Mapping Media Freedom (MMF), an international platform that documents, monitors and analyzes press and media freedom violations across Europe, reported on an incident that took place on August 27, 2025, when N1 journalist Ana Novakovic was forcibly prevented from taking a statement from Stan Miller, the new CEO of United Group, owner of two major independent TV stations – N1 and Nova.
MMF said that Novakovic was seeking a comment from Miller about an alleged attempt to seize political control of N1 by the Serbian government. Earlier on that day, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published a leaked audio recording, in which Stan Miller and Vladimir Lucic, the CEO of Telekom Srbija, were heard discussing Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s request to dismiss United Media’s executive director, Aleksandra Subotic. They suggested replacing her with a political appointee to gain control of the television station’s editorial policy, which is critical of the government. The authenticity of the recording was confirmed by the United Group, MMF emphasized.
Upon receiving information that Stan Miller was staying at the Bristol Hotel, the N1 journalist went to the hotel with the intention of asking him questions about the OCCRP revelation. “When we got that information, it was logical that our journalist tried to ask the first man of the group what it was all about,” N1 News Director Igor Bozic told the press. While waiting for Stan Miller in the hotel lobby, Novakovic spotted him in the courtyard. She asked a member of staff for permission to access the garden so that she could speak with him. Access was granted to her, and she was asked not to take any photos. When she introduced herself to Miller as a journalist for N1, the hotel manager snatched her phone – which was recording – from her hands and refused to give it back until she left the premises.
The situation then escalated when the hotel manager forcibly removed her from the building. She was also threatened with legal action for alleged unauthorized recordings and threatened by Miller’s private security, who repeatedly asked the hotel security to call the police. A lawyer representing Telekom, and apparently United Group, who was present at the scene, threatened Novakovic with dismissal while asking her to delete the footage. Novakovic’s phone was eventually returned, and the footage published, the platform noted.
Mapping Media Freedom also said that, on 28 August, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS/IJAS) strongly condemned the incident. “Such treatment of media representatives and confiscation of personal property is absolutely unacceptable and represents direct pressure on the freedom of journalistic work,” declared NUNS.
Source: N1
