ANEM calls on the public to support Radio Sloboda from Kraljevo in continuing its operations.

Radio Sloboda does not have secured funds for operations in the coming months while awaiting the results of the grant application it submitted, which are not expected before October or November. Part of the expenses in July was covered by the personal funds of the editorial team members, but by August, they will not have any money for salaries, rent, internet, electricity, accounting, transmitter, streaming, and other basic operational costs. The minimum monthly operating costs amount to around €3,500.

Marketing revenues are minimal, due to both the weak local market and the fact that entrepreneurs often avoid collaboration with media that have a critical editorial approach. Although Radio Sloboda applied for project co-financing from the City of Kraljevo and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications this year, as expected, they did not receive support.

Radio Sloboda was founded by a group of friends who raised money to purchase a practically defunct radio station with a license and transmitter, but without functional equipment. They built the studio and the entire technical infrastructure from scratch. Within a few years, Radio Sloboda became a recognizable and reliable source of information in Kraljevo. The program “ECHO” opened a series of important local topics, including the safety of the bridge over the Ibar. After the public was made aware of the problem, the bridge was closed to traffic, and its reconstruction is expected.

Radio Sloboda collaborates with and broadcasts content from Njuz.net, FoNet, Peščanik, Beta, KUPEK, the “Brakus and Banjac” show, and the student podcast “The Image of (One) Democracy.” In collaboration with the Kraljevo magazine “Sidža,” they also launched the program “Sidža Club,” which quickly gained recognition among the audience.

ANEM calls on both citizens and organizations to support the survival of independent local media in Serbia through one-time donations, which operate under increasingly difficult financial conditions and greater pressures, while propaganda, dirty campaigns, and violations of professional and ethical journalism standards increasingly dominate the media landscape.

Let us not allow one of the few professional local media outlets to be shut down due to a lack of funds. The survival of Radio Sloboda from Kraljevo now depends on us.

Donation page and PayPal donations.

Payments from Serbia can also be made in the following way:

Recipient Name: Elipsa doo Kraljevo Address: Cara Lazara 18, 36000 Kraljevo, Serbia

Account: 265-8050310000084-64 Bank: Raiffeisen Bank a.d.

Payment Purpose: Donation for Radio Sloboda

Reference Number: 00

For donations from abroad:

Recipient Name: Elipsa doo Kraljevo Address: Cara Lazara 18, 36000 Kraljevo, Serbia

IBAN: RS35 2651 0000 0110 6607 55

SWIFT: RZBSRSBG

Bank: Raiffeisen Bank AD Beograd

Correspondent Banks:

EUR: Deutsche Bank AG (DEUTDEFF)

USD: The Bank of New York Mellon (IRVTUS3N)

CHF: UBS Switzerland AG (UBSWCHZH80A)

Others: Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RZBAATWW)

Radio Sloboda has an audience, relevant programming, and influence in the local community. What it no longer has is the money to continue operating.

Without urgent support, it will not survive the next month.

Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)