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Since the beginning of the year, at least 88 new media outlets have been registered in Serbia, while around 1.7 billion dinars have been allocated through 140 completed competitions for project co-financing of media content. Analyses by the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) indicate that a significant portion of the funds has ended up with a few large media groups and their affiliated companies, while at the same time, the network of new local portals is expanding rapidly. Veran Matić, the President of ANEM's Board of Directors, assesses in an interview with Mašina that the project co-financing system is no longer fulfilling its original purpose and warns that professional local media are lacking the resources necessary for survival.

As part of the project "Improving the system and mechanisms of prevention and response in cases of threats to the safety and life of female and male journalists in Serbia", the Association of Independent Electronic Media with partners the Center for the Development of Local Media (CRLM) from Požarevac and Insider TV strives to improve the system of protection of journalists and media workers. One of the activities of the project is the preparation of a report by the CRLM on the state of local and smaller media, both in terms of security and financial and every other relevant aspect for the independence and professionalism of the media.

In June 2026, the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) recorded a total of **21 cases** involving journalists and media workers. There were 10 **actual attacks**, **seven cases of death threats and threats to the physical safety** of journalists, and **four cases of other threats.**

As of the beginning of 2026, at least 88 new media outlets have been officially registered in Serbia, according to data from the Media Register of the Business Registers Agency (APR). At this time, the Media Register counts 2,339 public media outlets.

In June 2026, the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation recorded at least 172 verbal attacks by state officials, party officials of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), and other representatives of the government against journalists and the media. The attacks were directed via social media, in media appearances, at party gatherings, and during sessions of the National Assembly. In the first six months of this year, the SĆF recorded 980 attacks.

Following the ban on entry into Serbia for journalist and host of the show "Načisto" on Montenegrin Television Vijesti, Petar Komnenić, as part of Belgrade's announced response to the recent decision by Montenegrin authorities to declare the editor and owner of the Serbian tabloid "Informer," Dragan J. Vučićević, an undesirable guest, another Montenegrin journalist has been banned from entering Serbia.

The fees for the members of the committees who assessed the applications submitted for the competitions for project co-financing of media content in Serbia were uneven this year, regardless of how much work they had or how many projects they had to read and score. The range this year was between 5,000 and 70,000 dinars, and at least 9.6 million dinars have been spent for this purpose so far.

The second hearing in the lawsuit filed by former Euronews Serbia journalist Marija Šehić against Arena News Channels LLC, the legal entity behind this media company in Telekom's portfolio, was held at the Third Basic Court in Belgrade at the beginning of the week.

Data from the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office show that in recent years, the number of requests made by prosecutors to the police for the collection of necessary information has been increasing, but responses to these requests are becoming increasingly absent. This is the first and one of the most important actions in the preliminary investigation process, without which the prosecution cannot continue the investigation in many cases.