Media Monitoring of Political Pluralism: The Government in Focus, the Opposition Almost Invisible

The dominance of the ruling majority in terms of representation, role, and tone of reporting clearly demonstrates that citizens of Serbia do not have access to balanced information. Even the public media service, RTS 1, does not report in accordance with its legal obligation to inform the public objectively. RTS 1, similar to other commercial television stations, allocates almost all space in the central news to representatives of the ruling majority, while its reporting model and tone do not differ from those of commercial television stations.

Dominance of the Ruling Majority in Central News

The ruling majority occupies more than 90 percent of the airtime in the central news of national broadcasters, while the opposition is allocated less than 10 percent. Even more significantly, the government is not only the most represented but also enjoys the opportunity for direct communication with the public. In nearly 2/3 (62 percent) of the total time dedicated to political actors, representatives of the ruling majority are in an active role, directly addressing the audience. In contrast, the opposition has opportunities for such communication only one percent of the time. An analysis of the tone of reporting reveals bias in media reporting reflected in the fact that the ruling majority is reported on predominantly in a neutral or positive light, while the opposition is mostly portrayed negatively. This reporting pattern is present on all analyzed television stations, without exception.

Televisions Unanimously in Favor of the Government

The common denominator for all five analyzed television stations is the absence of real political pluralism and media bias in favor of the ruling structure.

Although it is expected that RTS 1, as a public media service, reports in the public interest, it leads in impartial, yet simultaneously critical reporting on all political actors. However, data shows that it does not significantly differ in its reporting from commercial television stations. On RTS 1, 94 percent of the airtime was dedicated to the ruling majority, while the opposition received six percent, mostly in a passive role, meaning it was mentioned but did not have the opportunity to directly address viewers of Dnevnik 2. Although RTS 1's reporting is somewhat more balanced compared to other commercial television stations, the reporting mechanism remains the same. RTS 1 reported on the ruling majority either neutrally or positively, while the opposition was represented far more negatively than positively.

On Pink TV and B92, the dominance of the government is even more pronounced—88 percent on Pink TV and 92 percent on B92 belonged to representatives of the ruling majority. At the same time, the opposition is almost completely suppressed from the programming or is approached negatively, often through comments from journalists or political actors close to the government. Prva TV dedicated 91 percent of its airtime to the authorities, while the opposition was present for nine percent, with no significant space for active communication. Happy TV records one of the most pronounced imbalances—95 percent of the airtime was allocated for the ruling majority, while the opposition received only five percent.

Vučić Dominates All Television Stations

More than half of the total airtime dedicated to all political actors is exclusively allocated to the President of Serbia. During 2024, Vučić directly participated in the programs of television stations 354 times, with an average address duration of 30 minutes. The longest period without his involvement was only 14 days, and on one day, there were even six live appearances recorded.

Aleksandar Vučić is not only the most present political actor in the central news but is also reported on almost exclusively affirmatively. On all analyzed television stations, the President of Serbia is presented in a neutral or positive tone, while negative reporting on his appearances was almost completely absent. This reporting model confirms Vučić's position as a central figure in the political and media space, allowing him to regularly and unobstructedly address the public.

About the Observation Methodology

Crta continued monitoring national television stations throughout 2024 by tracking central news programs. The main goal of the monitoring is to determine whether there is equitable representation of all political actors, what the tone of media reporting on political actors is, and whether political actors are equally represented in active, when speaking in the first person, and passive roles, when someone else speaks about them. In this way, Crta aims to provide insight into the level of media pluralism and the professional approach of the media to all actors in the political scene.

Crta's observers, trained according to the highest international standards for media monitoring, followed the central news programs of RTS 1, TV Pink, TV Prva, TV Happy, and TV B92.

More about Crta's media observation methodology can be found here.

Read the full report here.