BELGRADE, Serbia — About 30 protesters entered the newsroom of pro-Aleksandar Vučić broadcaster Informer TV on Monday night, interrupted its program and surrounded editor and owner Dragan J. Vučićević, according to live footage described by Reuters.
Some in the group called for Vučićević’s arrest. Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić characterized the incursion as an attack on free speech and journalism. Vučićević said the incoming authorities were trying to silence the broadcaster.
The Student List, which won Sunday’s election, said it did not support or call for incursions into media outlets or institutions and would pursue media reform through parliament and other institutional channels, according to Serbia’s Journalists’ Association.
In a separate action Tuesday, the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia and other civil-society, media and university groups submitted an initiative asking the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media to revoke Informer TV’s broadcast license. The groups allege years of violations of law and programming obligations that went unsanctioned. Those are the petitioners’ claims; the filing is not a license revocation, and the regulator has not ruled.
Public broadcaster staff apologize
In Novi Sad, Serbia, a group of employees at public broadcaster Radio Television of Vojvodina said the service had failed to fulfill its role for years through silence, one-sided information, uncritical reporting and failure to ask necessary questions. The employees apologized to viewers and said they would continue seeking professional and independent journalism, according to an RTV report published Monday.
The newsroom incursion, license petition and RTV statement are distinct developments. No evidence reviewed by Radio News Now establishes that the license petition caused or authorized the entry into Informer TV.
It remains unresolved whether Serbian authorities will bring charges over the newsroom incursion, how the media regulator will handle the license petition and whether RTV’s statement will lead to broader editorial or management changes.
Radio News Now question: Will Serbia’s media regulator consider the Informer petition through a transparent process while authorities separately investigate the newsroom incursion?
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