The field of print media in Serbia in the last ten years is characterised by declining readership and revenues on one had, and high fluidity of media outlets on the other, with new titles appearing and disappearing quickly.
Daily newspapers have experienced the biggest decline in the overall consumption compared to other types of media. Only one out of twenty Serbians uses it to obtain news and information. Some of its readership has moved to the Internet, where most dailies are increasing efforts to survive. Total circulation of daily press has dropped from 800,000 sold copies in 2007 to less than 500,000 in the mid 2010s.
In 2016, according to surveying agency Ipsos, the average weekly reach of television was 6.9 million, while radio and Internet reached 3.5 million and 4.2 million, respectively. Print media had the lowest reach at four million.
There are ten daily papers: Politika, Novosti, Danas, Blic, Alo, Kurir, Informer, Srpski telegraf, Dnevnik and Magyar Szo. In 2007, however, there were 21 of them.
Serbian daily print media market shows high concentration of media ownership and readership share: 63.27 percent of the audience is shared between the Ringier Axel Springer company, that publishes daily Blic (and until 2017 Alo and 24 sata), then Adria Media Group, that publishes the daily Kurir, Insajder Tim, which publishes the pro-government paper Informer, and Novosti, a company in which the state remains the largest individual shareholder.
Most popular daily papers are tabloids, which are also among the cheapest national newspapers – some of them being sold at a hardly sustainable copy price of less than 20 cents. These same tabloids are the ones that, almost on a daily basis, undermine or break ethical and professional media codes. Monitoring data produced by the Savet za stampu (Serbian Press Council) show that the biggest number of breaches, more than thousand per paper in 2017 (March-November), made tabloids Srpski telegraf, Alo and Kurir. Most often violations involve making assumptions, presenting opinions as facts, and violating the presumption of innocence.
Political tabloids are a specific feature of the Serbian media environment since 2000. They appear and disappear in line with the dictates of mainly hidden, business-political networks. The market has seen the appearance and disappearance of around twenty daily papers in that period, most of which were tabloids.
Although formally the owners of most print media are known, in practice there is considerable debate as to who is really behind these proxy owners of certain outlets, as shows the Serbian edition of the Survey of Media Ownership Monitor carried by the Reporters without Borders and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). The most problematic examples in terms of transparency of ownership are the traditional daily newspapers Vecernje Novosti (also known as Novosti) and Politika, which were privatised under murky circumstances and where the state still has a dominant role. In other cases, while individual journalists and editors may be the formal founders and owners of certain publications, behind the scenes there are thought to be hidden links to influential businessmen or politicians. The exceptions are two big media groups - Ringier Axel Springer and Adria Media Group – where ownership is relatively clear. Ringier owns Blic, NIN and until 2017 daily Alo and free paper 24 sata, while Adria Media Group owns Kurir and a range of glossy magazines. It also published Newsweek Serbia until its closure in 2017.
There are seven weekly news magazines in the country: NIN, Vreme, Pecat, Novi magazin, Nedeljnik and Ekspres. The number was the same ten years ago, but some of the titles folded in the meantime, and new ones appeared.
In the field of glossy magazines leaders are Adria Media Group and Color Press Grupa, each publishing a range of weekly and monthly magazines.
A weak economy and a large public sector creates a situation in which the state is a big advertiser in the Serbian media world, especially in the printed press. This creates a fertile ground for exercising control over the media which are faced with the constant threat of the loss of state advertising if they criticise the ruling political elite.
Daily newspaper Blic has an audience share of 6.5 percent. It was founded in 1996 and was considered an ''opposition'' newspaper in Serbia. After it was acquired by Ringier in 2004, the paper became much more profit oriented, which was also reflected in its style, content and editorial policy. The ultimate owner of Blic is a Swiss company – Ringier Axel Springer Media AG, which was founded through a merger of Ringier AG from Switzerland and Axel Springer SE from Germany.
The Informer daily newspaper was founded in early 2012. Informer quickly became popular, primarily due to the sensationalist, tabloid content (audience share 6 percent) The newspaper is widely perceived not just as being close to the ruling Srpska napredna stranka (Serbian Progressive Party – SNS), but also frequently serving as a tool for attacking opponents and critics of the party, both in the political world and among independent media, journalists, and civil society groups and activists.
Kurir (audience share 6 percent) was founded in 2003. The paper played an important role in the process of media tabloidisation in Serbia, by making up political affairs and often spreading false information. Ever since its founding, Kurir has been changing its editorial policy numerous times.
The oldest publications in the market are daily Politika (established in 1904) and weekly NIN. The latter was originally founded in 1935 by a group of journalists. NIN has regularly been published since 1951. After being privatised in 2009, it was first bought by Ringier ltd and is, after its merger, now mainly owned by Ringier Axel Springer in Serbia. Politika is the country’s oldest daily broadsheet newspaper (established in 1904), with a reputation for serious journalism which, however, in different periods was strongly supportive of the ruling parties. During the 1990s Politika was under the firm control of then president Slobodan Milosevic and his authoritarian regime.
Leaders among independent papers in the 1990s (daily Danas, established in 1997, and weekly Vreme, established in 1990) met numerous obstacles since year 2000. The paradox in the status of the Serbian quality press is that the papers that contributed most to the democratisation of the country are the poorest and still have a limited influence on the public. Technological changes and migration of public to the digital media contributed to their difficult position. The major problem of the high quality press is economic sustainability.
