The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) believes that the Municipality of Sjenica’s decision to restrict this year’s calls for co-financing media content solely to television broadcasters and media in minority languages constitutes discrimination against all other media outlets.
Responding to a journalist’s question about the reasoning behind this decision, the municipality stated that it wants “more reporting on cultural and political events in Sjenica,” as citizens are “often deprived of information about such developments.” This explanation indicates the municipality’s intention to finance regular news coverage and the day-to-day operations of media outlets, which is in direct contradiction to the Rulebook on Co-financing Projects for Achieving Public Interest in the Field of Public Information.
According to Article 15 of the Rulebook, project-based co-financing does not include daily reporting on social, political, cultural, and other events—such as news, central information programs, morning shows, and similar content. The aim of this mechanism is to support the production of media content that is not commercially profitable but is of special importance for the realization of the public interest.
Furthermore, Article 5 of the Rulebook clearly states that “the authority may launch a single call or several separate calls, based on the target group the content is intended for, the thematic area, or the type of media, so that all types of media are included.” Accordingly, the Municipality of Sjenica should issue at least one additional call to allow participation from other types of media, rather than excluding some based on the platform through which they distribute content.
The decision by the Municipality of Sjenica constitutes a serious disregard for legal provisions and undermines the development of pluralism and equal conditions for all media. IJAS urges the municipal authorities to urgently amend the competition conditions and ensure a fair and transparent process that does not discriminate but evaluates projects in line with the Rulebook and the Law on Public Information and Media.
At the same time, out of the total 30 million dinars allocated through the 2025 competition in Vranje, as much as 27.7 million dinars went to Vranjska Plus and Radio Television Vranje, while Radio Television Bujanovac—owned by the same majority shareholder as Radio Television Vranje—received an additional 650,000 dinars. This distribution of public funds highlights a serious imbalance in the treatment of media at the local level and calls into question the very purpose of the competition.
These three media outlets received a total of eight individual projects, while all other media—including local portals, radio stations, and smaller production houses—were awarded minimal funds or were excluded from funding altogether.
IJAS calls on the City of Vranje to urgently review this decision and to take into account the fact that Vranjska Plus and Radio Television Vranje repeatedly violated the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics last year, according to rulings by the Press Council’s Complaints Commission. The competent authorities must ensure a transparent, fair, and legally grounded distribution of funds that does not favor certain media to the detriment of the overall media landscape and the public interest.
IJAS also calls on the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications to intervene and ensure compliance with the prescribed criteria when implementing local media competitions.
Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia
Belgrade, 15 May 2025
