Why does TV Mag from Obrenovac often disappear from the cable system?
The last interruption of the TV Mag program distribution from Obrenovac in the Telekom/Supernova system occurred on February 19th and lasted approximately 17 hours. During that period, we did not receive any prior notice, warning, or information that a planned technical intervention affecting our channel was underway. We requested an official written explanation, but to date, we have not received a response, says Miroslav Paunović, the editor-in-chief of this local media outlet, to the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM).
According to him, their story "Milk is being thrown away, barns are being shut down" drew significant public attention just before the event.
"The feature and short format that went viral on social media garnered over four million views. However, we do not have evidence that this particular content was the cause of the interruption, and therefore we do not make claims that we cannot support with facts. What we can state is that the interruption occurred suddenly, without prior notice and without an official explanation, while two channels were affected simultaneously (TV MAG and our partner media house TV SAGA)," explains Paunović.
This, he says, is the second time in less than a year that both TV MAG and TV SAGA have been simultaneously disconnected from the Telekom/Supernova system.
"The first time it happened was on March 25, 2025, the day after a program featuring two students discussing student protests and the organization of assemblies in Serbia. At that time, we also requested an explanation and received a written response stating that it was due to 'technical reasons.' The interruption lasted several hours, after which the channels were restored to the system," notes the editor of TV MAG.
He adds that in both cases, the only explanation they received was general and non-specific, lacking details that would allow for verification. In the most recent case, they did not even receive such an explanation.
Nevertheless, he states that the pressures they feel today are not just technological-distributional but are primarily institutional and financial in a way that affects the sustainability of local media.
"The first financial pressure occurred in March 2024 when I refused to re-broadcast the program from TV Informer. At that time, the budget allocated for co-financing media projects was reduced by four million to our detriment. The excuse was that: 'IT MUST BE THIS WAY,'" Paunović states.
Now, he emphasizes that the municipality of Obrenovac unilaterally terminated contracts for co-financing media projects of public importance, even though their projects had been highly rated by the competition committees.
"This is the only case in Serbia where a local government has halted and unilaterally terminated a co-financing contract, which is a budget item," he notes.
Paunović points out that at the same time, public funds are being spent through the purchase of media space on other channels, such as TV Studio B, while the local media reporting from the community is being marginalized. Production services and event organization, he adds, are being entrusted to dubious agencies, which clearly serve some other kind of work.
"Contracts we had for business and technical cooperation with public enterprises have also been unilaterally terminated under the pretext that they do not agree with our editorial policy and that an order has come from the municipality. Furthermore, directors and employees are prohibited from giving statements for our program. We have recorded situations where schools and institutions are withdrawing from cooperation or invitations, which directly affects citizens' right to receive information about events in the community from multiple sources. This even happened on Savindan when it was suggested that TV MAG should not be invited to record school celebrations in Obrenovac," Paunović recounts.
He believes that TV MAG has been on the side of the citizens of Obrenovac for 25 years, a local media outlet in the public interest, and not an instrument of any political agenda.
"We do not choose sides; we choose facts and truth: verification of information, the right to a response, and professional standards. Today, we are probably the last local TV station in Serbia striving to persist in professional journalism and pluralism, and that is precisely why we insist on transparent rules, equal treatment, and clear, verifiable explanations when it comes to interruptions in broadcasting or pressure on the editorial work," Paunović assesses.
**Source: ANEM**
