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.
June manipulations in the media
July

On 20 July 2026, the REM Council held its constitutive session but failed to elect a president: the two candidates, Miloš Garić and Mileva Malešić, received the same number of votes. Until a president is elected, the Council's oldest member, Dubravka Valić Nedeljković, chairs its sessions - and, as she noted, the Council cannot begin resolving REM's substantive issues until a president and deputy are in place. She expects that at the next session, by the end of the month. The Council remains incomplete, without its ninth, minority-nominated member, and faces a heavy backlog.
REM process

On 14 July 2026, the governing boards of both national public broadcasters lost the numbers needed to function: five RTS board members' mandates expired on 13 July, cutting the board to three of nine, while five RTV members' mandates also expired, leaving that board with fewer than half its seats filled. The boards cannot be replenished because the REM Council - which by law appoints board members and calls the competition to fill their seats - has not been constituted for over a year and a half.
Read more

On 12 July 2026, the four independent REM Council members who resigned in December - Dubravka Valić Nedeljković, Ira Prodanov Krajišnik, Mileva Malešić and Rodoljub Šabić - published a letter announcing they would take up their seats, after parliament adopted an authentic interpretation of the media law on 10 July reviving their mandates. They placed responsibility for REM's long non-functioning on the authorities and argued that refusing to serve would let the majority shift the blame onto them.
Read more

President Vučić live addresses 2023 to 2025, cumulative and monthly

2023 (304 total) 2024 (354 total) 2025 (411 total)
2023: 304 total. 2024: 354 total. 2025: 411 total with peak in Feb-Mar 2025.

Figure: Cumulative President Vučić live address count per month. The orange shaded area shows the gap between 2025 and 2024.

Source: CRTA media monitoring, 2023 - 2025.

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
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
Update
May manipulations
In May, CRTA recorded 134 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.
Read more
Update
Court orders Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation to pay damages to acquitted former state security officers
The Second Basic Court in Belgrade ruled that a public statement by the Foundation - responding to the acquittal of four former state security officers for the 1999 murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija - violated the plaintiffs' honour and reputation. The ruling orders the Foundation to pay over one million dinars in damages and legal costs.
Read more
CRTA.Plus is part of CRTA’s work to document developments related to democracy, the rule of law, and accountability in Serbia.
Crta @ 2026. All rights reserved.
Key Issues
Slučajevi
Elections & Voting Integrity
Civil Society Resilience
Protests in Serbia
Institutions & Oversight
Media & Information Space
Other pages
Slučajevi
Public Sentiment
Serbia in Reports
Reform Agenda