Pressure on independent media in Serbia is entering a new, more dangerous phase.

A recording of a conversation between Vladimir Lučić, the director of Telekom Srbija, and Sten Miller, the CEO of United Group, recently published by the Raskrikavanje portal, revealed details about an attempt to remove Aleksandra Subotić, the executive director of United Media, the company under which N1, Nova.rs, Danas, and Radar operate—professional media that are critical of the government in Serbia.

This conversation has raised concerns within the media community, as it indicates direct political pressure on independent media.

New directors, Vladica Tintor, Timothy Lincoln Pennington, and Gilbert Marie Schroyen, have taken over decision-making in the companies United Media Production, United Cloud, and Direct Media, further fueling suspicions that the authorities will succeed in taking control of United Media.

Journalist Vesna Radojević from KRIK, one of the authors of the article "Behind Closed Doors: Directors of Telekom and United Group Discussed How to Weaken the Media of This Group," tells Danas that Vučić's attempts to suppress the media have existed since the beginning of his political career.

"For years, we have witnessed attempts to suffocate independent journalism in Serbia through a combination of pressures, smear campaigns, financial exhaustion, and even the murders of journalists. What we are witnessing today is just a new phase of the same process: the systematic destruction of citizens' trust in any newsroom that dares to investigate abuses of power," says Radojević.

However, she believes that the authorities' intention to extinguish professional and independent media will not succeed.

"There are journalists and newsrooms that have survived even worse periods and who do not operate because they are allowed, but because they feel a responsibility to the public," says Radojević.

In her opinion, the authorities in Serbia are trying to undermine the reputation of the journalism profession because they are disturbed by professional journalism.

As she states, they have created a system that functions solely on propaganda, and every truthful piece of information threatens them because of that.

"When representatives of the authorities or their associates speak about journalism with derision, when they boast about having fabricated news—they are not only speaking about themselves, but they are sending the message that lies are a legitimate means of political struggle. That is dangerous. And it shows how little these people care about the common good—not at all," says Radojević, adding that in this way the regime seeks to confuse citizens and make them distrust everyone.

In addition to exerting pressure on United Media, the regime in Serbia is constantly trying to confront newsrooms that engage in investigative journalism.

Vesna Radojević emphasizes that the authorities employ all available methods to exert pressure on investigative newsrooms, from media campaigns and public targeting to the misuse of institutions.

"KRIK is currently fighting around 16 or 17 lawsuits—some of which seek prison sentences for journalists. We have been targeted multiple times by tabloids that publish outright lies. Our journalists are being followed, and there have been break-ins at the apartments of two female journalists. Pressures will only increase as the authorities continue to lose ground," says Radojević, adding that geographical proximity to Western Europe currently prevents the situation in Serbia from becoming more extreme.

Perica Gunjić, the editor-in-chief of the Cenzolovka portal, assesses that the authorities have been systematically destroying media that report professionally and responsibly for 13 years, starting with the destabilization of the local media scene.

"Now that there are only a few media left there that somehow survive despite the pressures and poverty, the authorities are completing their mission with the few surviving media that inform in the public interest. The goal is to leave only propaganda outlets on the media scene," says Gunjić.

He recalls the situation when the advisor to the President of Serbia, Suzana Vasiljević, while appearing on a television show, admitted that in 2000, when she worked as a journalist for the BBC, they fabricated the war in Montenegro in order to spend three months in Sveti Stefan, thus diminishing the significance of the journalism profession.

The BBC has since denied that she was ever employed by them.

"Suzana Vasiljević is working on the same thing, attempting to destroy the little trust that citizens have in the media and journalists. At the same time, they have formed an army of bots that do the same work on social networks—spreading lies and destroying trust in media and journalists," says Gunjić.

In his opinion, the future of media in Serbia appears very bleak.

"If we lose N1 and others from United Media, no matter how many excellent investigative centers and media from the civil sector we have, they cannot achieve the visibility that N1 and others from JM have. Such a media desert would be the complete fulfillment of Vučić's and his subordinates' wet dreams. Such genocide against quality and responsible journalism can only be prevented by changing the government and through lustration," states Gunjić.

Mihailo Jovićević, the director and editor-in-chief of the portal and newspaper Nova, assesses that the current attempts by the authorities to take control of United Media represent a key blow to free journalism in Serbia.

"Aleksandar Vučić is essentially not interested in who the journalists are, who the editors are, and least of all who the media directors are: what matters to him is to eliminate critical news about himself and his regime. He has been tirelessly working toward this goal since 2012, and he is doing well," says Jovićević, emphasizing that he and his associates will do everything to prevent this from succeeding. "In the intention to silence all critical voices, they will never succeed, but in this round, for now—they are heading toward victory," concludes Jovićević.

Source: Danas