"'Red alert' from the European Federation of Journalists due to changes in United Group."

The reaction from the editors followed the dismissal of the founder of United Group and chairman of the Advisory Board, Dragan Šolak, as well as the executive director, Viktorija Boklag.

"In an environment of constant and coordinated attacks by regimes with authoritarian tendencies, especially in Serbia, Šolak provided unwavering support and protection for editorial independence, even under enormous political and economic pressure," the letter states.

Šolak has not commented since his dismissal, and the signatories of the appeal told RSE that they issued an open letter and have no comments until the situation is clarified.

In the public appeal, they called on BC Partners to publicly confirm its commitment to preserving the independence of all editorial teams within United Media.

They also demanded that no personnel or managerial decisions be made that could jeopardize or diminish that independence.

Employees were informed in a corporate letter, as mentioned in the appeal, that everything continues to operate as before in all markets.

What does United Group say?

In a brief response to Radio Free Europe, United Group stated that it "has always ensured and will continue to ensure the independence of its editorial staff and journalists."

Maja Sever states that the editors' appeal triggered a red alarm because the European Federation of Journalists knows "how significant N1 is in the media environments of our countries."

"Especially in Serbia, where if something goes in the wrong direction, we can say that the light is completely extinguished there," she noted.

Among the signatories of the appeal are media editors from United Media in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Montenegro.

This letter was addressed to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the relevant commissioners, members of the European Parliament, the European Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the International Press Institute (IPI), and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Maja Sever states that the European Federation of Journalists has no intention of entering into ownership relationships or relationships with former owners.

"What is most important to us is to try to find out what any changes in that media house mean for the end users, that is, for the citizens and primarily for the journalists who work on that program," she mentioned.

She adds that journalists in United Media across the region mean a lot to citizens because they are sometimes the "only window to the truth and what is really happening."

"Changes in management, I fear, could reflect on these people who honestly do their jobs because what they have done in Serbia, and even in Croatia, for democratization and free journalism is truly immeasurable," Sever stated.

Call from Reporters Without Borders

Pavol Salaj from Reporters Without Borders called on United Media, United Group, and BC Partners to send a strong signal about their commitment to editorial independence of the media within United Media.

"It is very important that these media, in Serbia and across the Balkans, where media freedom is also under political pressure, can continue to operate freely, with the support of their owners and in accordance with the provisions of the EU's European Media Freedom Act," Salaj stated to RSE.

He added that "at a time when media freedom in Serbia is experiencing unprecedented political pressure since the 1990s," it is the obligation of Reporters Without Borders to monitor the strategy of the owners of the largest independent media.

"Media owned by United Media, which we consider editorially independent, have also been targets of political attacks and threats. They resist these pressures while producing quality journalism in the public interest," he said.

Is politics behind it all?

Yasen Guev, a business consultant and analyst from Sofia, told the Bulgarian service of RSE that this is a "long-standing misunderstanding between the two shareholders," rather than political pressure.

"There has been disagreement regarding investments and business management in Greece, where they had great ambitions. Such misunderstandings have simply piled up and led to the current situation," he noted.

He believes that discussions about how United Group is run have no impact on how Nova TV in Bulgaria will continue to operate.

"It will continue to operate in the same way; nothing will change. Whether some local player will want to buy it and whether the current owners will want to sell it, that is a question that remains open for now," he stated.

Guev also says that "such types of investors do not want to have any problems or be accused of not supporting freedom of speech."

What is BC Partners and what do they do?

BC Partners is an investment firm founded in 1986, based in London, with offices in the United States, France, and Germany.

The company presents itself on its website as a leading international investment firm with over €18 billion in assets under management in private equity and private credit.

In September 2018, the company announced that it was acquiring a majority stake in United Group, valued at €2.6 billion.

In this way, BC Partners became the majority owner of the cable company SBB, whose main rival was state-owned Telekom Srbija.

SBB was part of United Group until February 2025 when it was announced that it had been sold to the company "e& PPF Telecom Group."

PPF took over SBB's operations and customer base, while SBB's satellite operations were spun off and sold to Telekom Srbija.

How does the government label United Group's media?

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić commented on June 18 the news of the dismissal of the founder and chairman of the Advisory Board of United Group, Dragan Šolak, stating that Šolak "was one of the key drivers of the colored revolution in Serbia."

"Šolak was one of the key drivers of the colored revolution, not because he is Šolak, but because he worked for certain services and has been doing this for a long time," Vučić said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates.

The term "colored revolution" refers to protests that have overthrown authoritarian regimes in former Soviet republics.

Authorities in Serbia, without providing evidence, accuse unnamed Western agencies of being behind months-long student protests and blockades.

These protests began with a demand for accountability from the authorities for the deaths of 16 people in the collapse of a canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad, culminating in a call for extraordinary parliamentary elections.

Authorities in Serbia, led by Vučić, have been labeling media outlets operating under United Media for years.

Vučić accuses N1 of lying and conducting a campaign against him and his family.

Government officials have referred to N1 as the CIA's American television, an anti-Serbian media outlet, and a tycoon media.

In May 2023, then-Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić stated in the National Assembly:

"You have tycoon media that report biasedly, unobjectively every day, and disseminate such half-truths, directly disseminating lies minute by minute."

Vučić, along with all other officials of the Serbian Progressive Party, has for years refused invitations to appear on the N1 and Nova S televisions.

The media of United Group are not facing such a negative attitude from the authorities in any of the countries in the region as they do in Serbia.