The group claims its TV channel is the “most watched among cable networks” in the country.
Like other pro-government outlets, Informer benefits from public funding, through advertising purchased by state operator Telekom Serbia, and exclusive interviews with the country’s leaders.
Meanwhile, “the situation for independent media in Serbia is increasingly dire,” to the point where they risk disappearing, said Slobodan Georgiev, news director of television channel NOVA S.
According to the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, the majority of Serbian media derive their income from advertising and opaque public subsidies, both sources largely controlled by the ruling elite and dependent on the media groups’ political alignment.
“Advertisers close to the government, as well as state-owned companies, completely bypass independent media,” said Dragoljub Petrovic, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Danas.
‘Imbecile’
Critical media and journalists are subjected to various forms of pressure, including vindictive lawsuits, public insults, and being labelled traitors.
