Nataša Latkovic, journalist and editor at the Nova.rs portal, told N1 that a leaked audio recording of United Group CEO Sten Miller and state-owned Telekom Serbia CEO Vladimir Lucic “stirred the public and alarmed employees in UG media in Serbia”, because, as she put it, “someone was sitting behind our backs with competitors and arranging staff dismissals within United Media (UM).”
“We saw that N1 and Nova journalists staying at the Bristol Hotel were treated in a humiliating way by their director, with security forcing them out or holding them back… Instead of inviting them to a discussion, the director refused to answer their questions,” Latkovic said.
She added that, in the context of Serbia, it is “hard to imagine any institution that could impose sanctions or take meaningful action.”
“We still do not know the full background of the conversation between Stean Miller and Vladimir Lucic, whether it was purely political, or if there are other factors. That is why our editorial team requested an investigation by UG. We have heard reactions from civil society representatives and journalist associations. There may also be a role for Serbia’s Competition Commission. Representatives of the European Federation of Journalists have also responded,” she noted.
Latkovic emphasized that all media operating under UG in Serbia will continue their work as before.
OCCRP recently released an audio recording of Miler and Lucic, in which the two executives discuss weakening UG’s media presence in Serbia and dismissing United Media director Aleksandra Subotic at the request of President Aleksandar Vucic.
Source: N1
