Mirković: Project co-financing for media has been buried; the government finances pro-government media.

Mirković, in the Kiosk series, stated that it is completely clear that the government at all levels has the exclusive intention to refinance pro-government media and GONGO organizations through project co-financing, which serve to extract funds, while critical media have been left without a dime or have received significantly smaller amounts.

"What also characterized this year is the fact that the policy implemented by the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, led by Boris Bratina, has come to the forefront. He has repeatedly shown himself to be an enemy of the media and a mere executor of what is imposed from the top of the state, and we all know who decides and is the only one to be consulted in this country when it comes to, among other things, media matters," he emphasized.

Mirković points out that this year, in terms of project co-financing, was marked by the government's undisguised intention to violate the law, using points engineering first to influence the number of points that commission members can collect, and then subsequently affecting the selection and support of projects that are oriented toward something "that does not represent public interest."

"Especially this year, it has become evident that a kind of retaliation against media that have been professionally doing their job since November 1, 2024, reporting on student and civic protests, has been carried out through project co-financing," he said.

Mirković also raised the issue of the Unified Information System, explaining that it records the backdating of certain documents, the disappearance or very difficult retrieval of documents, which shows that this platform has not contributed to easier access, transparency, and inclusiveness of information.

Journalistic Associations "Whitout a Dime"

Commenting on why relevant journalistic and media associations did not receive a single dime this year, Mirković assesses that this reflects something that began a few years ago, and that we should not forget the character and work of former Minister of Information Dejan Ristić, who initiated the collapse of project co-financing.

"It should not be forgotten that in the narrative started by Ristić, the treatment of relevant media and journalistic associations has been constantly undermined. He constantly spoke about the alleged wealth of the media scene, the number of media outlets and associations, thus relativizing the significance of truly relevant ones and glorifying those that were created solely for the purpose of abuses within project co-financing," said Mirković.

He adds that the media scene subsequently faced the emergence of a journalistic association that gathered the "cream of the crop" of tabloid journalism, which easily received funding in this year's competition, unlike relevant journalistic and media associations that received nothing.

According to Mirković, this means that serious efforts are being made to undermine the truly independent non-governmental scene in the media sphere, and that after the media, non-governmental organizations will also be targeted, and that through a "scorched earth policy," absolutely no dissonant tone, politics, or activity indicating irregularities, illegalities, or attacks on journalists will be allowed.

Mirković emphasized that independent journalism in this country survives thanks to brave journalists who still believe that respecting the law and the professional code is the most important thing.

"And as long as there are such individuals, we have hope that from this can arise a new beginning and that it can be a seed from which what the media scene we have been fighting for all this time should be will sprout," he pointed out.