Coalition for Media Freedom: The Professional Media Community is not a "center of power" but a pillar of democratic society.

This content is presented as a “documentary series” that, through selective framing and insinuations, constructs a narrative portraying professional actors in the public interest as hidden centers of power and “enemies of the state,” contributing to a lynch atmosphere and increasing the risk of threats and pressures. 

On Thursday, January 29, 2026, the content was broadcast extensively and in a coordinated manner via TV Prva and B92 (national coverage) and several cable channels, including Informer TV and Documentarna TV, which means that messages targeting individuals and delegitimizing the entire professional community receive disproportionately wide reach.

At the same time, we want to emphasize that this is yet another in a series of attacks, discrediting efforts, and campaigns directed at other individuals and organizations engaged in journalism in the public interest, protecting professional standards, and developing the media landscape in accordance with European and international principles. An atmosphere is increasingly being created in the public space where the work of professional media, editorial offices, associations, and civil society organizations is portrayed as acting “against the state,” which is a dangerous and fundamentally incorrect thesis.

Although the Center for Social Stability highlights one organization, ANEM, in this episode, such an approach practically supports a culture of conspiracy theories that reduce complex social processes to a single alleged bearer of influence and one “center of power.” Social changes, especially in the area of media freedoms, are never the result of an individual but rather the culmination of years of work by numerous actors, including members of the Coalition for Media Freedom, some of whom have existed for more than three decades and continuously contribute to the establishment of professional standards and institutions.

The professional media community is not shaped, nor will it ever be shaped, by one person. It consists of journalists, editors, organizations and associations, researchers, trade unions, legal representatives, initiatives, and citizens, individuals who, at their core, are characterized by critical thinking, constant questioning of social reality, and accountability to the public. Among those targeted are numerous members and honorary members of NUNS and NDNV (Kruna Savović, Stevan Dojčinović, Dinko Gruhonjić, Ana Lalić Hegediš), as well as many colleagues from the media UMG, Insajder, and other prominent professionals who work in the public interest.

The Coalition for Media Freedom warns that targeting individuals and organizations with accusations of acting against the interests of the state carries serious consequences: it incites pressures, threats, and endangerment of safety, thereby narrowing the space for free public debate. Individuals and organizations engaged in journalism in the public interest and protecting professional standards do not act against the state; on the contrary, they contribute to strengthening institutions, the rule of law, and the democratic governance of society, in accordance with the principles that this state has proclaimed and adopted through international obligations and strategic documents.

We remind you that the role of civil society organizations, media associations, and professional communities is to conduct monitoring, highlight abuses, oversee the work of holders of authority, and actively participate in dialogue with all relevant actors, both domestically and internationally. This is not a “conspiracy,” but a fundamental mechanism of democratic society: to control power, to provide the public with verified information, and to make decisions with the participation and critical input of citizens and the expert community.

As a professional media community, we are proud of the progress that has occurred in the meantime, at least “on paper,” through legislative solutions and adopted international obligations. These advances have been made solely and exclusively due to our consistent commitment to enhancing the public interest, while holders of positions are diligently working to obstruct this process, and a key problem continues to be the selective or absent application of the same solutions. In such an environment, where the relevant institutions do not respond consistently and promptly, content like the series “Evil Age” remains without clear institutional assessment and accountability, further encouraging the production of campaigns that target and delegitimize those working in the public interest.

Therefore, we call on all institutions, media, and holders of public functions to refrain from narratives that incite hostility toward professional media and civil society, as well as to urgently condemn the targeting and discrediting campaigns directed at individuals and organizations working in the public interest. Free, pluralistic, and professional journalism is not a threat to the state; it is one of the foundations of a society striving for democratic development.

The Coalition for Media Freedom remains committed to the joint fight for a media landscape aligned with European and international standards, for the protection of journalists, and for the right of citizens to be informed.

Coalition for Media Freedom: Media Association, Online Media Association (AOM), Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS), Business Association of Local and Independent Media "Local Press," Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation, and the Branch Trade Union of Culture, Arts, and Media "Independence."