Local media are emerging ahead of the elections: The same company, the same editor, the same registration day.

Coincidence or not, ahead of local elections in several cities and municipalities in Serbia, new local media outlets are emerging.

Three new portals – Serbia in the East, Palanačke Vesti, and Glas Aranđelovca – were registered on the same day, January 9, 2026, with the Business Registers Agency (APR). All are owned by the Novi Sad company Zaple Media Group doo, whose owner is Milica Lainović, and the director is Gradimir Banković.

Zaple Media Group is only a month older than the portals themselves, as the company was founded on December 11, 2025, according to APR data.

The three new media outlets have already begun operations.

The portal Serbia in the East covers Kladovo, Majdanpek, Negotin, Bor, and Zaječar. Palanačke Vesti focuses on Smederevska Palanka, while Glas Aranđelovca covers that local government.

None of the three sites have an imprint, and the articles are not signed with authors' names.

Even in the first publications, it is clear that the three new media outlets are conducting "anti-blockade" propaganda.

Same Editor-in-Chief

According to data from the Media Register, Gradimir Banković is listed as the editor-in-chief of all three portals, which means that one person is managing media that cover different local governments where elections are being held this year.

Banković is also the owner and director of Elementum Media d.o.o. from Novi Sad, registered for the production and broadcasting of television programs, as well as the legal representative of the association "Kogitatum Center," which received funds from the Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2021 through a competition aimed at civil society organizations.

In recent years, he has also appeared in public as an analyst and guest in the media, representing the Center for Social Stability, an organization known for producing propaganda films for the Serbian Progressive Party and organizing so-called anti-blockades, as stated regarding the founding of these three media outlets by ANEM.

Preparations for Local and Other Elections

"This is certainly related to the local elections. In some areas, increased repression against activists and journalists is already evident, as is the case in Bor. On one hand, capacities for influencing public opinion are being strengthened, while on the other hand, independent media are being stifled under pressure," says the president of the Board of Directors of ANEM, Veran Matić, to "Vreme."

He reminds that the Center for Social Stability has been active in organizing pro-government protests and is increasingly presenting itself as a structure that operates in the function of the authorities.

"We are witnessing the accumulation of media and the creation of a network that will be coordinated, with the Center for Social Stability at its center," adds Matić.

According to him, the local elections are just one part of a larger picture.

"This is an introduction to everything that awaits us during this and the next year, protests and national elections. The shutdown of accounts for editorial offices, photographers, and activists on social media appears to be a demonstration exercise for the pressures that are yet to come," says Matić.

The regular local elections this year will be held in Aranđelovac, Bor, Bajina Bašta, Kladovo, Knjaževac, Kula, Lučani, Majdanpek, Smederevska Palanka, and Sevojno.

Distribution of Funds for Co-financing

In addition to the elections, the reason for establishing new media could also lie in future competitions for media co-financing.

"At the same time, new media are being intensively opened in order to quickly participate in the distribution of funds from project co-financing. Competitions for state funding will soon be announced, and last year, I remind you, more than 15 million euros almost entirely ended up in pro-government media," concludes Matić.

Source: Vreme