Serbia ranked 104th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) 2025 World Press Freedom Index, falling 8 places from the previous year. The report finds that while Serbia has some high-quality investigative journalism recognized internationally for its work on crime and corruption, it operates in a media environment shaped by rampant disinformation and propaganda. Despite a formally solid legal framework, journalists face political pressure and crimes against them routinely go unpunished.
The media market is highly fragmented, with over 2,000 registered outlets. The most influential include the public broadcaster RTS, other national TV channels, the independent cable channel N1, and several tabloids. Investigative journalism is gaining visibility and impact. Russian propaganda, previously broadcast by RT (banned in the EU following Russia's invasion of Ukraine), now reaches Serbian audiences through RT Balkan, an affiliate operating from Belgrade, as well as through national media outlets.
The political climate - further polarized by anti-government protests between 2023 and 2025 - has made journalists frequent targets of attacks by members of the ruling elite. RSF designates President Aleksandar Vučić as a press freedom predator. Pro-government national TV channels amplify these attacks, while journalists critical of the government face restricted access to officials and public information. Media ownership concentration is an additional concern: the state-owned Telekom Srbija has expanded its influence as both a cable operator and media owner, and the private group United Media, owner of N1, has been subjected to political pressure, raising concerns about N1's editorial independence. Most outlets depend on advertising and opaque government subsidies - access to both is largely controlled by the ruling elite and tied to editorial alignment.
The legal framework, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression, has not improved. Media laws adopted in 2023 and amended in 2024 failed to strengthen press freedom, and the media regulatory authority remains dysfunctional. Protocols requiring police and prosecutors to respond to attacks on journalists - which had shown positive results previously - were not properly applied during the 2025 protests. Journalists covering those protests suffered a record number of physical attacks, at least 100, many carried out by police officers.
The judicial system has yet to demonstrate genuine independence in protecting press freedom. The 2024 acquittal of four former intelligence officers accused of murdering journalist Slavko Ćuruvija in 1999 was declared illegal in key points by the Supreme Court - without being overturned - and remains a symbol of the impunity surrounding crimes against journalists. Cases of illegal hacking of journalists' phones by intelligence services and police have also come to light. Women journalists face attacks both for their reporting and their gender, while outlets covering immigration, the LGBTQI+ community, and human rights topics are targeted by far-right and other politically motivated activists.
The media market is highly fragmented, with over 2,000 registered outlets. The most influential include the public broadcaster RTS, other national TV channels, the independent cable channel N1, and several tabloids. Investigative journalism is gaining visibility and impact. Russian propaganda, previously broadcast by RT (banned in the EU following Russia's invasion of Ukraine), now reaches Serbian audiences through RT Balkan, an affiliate operating from Belgrade, as well as through national media outlets.
The political climate - further polarized by anti-government protests between 2023 and 2025 - has made journalists frequent targets of attacks by members of the ruling elite. RSF designates President Aleksandar Vučić as a press freedom predator. Pro-government national TV channels amplify these attacks, while journalists critical of the government face restricted access to officials and public information. Media ownership concentration is an additional concern: the state-owned Telekom Srbija has expanded its influence as both a cable operator and media owner, and the private group United Media, owner of N1, has been subjected to political pressure, raising concerns about N1's editorial independence. Most outlets depend on advertising and opaque government subsidies - access to both is largely controlled by the ruling elite and tied to editorial alignment.
RSF designates President Aleksandar Vučić as a press freedom predator.
The legal framework, despite constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression, has not improved. Media laws adopted in 2023 and amended in 2024 failed to strengthen press freedom, and the media regulatory authority remains dysfunctional. Protocols requiring police and prosecutors to respond to attacks on journalists - which had shown positive results previously - were not properly applied during the 2025 protests. Journalists covering those protests suffered a record number of physical attacks, at least 100, many carried out by police officers.
The judicial system has yet to demonstrate genuine independence in protecting press freedom. The 2024 acquittal of four former intelligence officers accused of murdering journalist Slavko Ćuruvija in 1999 was declared illegal in key points by the Supreme Court - without being overturned - and remains a symbol of the impunity surrounding crimes against journalists. Cases of illegal hacking of journalists' phones by intelligence services and police have also come to light. Women journalists face attacks both for their reporting and their gender, while outlets covering immigration, the LGBTQI+ community, and human rights topics are targeted by far-right and other politically motivated activists.
