Pro-government journalists are forming a new association: Vučićević, Marić, Minja Miletić, Jovana Jeremić, Marija Stamenić, Gordana Uzelac, Olivera Zekić...

The signatories of the initiative come from pro-government tabloids – Informer, Alo, Kurir, Srpski Telegraf, Novosti, as well as from pro-government television stations – Pink, Prva, B92, Happy, Studio B, Euronews Serbia… Among the signatories is also an editor from the RTS News.

This advertisement calls for the founding assembly of the Association of Journalists of Serbia (ANS), but the signatories of the Initiative did not specify when and where this event will take place.

Many signatories are media workers who have been targeting journalists for years and mostly come from media outlets that openly support the current government of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Aleksandar Vučić.

Despite this, they assert in the invitation that they will advocate for the "uncompromising protection of all journalists, as the last bastion of defense against the ever-increasing pressures on the freedom and integrity of journalism."

However, these signatories of the initiative did not specify who is applying pressure on journalists.

A group of 135 pro-government journalists has signed below the advertisement in tomorrow's Informer, which calls for the establishment of a new association – the Association of Journalists of Serbia (ANS).

The signatories of the initiative come from pro-government tabloids – Informer, Alo, Kurir, Srpski Telegraf, Novosti, as well as from pro-government television stations – Pink, Prva, B92, Happy, Studio B, Euronews Serbia… Among the signatories is also an editor from the RTS News.

This advertisement calls for the founding assembly of the ANS, but the signatories of the Initiative did not specify when and where this event will take place.

Many signatories are media workers who have been targeting journalists for years and mostly come from media outlets that openly support the current government of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Aleksandar Vučić.

Despite this, they assert in the invitation that they will advocate for the "uncompromising protection of all journalists, as the last bastion of defense against the ever-increasing pressures on the freedom and integrity of journalism."

However, these signatories of the initiative did not specify who is applying pressure on journalists.

"This initiative represents a fight for accountability and the protection of journalists from violence that threatens to destroy the only weapon that the journalism profession has – freedom and independence," states this advertisement.

"IT MUST NOT BE A TOOL OF CORPORATIONS OR INTEREST GROUPS"

They also state that "journalism is not and must not be a tool in the hands of corporations or interest groups."

They did not comment on political influence.

"Journalism is a public good, and journalists must be free to investigate, report, and be the voice of those who do not have one," say pro-government journalists.

They also mention that it is the moment "when the media space increasingly becomes a playground for those who wish to manipulate public opinion," but they did not specify whether they were referring to the media they lead and work in.

Instead, they stated that "it is time to rise and take the place that belongs to them."

The signatories of the ANS include, among others:

Milomir Marić, editor-in-chief of TV Happy,

Dragan J. Vučićević, owner of Informer,

Goran Gmitrić, editor of the news program at TV Pink,

Jovana Jeremić, host at TV Pink,

Gordana Uzelac, journalist at TV Pink,

Minja Miletić, regional director of Euronews Serbia,

Branka Lazić, journalist at TV Informer,

Marija Stamenić, host of the morning program at TV Prva,

Olivera Zekić, former president of REM,

Ivan Radovanović, columnist for Informer and Euronews Serbia,

Dragan Karadžić, editor-in-chief of TV B92,

Živorad Nikolić, former host at RTS and Pink, later a councilor for SNS in the Belgrade City Assembly,

Milan Nedić, editor-in-chief of Radio Belgrade,

Milica Nedić, editor and host of Dnevnik 2 at RTS,

Predrag Sarapa, host at TV Pink…

They claim that "this Manifesto is supported by over 1,000 colleagues, journalists, and editors from all over Serbia."

Source: UNS