Niš has received yet another regime portal in a year when it is allocating 100 million for media.

More than 120 local governments have announced competitions for project co-financing of media content. Among them is Niš, which this year allocated 100 million dinars for the media. This is almost 20 million more compared to last year.

Veran Matić sees this increase as a direct consequence of the growing number of government-organized non-governmental (GONGO) associations and organizations that abuse project co-financing as proposers for commission members.

The second reason is the heightened appetites of politicians and media moguls in the shadows, who view project co-financing as the predominant source of funding for the pro-government editorial policies of their media. They must compensate for their dwindling audience and loss of trust, as well as declining advertising revenues, in this way and through programmed public procurements – explains Matić.

A month before the competitions, a wave of new local media outlets began to emerge across Serbia. There are a total of 11, all connected by the same founder – “Zaple Media Group” from Novi Sad and editor Gradimir Banković.

He has been a frequent guest in regime-friendly media over the past year, analyzing the social and political situation in the country as a representative of the Center for Social Stability. This organization is known for being the author of ads against student protests and the opposition.

According to data from the Business Registers Agency (APR), the company “Zaple Media Group” was founded on December 11, 2025. Its newly established portals began to emerge at the beginning of the year, lack impressums, and the articles are unsigned.

Among them is the media “Snaga juga” which covers Niš, as well as other cities in the south: Leskovac, Pirot, Vranje, and Prokuplje.

Veran Matić from ANEM warns that these media outlets could be potentially dangerous.

The establishment and registration of numerous new media (primarily portals) by government-organized non-governmental (GONGO) organizations is a well-planned activity aimed at creating the illusion of a rich and pluralistic media scene. In essence, it is entirely the opposite. As they have the same owner, these media outlets, despite their different names, will have the same content originating from the same pro-regime source, with the goal of further confusing the public – explains Matić.

In addition to  “Snaga juga”, portals “Nekad i sad”, “Nekad i sad info”, “Pre i posle info”, “Pre-i-posle”, “Stara Pazova uživo”, “Nova Pazova uživo”,  “Podunavlje uživo”, “Srbija na istoku”,  “Palanačke vesti”, and “Glas Aranđelovca”. have also been established.

The first three established portals – “Srbija na istoku”, “Palanačke vesti”, and “Glas Aranđelovca” cover areas where local elections will be held on March 29 this year.

The fact that such media are being established ahead of local elections and competitions for project co-financing, according to Matić, is just another proof that these are programmed activities by the authorities.

In the pre-election period, these new media will compete at the local level with the few surviving professional media that genuinely serve to preserve and promote the public interest, further reinforcing our belief that this government has no sincere intentions when it speaks about the desire to improve the state of the media scene here, as it is doing the exact opposite through its satellites – concludes Matić.

Matić estimates that the number of “loyalist” media will increase as national elections approach, in order to network the entire country.

They will broadcast the same programmed propaganda content of the ruling party and president from one center, while demonizing political opponents on the other side. They will siphon money from project co-financing, as well as from other sources that are unlimitedly available to any pro-government media – he adds.

Snaga juga – “a place for promotional activities of local authorities”

The portal “Snaga juga” was registered with the APR on February 20, and announced the start of its operation with an Instagram post saying “The truth from the south is coming.”

There is no impressum, so information about the editor can only be found at the APR.

An analysis of the site reveals that the portal not only reports on city news but also covers the activities of President Vučić and other ministers.

Journalists do not sign their articles, so it is unclear who the author is, except in some cases where the source is the illegal “Niš TV”. An “anti-blockade” narrative is also present.

The Instagram page of this portal has more than 800 followers, a large portion of whom are members of the SNS.

Whether this portal will receive a share of the media funding in Niš, which this year allocated as much as 100 million dinars, almost double what was allocated 10 years ago, should be known next month, as the competition is open until March 19.

We remind you that last year in Niš, 24 million, which was the largest portion of the funds, went to “Zona plus” television. According to the ANEM report, this is the most awarded media outlet in Serbia for 2025.

Additionally, the portal Niš TV, part of the unregistered television of the same name, received 12 million dinars. This was the largest individual amount for 2025. At the end of the year, apart from them, newly registered portals also received millions.

Source: Mediareform.rs