SR

Media and Information Space

Serbia's media landscape is shaped by a concentration of outlets aligned with or controlled by ruling party interests, while independent media operate under sustained financial and political pressure. Genuine pluralism is largely absent - President Vučić dominates media coverage to a degree that leaves little room for alternative voices or critical reporting. Public broadcasters have largely abandoned their editorial independence, and the regulatory body overseeing electronic media has failed to act as a genuine check on political influence over the airwaves. Journalists face harassment, surveillance, and coordinated smear campaigns - with some cases involving illegal use of spyware documented by international forensic investigations.
July manipulations in the media
September

On 1 September 2026, at its third constitutive session, the REM Council again failed to elect a president. As at the two July sessions, the members split into two blocs of four - candidates backed by the governing parties, and independents - and the two leading candidates, Dubravka Valić Nedeljković and Miloš Garić, each won four votes, short of the two-thirds majority (six of nine) the law requires. Members accused each other of obstruction; the chair, who continues to preside as the oldest member, said negotiations were ongoing and likened the deadlock to comparable stand-offs abroad that lasted from five months to five years. Representatives of the EU Delegation and the OSCE attended.
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CRTA published a media monitoring analysis of Euronews Serbia covering July 2026. In the channel's central news programme, the ruling majority received 87% of the airtime dedicated to political actors, against 13% for the opposition, which received no positively toned report during the monitored period. Across the wider programming, government representatives and pro-government interlocutors accounted for 52% of guest appearances, compared with 14% for opposition and government-critical guests. No formally classified opposition representative appeared in discussions on domestic politics.
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August

In July, CRTA recorded 207 manipulations on the front pages of print media and in the headlines of central news broadcasts, the highest monthly total since the start of 2026. Vilifying opponents and vilifying neighbours remained the dominant narratives, while personality cult content rose sharply, reaching 31 manipulations after emerging as a secondary narrative in June.
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President Vučić live addresses 2023 to 2026, cumulative and monthly

Source: CRTA media monitoring, 2023 - 2026. Figures count President Vučić’s live appearances on television. The 2026 series covers 1 January - 30 August 2026; the remaining months are not yet available.

Brief
Euronews Serbia: a structural advantage for government-aligned perspectives
CRTA's July 2026 media monitoring finds the ruling majority received 87% of political airtime in the...
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Update
July manipulations
In July, CRTA recorded 207 manipulations on the front pages of print media and in the headlines of central news broadcasts - the highest monthly total since the start of the year. The dominant narratives were vilifying opponents and vilifying neighbours, alongside a marked rise in personality cult content.
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Update
The 2026 EU Rule of Law report on Serbia: reform on paper, not in practice
The report finds too little real progress to advance - against the backdrop of Serbia's stalled path to the EU
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Update
Governing boards of RTS and RTV lose quorum due to the REM blockade
From 14 July, neither public broadcaster's board has the members needed to decide - a direct consequence of the still unconstituted REM Council.
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Update
Independent REM members return after parliament’s disputed reinterpretation of the law
After parliament adopted an authentic interpretation reviving their mandates, the four independent members announced they will take up their seats - putting the blame for the deadlock on the ruling majority.
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Update
Media map of the world tailored to those in power: China and Russia positive, EU negative, Trump the...
CRTA's monitoring for the first half of 2026 finds television reporting on foreign actors sharply skewed - the EU portrayed as an adversary while China and Russia receive near-uniformly positive coverage.
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Update
June manipulations
In June, CRTA recorded 162 manipulations on the front pages of print media and in the headlines of central news broadcasts. The dominant narratives were, again, vilifying opponents and vilifying neighbours.
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Update
How Serbia was left without a functioning media regulator
A new interactive tracker maps how nearly two years of unlawful, manipulated selection have left the REM Council paralysed - and why simply electing members would not restore an independent regulator.
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Update
Committee for Culture and Information suspends election of REM’s minority-nominated member
Citing minority council elections due to be called in late August, the ruling majority halted the election of REM's ninth member and pulled the two-candidate list from parliament - while urging four members who resigned in December over that same seat to return, on the grounds that the Assembly never verified their resignations.
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CRTA.Plus is part of CRTA’s work to document developments related to democracy, the rule of law, and accountability in Serbia.
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Media & Information Space
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