Image source, AP
“For years, the public channel did not do its job; it remained silent, turned a blind eye, was biased in its coverage without critical thinking, failed to ask the right questions, or did not ask questions at all. For that, we owe our viewers an apology.”
With these words, a television presenter began a news program that was broadcast live last week.
This rare statement lasted 30 seconds, on the RTV channel (within the Vojvodina Radio and Television Network) in northern Serbia.
The apology came a day after the Serbian parliamentary elections, in which President Aleksandar Vucic acknowledged defeat in favor of the student leadership movement, thus ending his party’s dominance of the political sphere in the country after it had lasted 14 years.
Throughout these years, the government has exercised strong influence over most media outlets in the country.
In the days following this apologetic statement, a number of program editors and executives resigned - both at the RTV network (dedicated to the region of Vojvodina) and at the Serbian Radio and Television Corporation.
Media observers noticed that opposition voices began to appear on news and talk shows, which was a rare thing before.
RTV's apology quickly found its way onto social media platforms, attracting international attention.
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The apology, which was broadcast on RTV's main news program, came on Monday, October 26, after the announcement of the preliminary election results, which confirmed the victory of a list supported by students.
The apology statement was written by Maria Stokocha, who works as a newspaper editor at the channel, and explained that a number of journalists in the newsroom stepped aside after the elections, making way for others to take over responsibility for preparing the news program.
Stokocha pointed out, "This is not the first time we have demanded changes, but it is the first time the administration has agreed."
Stokocha, who previously worked in another department within the newsroom, was nominated by her colleagues to help lead the change effort.
Stokocha notes that dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction within the channel have been present for about ten years.
Speaking to the BBC, Stokocha said, "A number of RTV employees have long been looking forward to changes so that they can cover the news objectively and serve the public interest."
According to Stokocha, journalists have long warned that important reports “are either deleted or are approached from a narrow political perspective.”
Stokocha referred to the demonstrations that followed the collapse of the canopy of the train station in the city of Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina Province, which resulted in the deaths of 16 people. Thousands went out in silent protest marches on November 5, 2024, demanding that those responsible be held accountable, but the RTV network largely failed to cover the incident, according to Stokocha.
Stokoča also referred to student-led demonstrations and blockades that followed the collapse of the train station canopy, which also received limited media coverage from RTV.
The incident sparked massive demonstrations that continued for months and contributed to fueling the student-led movement, which would later challenge the government at the ballot box.
“A public media channel should speak to all citizens and report what is happening; it cannot turn a blind eye, as we used to do,” says Stokocha.
Stokocha confirms that there were journalists within the channel who objected to the editorial choices, but they did not have the decision to change them.
This week, Stokocha accepted the role of editor of the channel's news programme.
The BBC contacted the RTV media office and made inquiries about the nature of the coverage.
Indeed, the response came via email from Predrag Novokovic, a newly elected director of one of the channel's programmes.
Novkovic said that the channel "failed to fulfill its legal obligations to inform the public in a professional, objective, impartial and timely manner."
He added that there were other issues that were being ignored, including: “serious issues related to corruption and crime at the highest levels; tangible threats to citizens and legal security; and the erosion of media freedoms and freedom of expression.”
Novokovic stressed that this discussion applies primarily to the main news program on the channel, pointing out at the same time that there are other radio and television programs that have been able to maintain a level of professionalism, despite the constant pressure from the ruling administrative authorities.
Image source: Anadolu via Getty Images
Backstage
Goran Eror, the newscaster who read out the apology statement, says that he was at work on Monday, and when he arrived at work, he learned that the editor-in-chief of RTV had been changed, and that Stokoča would be editing the news program in just two hours.
“She sat down at the computer, and we were all around her helping out, because preparing a newscast usually takes hours,” says Error.
Stokoča wrote a statement of apology, which Error later read, saying he was astonished by the reaction that followed the broadcast of this statement.
“The apology itself has some sort of antidote, as it shows that we realize what was happening over the previous years, and that our editorial policy should have been significantly different,” Eror believes.
"Symbolic, not substantive"
Tanja Maksic, a media policy analyst at the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, says this is an important moment but should not be viewed as if it were a “structural reform.”
“The transformation was dramatic because public media stations were not essentially independent, but rather tied to political power,” Maksic says.
From her point of view, the apology reflects a recent change in the political climate in Serbia more than it reflects the establishment of guarantees for the independence of liberalization policies.
Maksic appreciates the years of pressure exerted by journalists by openly challenging editorial policy from within, but these pressures did not succeed in confronting the mechanisms that strengthen existing political influence.
Maksic says that this change is “symbolic, not fundamental; reliance on state funding still exists, as do politically supported appointments of governing administrative bodies.”
In addition to the state media in Serbia, there is also private media, but both are still vulnerable to state influence through funding, propaganda and advertising.
The independent media in Serbia faces political and financial pressures, at a time when intimidation, provocation and bias methods dominate the media scene in the country.
Earlier this year, the Serbian Parliament agreed to continue providing budget support to the RTV network until the end of 2026, which means that the broadcast license fees alone were not sufficient to finance the network’s work.
Stokoča, the RTV editor who wrote the apology statement, is careful not to overstate its importance, saying: “No one should think that a 30-second apology statement is enough; restoring trust is a cumulative construct that is being built every day.”
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