Vučić is in total war against professional media in Serbia, preparing for the final blow

Pressure on independent media in Serbia is entering a new, more dangerous phase, with investigative newsrooms facing SLAPP lawsuits and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić attempting to influence decision-making at United Media.

A recording of a conversation between Vladimir Lučić, CEO of Telekom Srbija, and Stan Miller, CEO of United Group, recently published by the Raskrikavanje portal, revealed details of an attempt to remove Aleksandra Subotić, CEO of United Media, the company that owns N1, Nova.rs, Danas, and Radar, professional media outlets that criticize the government in Serbia.

This conversation has raised concerns in the media community, as it indicates direct political pressure on independent media.

The new directors, Vladica Tintor, Timothy Lincoln Pennington, and Gilbert Marie Schroen, have taken over decision-making at United Media Production, United Cloud, and Direct Media, further fueling doubts that the government will succeed in taking over United Media. KRIK journalist Vesna Radojević, one of the authors of the article “Behind closed doors: The directors of Telekom and United Group have agreed on how to weaken the media of this group,” tells Danas that Vučić’s attempts to suppress the media have existed since the beginning of his political career.

For years, we have been witnessing attempts to stifle independent journalism in Serbia through a combination of pressure, smear campaigns, financial exhaustion, and even the murder of journalists. What we are witnessing today is just a new phase of the same process: the systematic destruction of citizens’ trust in any editorial office that dares to investigate government abuses,” says Radojević.

However, she believes that the government’s intention to shut down professional and independent media will not succeed.

“There are journalists and editorial offices that have survived worse times and do not work because they are allowed to, but because they feel a responsibility to the public,” says Radojević.

In her opinion, the government in Serbia is trying to discredit the reputation of the journalism profession because it is bothered by professional journalism. As she says, they have created a system that works only on the basis of propaganda, and any real information threatens them because of this.

“When government representatives or their associates speak disparagingly about journalism, when they boast that they have made up the news, they are not just talking about themselves, they are saying that lies are a legitimate means of political struggle. This is dangerous. And it shows how much these people care about the common good – not at all,” says Radojević, adding that the regime wants to confuse citizens and make them feel uncomfortable so that they no longer trust anyone.

In addition to putting pressure on United Media, the regime in Serbia is constantly trying to suppress editorial offices engaged in investigative journalism.

Vesna Radojević points out that the government uses all available methods to put pressure on investigative newsrooms, from media campaigns and public attacks to abuse of institutions.

“KRIK is currently fighting against approximately 16 or 17 lawsuits, some of which are seeking prison sentences for journalists. We have been repeatedly targeted by tabloids that publish blatant lies. Our journalists have been followed, and the apartments of two female journalists have been raided. The pressure will only increase as the government continues to lose ground,” says Radojević, adding that Serbia’s geographical proximity to Western Europe is currently preventing the situation in Serbia from escalating further.

Perica Gunjić, editor-in-chief of the Cenzolovka portal, believes that for 13 years the government has been systematically destroying media outlets that report professionally and responsibly, starting with the destabilization of the local media scene.

“Now that only a few media outlets remain that have miraculously survived despite pressure and hardship, the government is fulfilling its mission with these miraculously surviving media outlets, which provide information in the public interest. The goal is to leave only propaganda channels on the media scene,” says Gunjić.

He recalls a situation when Suzana Vasiljević, an advisor to the Serbian president, admitted during a television appearance that in 2000, when she was working as a journalist for the BBC, they invented a war in Montenegro so that they could spend three months in Sveti Stefan and thus diminish the importance of the journalistic profession.

Meanwhile, the BBC has denied that she was ever employed by them.

“Suzana Vasiljević is also working to destroy what little trust citizens have in the media and journalists. At the same time, they have created an army of bots that do the same job on social media – spreading lies and destroying trust in the media and journalists,” says Gunjić.

In his opinion, the future of the media in Serbia looks very bleak.

“If we are left without N1 and others from United Media, no matter how many excellent research centers and media outlets we have in the civil sector, they cannot have the recognition that N1 and others from JM have. Such a media desert will be the complete fulfillment of the wet dreams of Vučić and his minions. Such genocide against quality and responsible journalism can only be prevented by a change of government and lustration,” says Gunjić.

Mihailo Jovićević, director and editor-in-chief of the Nova portal and newspaper, believes that the government’s current attempts to take control of United Media represent a key blow to free journalism in Serbia.

“Aleksandar Vučić is not really interested in who the journalists are, nor who the editors are, and least of all who the media directors are: what matters to him is to kill critical news about himself and his regime. He has been working tirelessly toward this goal since 2012 and is doing well,” says Jovićević, emphasizing that he and his colleagues will do everything they can to prevent this from happening. “He will never succeed in silencing all critical voices, but in this round, for now, he is on the road to victory,” says Jovićević.

/danas.rs