of 41 million dinars. The remaining 10 million dinars were distributed among 22 media projects. According to the competition rules, a maximum of 32 million dinars could be awarded to a single project.

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.

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

In the competitions for project co-financing of media projects in Vranje and other cities and municipalities in southern Serbia, the quality of content does not determine which media will receive funding, but rather a "corrupt system that evaluates projects," believes the majority of representatives from local media in Vranje, Surdulica, and Bujanovac.

Local governments in southern Serbia allocated the most funds this year in competitions for project co-financing to media outlets from Vranje. RTV Vranje received a total of 14,350,000 dinars in Vranje and Trgovište, TV Vranjska Plus received 14,765,000 dinars in Vranje, Vladičin Han, and Trgovište, while the portal Koštana received 800,000 dinars in Vranje and Vladičin Han.

The Municipality of Bujanovac decided on August 11 to reject the proposal of the commission for the distribution of funds for the media content co-financing competition made on June 17. As stated in the conclusion of the Municipal Council, a budget revision for 2025 was conducted on July 18, and the funds allocated for the media were reduced from the originally planned three million to 200,000 dinars.

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has published a public online database of all announced competitions for project co-financing of media content of public interest in Serbia for the current year at all levels of government.