The mass media in Serbia refers to mass media outlets based in Serbia. Both state-owned and for-profit corporations operate television, magazines, and newspapers, which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues.
While freedom of speech and freedom of the press are guaranteed by the Constitution of Serbia and the legal system of Serbia, and the media system has seen limited transformation following a decade-long struggle against media repression under the Milošević regime that ended in 2000, multiple factors impede the full functioning of a free and fair press in Serbia. As of 2024, Serbia ranks 98th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index report compiled by Reporters Without Borders, with press freedom described as 'problematic', with the 2024 ranking representing a backsliding in progress, with Serbia dropping down from 59th in 2016.
History The 1990s saw the end of state monopoly over the media. Throughout the decade, the media remained divided between state-controlled and independent ones. Media autonomy and the survival of independent media remained a major bone of contention during the rule of Slobodan Milošević. During this time, the media was a tool against domestic and international enemies. Civil society and international donors stood behind the creation of independent media. According to the Association for Private Broadcasting Development, Serbia hosted 480 radio and TV stations in 2000, 300 of which were privately owned, and the rest were local, public media.
The control over the media was reached through different strategies. On the one hand, the legal framework on the media system was purposefully left chaotic, while the state maintained the monopoly over the distribution of frequencies and production of newsprints, printing facilities, and distribution networks. Moreover, non-aligned journalists, media outlets, and media advertisers were harassed, jammed, or forcefully closed down – particularly if perceived as dangerous to the government, such as elections, the 1996–97 mass demonstrations, and the 1998–99 war in Kosovo.
After the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, most state media changed overnight and supported the new ruling coalition, DOS. The political changes made way for the reconstruction of the media sector. However, post-Milošević governments were unable to bring the transition to completion. A media policy was neglected for the whole decade between 2001 and 2010, not to risk electoral support by unsettling the status quo.
The media sector was thus reformed slowly and incoherently, after a long delay. In 2010, Serbia had 523 print media, 201 radio stations, 103 TV stations, and 66 online media. Almost 2.2 million Serbs regularly read print media daily and listen to the radio for on average almost three hours a day. Yet, media sustainability remains at risk due to small advertisement revenues. New challenges include increasing concentration of the advertisement sector, opening up to the risk of pressures from economic groups linked to political parties, as well as the dire general economic conditions in the wake of the global economic crisis. The Southeast European Media Observatory estimated that 25-40% of media advertising revenue in 2014 came from the state; such public spending is not regulated.
Legislative framework
The Constitution of Serbia establishes media without prior authorization (art. 50). Licenses, required for TV and radio stations, are granted by an independent body, the Republic Broadcasting Agency (RBA). Censorship is prohibited by the Constitution.
The legislative framework on the media in Serbia includes a Law on Public Information, a Law on Broadcasting, a Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, and a Law on Elections of the Members of the Parliament (regulating electoral coverage). The Public Information Law explicitly protects journalistic secrecy, and the Criminal Code excludes journalists from the obligation to disclose their sources to the courts, unless for grave crimes (punishable by more than five-year sentences, art.41) Despite the 2004 Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance, media efforts are often obstructed by authorities.
The Broadcasting Law foresees a specific media concentration regime, restricting the ownership of two or more terrestrial TV or radio stations within the same or overlapping area, as well as the cross-ownership of TVs, radios, daily newspapers, and news agencies. Yet, these norms are almost impossible to implement when ownership of media is often obscure. The lack of transparency of media ownership is reported as one of the main issues of the sector.
In 2012, the real owners of 18 over 30 major news outlets in Serbia remained unknown.Balkan Human Rights Network (2012), Human Rights Report (). Yearbook of the Balkan Human Rights Network Editorial board, 01: 198–209 In 2009, a Media Register was introduced by amending the Public Information Law, but the amendments were later declared unconstitutional. The 2009 Data Secrecy law shows the liability of journalists if they reveal information related to national security, public safety, and foreign affairs.
Three news media laws were adopted in August 2014, bringing the Serbian legal framework closer to EU standards. They foresee the privatisation of almost all publicly owned media outlets, and the end of direct state subsidies by mid-2015, replaced by a system of grants (public service broadcasters RTS and RTV, as well as minority media, are exempt from privatisation and have been funded by a subscription fee since 2016). The laws also establish a media register for the disclosure of media ownership structures, and the preparation for the digitalisation of television by 2015. Their implementation remains to be checked.
