During 2025, pro-regime media in Serbia received more than one million euros from state and local budgets. And who are their biggest financiers
Publishers six tabloid and dailies close to the authorities during 2025, more than one million euros were paid from state and local budgets through public procurement and media project co-financing.
Screaming analyzed publicly available contracts and discovered, for example, that almost half a million euros were paid to just two companies of Smederevo businessman Boban Rajić, Politica and Novosti.
At the same time these Media they do their part of the job for the government – on the front pages of six tabloids, Raskrikanvania journalists found more than 1.800 manipulations, mostly from the political column.
Almost half a million euros from the budget for Politics and News
Politika and Večernje novosti are owned by Smederevo businessman Boban Rajić.
When all the contracts that Politika and Novosti received from public funds in 2025 are added up, the amount is almost 480.000 euros, writes Raskrikavanje.
The publisher of Večernje Novosti, the company NID Novosti, signed contracts worth more than 286 thousand euros in 2025. Most of the money was allocated to them through public procurement, and the most profitable were public sector advertising services.
The largest contract was signed with the Ministry of Culture, which gave Novosti more than 50 euros, and Radio and Television of Serbia, with which they signed a contract worth 25.500 euros.
Through media contests, Večernje Novosti received around 74 euros. For the projects “Manifestations as a brand” and “Famous Belgraders”, the city of Belgrade awarded them almost 43 thousand euros.
The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications gave them a little more than 18.000 euros for the projects “Protection of children on the Internet”, “Life with barriers” and “Position of the Cyrillic alphabet in Montenegro”. The rest of the money in media contests was received from the cities of Zrenjanin, Loznica and Sremska Mitrovica.
Rajić’s other company, Politika Novine i Magazini, received around 193.000 euros in 2025 based on publicly available contracts. Almost all the money was obtained through public procurement – more than 170 thousand euros, while media contests provided them with “only” 23.000.
Publicly available contracts show that the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications awarded them the money obtained in media competitions for the projects “Demographic Challenges of Serbia: How to make more of us” and “Equal on the field: The power of sports in breaking down barriers”, as well as the municipality of Žitorađa.
From public procurement, they earned the most from advertising. The Directorate for Building Land and Construction of Belgrade was the most generous partner with more than 29.000 euros. Post of Serbia and Radio-television of Serbia signed contracts worth 17.000 euros each.
Politika and Večernje Novosti received contracts worth almost half a million euros despite the fact that in the same period, on the front pages alone, they had at least 450 manipulative texts together.
Who finances Alo the most?
According to publicly available data, the publisher of the tabloid Alo collected more than 143.000 euros in 2025 through public procurement and media project co-financing. The analysis of Raskrikavanja shows that this tabloid published at least 529 fake or manipulative news on its front pages during the same year alone.
Among the largest clients of advertising services were Radio-television of Serbia and Post of Serbia, which decided to pay Alo 17.000 euros each, while Elektroprivreda Srbije concluded contracts of almost the same value. The Ministry of Finance, as well as the Belgrade municipality of Vračar, allocated significant funds to this tabloid, with around 8.500 euros each.
More than 7.000 euros for advertising was also allocated by the Municipality of Bač, which is also among the more important clients of this tabloid’s services.
In addition to income from public procurement, the company Alo media system received money through project co-financing of the media. The City of Belgrade awarded more than 42.000 euros to this company in competitions for the co-financing of media projects.
About 90.000 euros from the Belgrade budget to the informer
The publisher of Informer, the company Insider Team, collected almost 192.000 euros during 2025 through public procurement and project co-financing of the media. An analysis by Raskrivanja shows that the Informer published 399 false or manipulative news stories on its front pages during that year.
Through public procurement, this company was allocated an almost identical amount that went to the tabloid Alo – more than 100.000 euros.
The largest individual contract was signed by Informer with the City Administration of the city of Vranje, which chose slightly less than 20.000 euros for advertising services. They are followed by the Post of Serbia with 17.000 euros, as well as the Municipal Administration of Vrnjačka Banja, which concluded a contract worth over 10.000 euros with this tabloid.
An additional 7.600 euros was earmarked for Informer by the City Administration for Property, Economy and Environmental Protection, while significant contracts were also signed with the Electric Power Company of Serbia, the Administration for Capital Investments of AP Vojvodina and the Tourist Organization of Serbia.
According to the available data, the company Insider Team received three projects with a total value of almost 90.000 euros from the city of Belgrade.
130.000 euros to Serbian telegraph through public procurement
During the last year, the Serbian telegraph published 293 manipulative, unfounded or biased news, according to an analysis by Raskrivanje.
The publisher of this tabloid, Medijska mreža, still concluded lucrative contracts worth around 130.000 euros with the state through public procurement.
The largest amount was awarded to the Media Network by the Post of Serbia, about 17.000 euros, for advertising in the press, while RTS awarded the Media Network almost 13.000 euros for the same activity. For newspaper advertising, the Republic Property Directorate signed a contract with the Media Network worth over 11.000 euros.
42.000 euros to Mondo only from RTS
The publisher of Kurir, the company Mondo, received contracts with a total value of more than 113 thousand euros through public procurement. The most valuable contracts were signed by Mondo with the Serbian Radio and Television, which awarded contracts worth 42,5 thousand euros to the publisher Kurir for advertising its program.
After RTS, Mondo signed the most lucrative contract with the Post of Serbia, which, as in the case of the Serbian Telegraph, awarded it 17.000 euros for advertising in the press.
The company Mondo INC received 18.700 euros for three projects through media co-financing projects in 2025. Novi Sad awarded Monda the most money, about 8,5 thousand euros, for the project “Mileva and Novi Sad: 150 years since the birth of a scientist who inspires us”. Apart from Novi Sad, the Kurir publisher is also supported by Vrnjačka Banja and Kragujevac.
Tabloid Kurir and numerous other media published by the company Mondo are now majority owned by Telekom Serbia.
Source: Vreme
