Journalistic and media associations and unions: Citizens' money for propaganda, retaliation against critical and professional media.

Instead of promoting the public interest and supporting the development of media pluralism and professionalism through the distribution of public funds, the money allocated through this system has become a means for outright financing of media, organizations, and media groups close to the authorities, many of which continuously violate ethical standards. Paradoxically at first glance, professional, independent, and critical media have been punished for reporting in accordance with media ethics and professional standards, which should actually be one of the key criteria for allocating funds.

An analysis of competitive funding conducted by the Coalition for Media Freedom shows that the Ministry's funds are significantly concentrated around a limited number of interrelated owners and media networks, many of which are unequivocally part of a pro-government media system or are politically and financially connected to the structures of power. Instead of public money being distributed based on the quality of projects, contributions to the public interest, and adherence to professional standards, the competition has been transformed into a mechanism for consolidating the political and economic power of media actors for the media needs of the authorities.

In 2026, the Ministry allocated 482 million dinars through nine competitions. A total of 1,224 projects were submitted, 421 were funded, while 803 projects were rejected. However, behind the facade of competition lies a deeply unequal system in which a significant portion of funds ends up with the same media groups. The media network connected to Radoica Milosavljević received 41.2 million dinars, the Best Media Team group, linked to the publishers of the tabloids "Alo" and "Informer," received 32.6 million dinars, the network of Slavko Stijaković received 27.4 million, the network of Aleksandar Milutinović received 22.3 million, and the media group of Vladan Stefanović received 21.7 million dinars.

The data clearly show that competitive co-financing no longer functions as support for diverse media, but rather as a system for concentrating public money in the hands of a few privileged media centers. Moreover, these privileged media groups also access citizens' money through other media financing mechanisms.

It is particularly disheartening that among the recipients of state funding, tabloid publishers, who have been violating professional standards for years, dominate. Funding media that continuously violate the Journalists' Code of Ethics in Serbia sends a direct message that professionalism, ethics, and accountability to the public are no longer criteria for receiving citizens' money, but rather the opposite.

The situation is even worse knowing that many critical media and organizations have completely given up on applying for funding, as discrimination has become evident, and the outcome of the competitions is clear in advance. When these media no longer apply because they know they will be discriminated against, it is no longer a public competition but rather an administrative cover for the pre-arranged distribution of money to the favored.

At the same time, leading independent professional organizations – NUNS, UNS, ANEM, Local Press, and the Media Association – did not receive funding in this competition, while significant support was given to organizations that are publicly described as close to the authorities or as so-called GONGO organizations. Such distribution is not an accidental mistake, but rather part of a broader process in which independent actors are being pushed out of the public funding system, while organizations that serve as support for the authorities are being institutionally strengthened.

The analysis also shows a dramatic weakening of independent local media. The share of Local Press network members in the Ministry's funds fell from 6.38 percent in 2023 to 3.28 percent in 2024, and in the competition for 2026, it amounted to only 1.07 percent of the total distributed funds. This is not just a statistical decline, but an indicator of the systematic exhaustion of local newsrooms that work in the public interest.

Decisions on the allocation of funds have been made by committees whose composition and integrity raise serious doubts. Decisions regarding public money were made by committees composed mostly of members of questionable professional and moral quality, in a system where organizations close to the authorities play a significant role in proposing committee members. This further raises questions about conflicts of interest, political influence, and the actual independence of decision-making.

Journalistic and media associations and unions demand an urgent and fundamental reform of the competitive co-financing system: preventing conflicts of interest in the selection of committee members, complete transparency of ownership of recipients, limiting the concentration of funds among connected media groups, mandatory consideration of the history of violations of professional standards, and publishing detailed justifications for all decisions.

If our demands are not met, the competitive co-financing system will continue to undermine the media market, strengthen compliant and unethical media, and stifle media that uphold their profession and its standards.

The full analysis can be found at this link.

Signatories:

Media Association

Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)

Online Media Association (AOM)

Independent Journalists' Society of Vojvodina (NDNV)

Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS)

Business Association of Local and Independent Media "Local Press"

Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation

Branch Trade Union of Culture, Arts, and Media "Independence." 

Journalists' Association of Serbia