The government is committed to the completion of the privatisation strategy for media outlets. Previously, several privatisations have failed, while others have given rise to doubts about a lack of transparency, state interference, pressures, and deals to keep them under hidden state control. Foreign investors are allowed to own up to 49% of the capital of broadcast license holders, but their actual influence on the editorial line is hard to determine. The advertising market is also occupied by state-owned companies
Status and self-regulation of journalists The category of journalist is not a registered or licensed profession in Serbia, with formal criteria and procedures. The Journalists' Association recorded in early 2016 around 6,000 journalists in Serbia.
Journalists in Serbia have a low social status and low social protection. Most journalists have irregular income and no health insurance; their average pay is half of the national average salary, and seven times lower than public officials' salaries. Unfavourable working conditions lead to work overload, low-quality productions, and a lack of attractiveness of the profession for the talented youth.
Journalists' organisations remain unable to provide efficient protection and secure professional dignity; journalists are poorly paid and have a very low public reputation. The context of business and political pressures, coupled with the lack of legal protection and the difficult working conditions make so that the general perception of the category by the broad public is of politicised and corrupt "dictaphone holders".
Cases of threats and attacks on journalists persist. In 2008, there were 138 attacks on journalists whilst performing their jobs. The Serbian police is deemed ineffective in tracking down the responsible of threats to journalists.
The journalists' associations UNS and NUNS each have its code of conduct for journalists. Both agreed to a common Ethical Code of Serbian Journalists () in 2006. ANEM also adopted an Ethical Code for Broadcasters in 2002, placing truthful reporting at the top. However, several violations of the Codes have been reported, particularly by daily political tabloid papers, concerning the presumption of innocence, protection of privacy, and protection of minors. Since 2010, its respect has been monitored by the Press Council, a self-regulatory body for the print media. The council can only publish public statements, as sanctions.
A 2015 survey among journalists reported on the casualisation of work relations in the profession, but also testified to the persistent professional integrity of Serbian journalists. Some 40% of journalists would be ready to leave the profession, while 40% thers would be ready to remain under even lower work conditions.
Media freedom
The freedom of the press and the freedom of speech are guaranteed by the constitution of Serbia Serbian media are heavily dependent on advertising contracts and government subsidies which make journalists and media outlets exposed to economic pressures, such as payment defaults, termination of contracts, and more. As of 2024, Serbia ranks 98th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index report compiled by Reporters without borders, down from 59th in 2016.
Media outlets Print media
Serbia got its first newspaper in 1834. was launched in 1904 and continues today as a civic-oriented newspaper; it is the oldest daily newspaper in the Balkans. introduced fact-based reporting, editorials, sport sections, and female journalists to the region, thus contributing to the modernization and Europeanization of journalistic standards in Serbia.
During the socialist period, the press in Yugoslavia served as a propaganda tool of the ruling Communist Party. The media landscape was dominated by the Communist Party daily, Borba. evolved into the house organ of the People's Front, a wide union of anti-fascist and socialist forces. The 1960s, with the introduction of workers' self-management, saw the start of the liberation of Yugoslav media from the total dominance by the Communist Party.
In the 1990s, print media were split among supporters and opposers of the regime. The circulation and influence of alternative print media rose throughout the 1990s and were deemed the avant-garde of democratization. and Borba switched roles: after decades of distancing from the Socialist leadership, aligned with the government, while Borba became a critically oriented newspaper.
After 2000, tabloid press spread, and commercial and entertainment press advanced. Many news outlets were privatized, some of them also in the hands of foreign investors, including and Blic. The lack of transparency over ownership of media groups remains an issue, especially for short-lived political tabloids, which are often used for political campaigns. Tabloids in Serbia are "characterized by conservativism, nationalistic ideology, hate speech, and disregard of professional and ethical norms", Thin resources result in their journalists specializing mostly on political issues rather than broader topics, like economics or the environment, that could attract new readers interested in quality journalism. As of 2019, there were 1,427 magazines published in Serbia.
Radio broadcasting Radio Belgrade started operating in 1929 as a state enterprise. The earlier local radio stations appeared after the Second World War, the first one in Zaječar in 1944, and started growing since the 1960s. They were funded by local governments and set up with the expertise of Radio Beograd, as part of the media instruments of local governments, together with local newspapers and later TV stations.
Commercial radio stations were established only in the 1990s. A precursors was Studio B, set up in 1970 by the journalists of Borba, based on the model of western radio stations, with music and short local news programmes focusing on issues of daily lives and how to solve them. Its style found a country-wide success.