Two private Serbian TVs go off air to protest poor media freedom

Both TV channels are part of the United Media group and are known for being close to the Serbian opposition and for criticising the increasingly autocratic President Aleksandar Vučić. | Photo Credits: EurActive, Shutterstock/kasha_malasha

Two private broadcasters in Serbia – N1 Srbija and Nova, known to be highly critical of the authorities – stopped broadcasting for 24 hours on Tuesday, in protest at the poor state of media freedom in the Western Balkan EU candidate country.

Both TV channels are part of the United Media group, seen as close to the Serbian opposition, and both have been regularly criticising the increasingly autocratic President Aleksandar Vučić and his government.

The two channels displayed only a black logo and the caption “Darkness in Serbia, without free media”.

N1 said in a statement issued at midnight on Tuesday they wanted to illustrate “the darkness that would reign if N21 and Nova were not broadcasting”.

“In this way, we highlighted years of pressure we’ve had to put up with, as well as attempts to curb our visibility and cut our financing,” the statement said, listing the refusal by the state regulator to award a fifth national broadcasting licence – for which both have applied – as the latest example of pressure.

Some opposition politicians supported the blackout during a parliament session in Belgrade and held up black cardboard signs with the same caption.

N1 reported that MP Stefan Jovanović had handed over a non-paper to the Council of Europe’s Committee on culture and media, where he said Vučić’s government was stifling free media and threatening journalists, labelling them as enemies and traitors.

Serbia is ranked 79th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2022 World Press Freedom Index, and it continues to grapple with government interference and control and a lack of support for the struggling independent media in the country.

Vučić himself commented briefly on the blackout as he addressed reporters on the sidelines of a summit in Tirana on Tuesday.

“If they say they have a problem with the freedom of expression and cannot speak freely, then it’s a problem for their owner who is not allowing them to do so,” he said/

Source: EurActive