Analysis of the Tender in Šumadija: Public Interest Has Become Promotion

To remind, competitions for co-financing projects for the production of media content of public interest represent one of the most important instruments of public policy in the media sector. Their purpose is not only to inform citizens and provide financial support to local media, but also to encourage the production of content that serves the public interest – from informing citizens about issues of significance to local communities, through education, culture, and social inclusion, to researching the work of public institutions, improving transparency, and strengthening the accountability of public officials.

The analysis conducted by the Business Association of Local and Independent Media "Local Press" in 16 local areas of Šumadija in early July 2026 revealed that the commission members who decided on which topics were of public interest for the citizens of these communities identified certain thematic areas such as cultural and historical topics, tourism, and healthy food as the most important, while topics of crucial importance for the democratic role of the media were almost entirely excluded. And who participated in the allocation of funds in Šumadija?

Stobodaši in 16 Commissions

A total of 48 members participated in the 16 commissions, of whom only three were rated under the current regulations with less than 100 points. Thus, based on the points awarded to the commission members, it would be interpreted that the project ideas were considered by top media experts. After analyzing their work in the commissions in Šumadija, their professionalism and ethics remain questionable...

Of the total 48 positions in the commissions, a significant number of appointments pertain to the same circle of experts and representatives from several journalistic and media associations, indicating a pronounced personal overlap in the composition of the commissions in different cities and municipalities.

Infographic (generated with the help of AI): Who decided on projects for informing citizens in Šumadija

The five most represented associations that decided on the allocation of funds in Šumadija are: the Professional Association of Journalists of Serbia (9 candidates), followed by the Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (6), the Association of Radio-Television of Serbia (6), the Media Community of Serbia (3), and the Center for Media Culture and Education (5 representatives). The most frequently encountered names in the commissions of the 16 analyzed competitions are Miodrag Popov, who was a member of seven commissions, Boban Tomić in four, and Miodrag Miljković, Milijana Kočić, Sonja Kokotović, and Vladan Stefanović in three commissions each. Another seven members are repeated in two commissions.

All for Promotion

The analysis of the topics from 80 approved projects shows that cultural and historical heritage is dominant in this year’s competitions.

As many as 26 out of a total of 80 projects, or 32.5 percent, deal with the history of towns and villages, cultural assets, notable figures, traditional crafts, religious sites, or the preservation of cultural and historical identity.

Titles such as "Beli Venčac: From Rock to Symbol", "Memories Through Time", "Batočina Through Time – Cultural Goods and Identity", "The Craft Face of Ćuprija", or "From Resava Cave to the Knight's Battlefield" indicate that the commission members recognized cultural heritage as the central topic of public interest. In addition, a significant number of projects are dedicated to presenting cultural-artistic societies, local customs, historical events, notable figures, and intangible cultural heritage.

Immediately following cultural heritage in terms of public interest in the 2026 competitions in Šumadija is tourism. A total of 19 projects, or 23.8 percent of all funded projects, focus on promoting the tourist potential of local areas. The most frequently addressed themes in the projects refer to natural attractions, cultural and historical landmarks, religious tourism, wine routes, local events, and the promotion of tourist destinations.

Unlike previous years, sports and health have seen a smaller number of supported projects. Health topics are represented in five projects (6.3 percent), while sports is the subject of only three projects (3.8 percent). These are mainly affirmative content that promotes healthy lifestyles, recreation, and local sports activities.

Topics related to youth are represented in seven projects, or 8.8 percent of all analyzed projects, but they address dual education, career orientation, choice of professions, skill development, and inclusion of children. Most importantly, the content about youth is written by older individuals, thus it is not intended for young people as it does not recognize their needs, habits, and modes of communication.

There are no projects addressing contemporary challenges faced by young people, such as mental health, media and digital literacy, internet safety, youth migration from smaller areas, youth entrepreneurship, their participation in decision-making processes, or protests.

Control of Public Authorities – Out of Focus

There is no hint of investigative and analytical journalism among the approved projects. Among the 80 analyzed titles of approved projects, none were identified that indicate an engagement with the spending of public funds, public procurement, corruption, the work of local governments, budget transparency, accountability of public officials, conflicts of interest, the operations of public enterprises, or the analysis of public policies.

In other words, no funded project is aimed at monitoring the work of public institutions or overseeing the use of public funds.

It is worth noting that local media play a crucial role in uncovering irregularities in the operations of local governments, public enterprises, and institutions. Project co-financing was designed to enable public financing of media content to realize topics of great importance to citizens that are often not commercially viable and thus struggle to find space in the market.

The fact that citizens are not particularly interested in the tourist attractions of the regions in which they live, which are accessible and known to them, did not serve as a criterion for determining public interest for the commission members who allocated citizens' funds for their informing in 2026. However, political connotations are evident in their decisions, as the red line for selecting the "lucky winners" was clearly linked to media owners, their loyalty and support for the ruling party, and editorial policies that do not address local issues or report on civic gatherings. Thus, for the second consecutive year, if judged by media experts sitting on project selection commissions, Kragujevac residents are informed by TV Info Puls Vranje, even though many citizens are unaware that such a television station exists.

Concentration of Funds in Cities

The analysis also shows a pronounced concentration of funding by local governments.

The most funds were allocated by Aranđelovac, totaling 21 million dinars, financing two television stations – RTV Šumadija and RTV Sunce. Following are Kragujevac, Paraćin, and Smederevo, with allocations ranging between nine and eleven million dinars, while these five cities, together with Ćuprija, achieved a total of around 58.85 million dinars, which represents a larger portion of the total distributed funds.

The analysis also shows that public funding of media content in 2026 is predominantly directed toward affirmative and promotional topics. However, public interest in the area of information is not solely realized through the promotion of cultural and tourism potentials. The legal framework for public information also implies the production of content that contributes to the transparency of institutional operations, accountability of public officials, protection of citizens' rights, and oversight of the use of public funds. For this reason, the fact that among the 80 funded projects there is not a single project representing investigative or analytical journalism warns that the control of public authority has remained completely out of focus.

Particularly concerning is the fact that no project addresses the way public money is spent precisely in the areas where that money is allocated to media through competitions. Whether the project co-financing system has been misused in this way will become apparent over time, but in 2026 it has definitely been recognized as a tool for financing promotional content of media aligned with the authorities.

Author: Snežana Milošević, PU Local Press

The project of the Association of Independent Electronic Media "Participatory Monitoring of the Implementation of the Co-Financing Process for Projects" is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the MATRA program. The content is solely the responsibility of ANEM and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.