Media Pluralism in Serbia

Ten indicators of Risks to Media Pluralism aim to run a diagnostic on the health of the media sector in Serbia by assessing three dimensions: economic, legal and political. How concentrated is the media market both horizontally (in each sector) and vertically (across sectors) in Serbia? What are the greatest risks to Media Pluralism? Do the Media in Serbia provide space for public debate that includes all voices, all viewpoints including those that are critical of people in power?

Media Audience Concentration

high

Media Market Concentration

no data

Regulatory Safeguards: Media Ownership Concentration

medium

Cross-Media Ownership Concentration

high

Regulatory Safeguards: Cross-Media Ownership Concentration

medium

Ownership Transparency

medium

Regulatory Safeguards: Ownership Transparency

low

(Political) Control Over Media Outlets and Distribution Networks

medium

(Political) Control Over Media Funding

high

(Political) Control Over News Agencies

medium

Ownership Concentration

Concentration of Ownership in the Field of Cable Providers

Two rivals in the realm of cable providers, the private SBB and state-owned Telekom Srbija, have entered into a real war over domination in this field. The race between them cannot merely be viewed through the prism of market competition for the strongest position, but as an attempt ...

Media Pluralism

Great expectations from the Media Strategy

In December 2018, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and the Government of Serbia were handed a draft media strategy, a long awaited document (the previous strategy expired in 2016) which was to outline solutions to accumulated problems in the media sector, as well as to suggest further directions for development in this dynamic industry.
Representatives ...

State Control

Media (Non)Freedom

One of the things which has particularly marked the rule of the Serbian Progressive Party is the ever deteriorating position of journalists and decreasing media freedom. This is something which journalists and journalists’ associations themselves have consistently highlighted, yet without the ability to change this situation for the better, having met with a refusal on the part of the government to accept the problem as well as suppression of all criticism.

Media Pluralism

National Television Stations in the Service of the Government

During the last two years, television stations with a national frequency have been fully placed under the control of those in power or people linked to them. Aside from pro-government televisions Pink and Happy, which have opened their space for spreading government propaganda and attacking critics of the regime since the beginning of Aleksandar Vucic’s rule, towards the end of last year the former B92 ...