Report on Media Coverage in Sandžak

Sandžak, a region in the southwest of Serbia, has been a crossroads of various identities, interests, and political ambitions for decades. Local media often serve as the first line of informing citizens – but also as the primary targets of pressure.

The authors of the report, Jana Jacić and Marko Tadić, indicate that it was based on interviews with journalists, editors, and reporters from newsrooms in Novi Pazar and Prijepolje: the A1 portal, Radio Sto Plus, S News, TV Forum, and the foruminfo.rs portal.

In conclusion, they note that the media landscape in Sandžak reflects a persistent tension between public interest and mechanisms of pressure, which have shifted from overt attacks to more subtle yet equally powerful economic and legal levers of power. The safety of journalists is rated as "medium," and the statements of those interviewed consistently mention threats, targeting, online harassment, as well as occasional incidents in the field.

At the same time, the authors state that local newsrooms maintain professional standards through "unwritten rules" of fieldwork, cascading reporting after incidents, and caution in publishing content that may heighten risk.

You can read the entire report on the state of media reporting in Sandžak here.

The project "System for the Prevention of Violence and Protection of Journalists" is supported by the European Union, Norway, and the Balkan Democracy Fund, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.