The situation is particularly difficult for local media outlets critical of the authorities. In September 2017, the founder of magazine Vranjske and former head of Nezavisno drustvo novinara Srbije (the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia - NUNS), went on hunger strike after being forced to close his newspaper after 23 years of continuous publishing. He accused the Serbian authorities of using state institutions to suffocate the independent media via bodies like the tax authorities and the courts. In reaction to that and the worsening situation of the free media in the country, about 150 Serbian websites and NGOs participated in a "blackout" campaign called “Stop Media Darkness”.
The field of print media in Serbia in the last ten years is characterised by declining readership and revenues on one had, and high fluidity of media outlets on the other, with new titles appearing and disappearing quickly.
Daily newspapers have experienced the biggest decline in the overall consumption compared to other types of media. Only one out of twenty Serbians uses it to obtain news and information. Some of its readership has moved to the Internet, where most dailies are increasing efforts to survive. Total circulation of daily press has dropped from 800,000 sold copies in 2007 to less than 500,000 in the mid 2010s.
In 2016, according to surveying agency Ipsos, the average weekly reach of television was 6.9 million, while radio and Internet reached 3.5 million and 4.2 million, respectively. Print media had the lowest reach at four million.
There are ten daily papers: Politika, Novosti, Danas, Blic, Alo, Kurir, Informer, Srpski telegraf, Dnevnik and Magyar Szo. In 2007, however, there were 21 of them.
Serbian daily print media market shows high concentration of media ownership and readership share: 63.27 percent of the audience is shared between the Ringier Axel Springer company, that publishes daily Blic (and until 2017 Alo and 24 sata), then Adria Media Group, that publishes the daily Kurir, Insajder Tim, which publishes the pro-government paper Informer, and Novosti, a company in which the state remains the largest individual shareholder.
Most popular daily papers are tabloids, which are also among the cheapest national newspapers – some of them being sold at a hardly sustainable copy price of less than 20 cents. These same tabloids are the ones that, almost on a daily basis, undermine or break ethical and professional media codes. Monitoring data produced by the Savet za stampu (Serbian Press Council) show that the biggest number of breaches, more than thousand per paper in 2017 (March-November), made tabloids Srpski telegraf, Alo and Kurir. Most often violations involve making assumptions, presenting opinions as facts, and violating the presumption of innocence.
Political tabloids are a specific feature of the Serbian media environment since 2000. They appear and disappear in line with the dictates of mainly hidden, business-political networks. The market has seen the appearance and disappearance of around twenty daily papers in that period, most of which were tabloids.
Although formally the owners of most print media are known, in practice there is considerable debate as to who is really behind these proxy owners of certain outlets, as shows the Serbian edition of the Survey of Media Ownership Monitor carried by the Reporters without Borders and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). The most problematic examples in terms of transparency of ownership are the traditional daily newspapers Vecernje Novosti (also known as Novosti) and Politika, which were privatised under murky circumstances and where the state still has a dominant role. In other cases, while individual journalists and editors may be the formal founders and owners of certain publications, behind the scenes there are thought to be hidden links to influential businessmen or politicians. The exceptions are two big media groups - Ringier Axel Springer and Adria Media Group – where ownership is relatively clear. Ringier owns Blic, NIN and until 2017 daily Alo and free paper 24 sata, while Adria Media Group owns Kurir and a range of glossy magazines. It also published Newsweek Serbia until its closure in 2017.
There are seven weekly news magazines in the country: NIN, Vreme, Pecat, Novi magazin, Nedeljnik and Ekspres. The number was the same ten years ago, but some of the titles folded in the meantime, and new ones appeared.
In the field of glossy magazines leaders are Adria Media Group and Color Press Grupa, each publishing a range of weekly and monthly magazines.
A weak economy and a large public sector creates a situation in which the state is a big advertiser in the Serbian media world, especially in the printed press. This creates a fertile ground for exercising control over the media which are faced with the constant threat of the loss of state advertising if they criticise the ruling political elite.
Daily newspaper Blic has an audience share of 6.5 percent. It was founded in 1996 and was considered an ''opposition'' newspaper in Serbia. After it was acquired by Ringier in 2004, the paper became much more profit oriented, which was also reflected in its style, content and editorial policy. The ultimate owner of Blic is a Swiss company – Ringier Axel Springer Media AG, which was founded through a merger of Ringier AG from Switzerland and Axel Springer SE from Germany.
The Informer daily newspaper was founded in early 2012. Informer quickly became popular, primarily due to the sensationalist, tabloid content (audience share 6 percent) The newspaper is widely perceived not just as being close to the ruling Srpska napredna stranka (Serbian Progressive Party – SNS), but also frequently serving as a tool for attacking opponents and critics of the party, both in the political world and among independent media, journalists, and civil society groups and activists.
Kurir (audience share 6 percent) was founded in 2003. The paper played an important role in the process of media tabloidisation in Serbia, by making up political affairs and often spreading false information. Ever since its founding, Kurir has been changing its editorial policy numerous times.
The oldest publications in the market are daily Politika (established in 1904) and weekly NIN. The latter was originally founded in 1935 by a group of journalists. NIN has regularly been published since 1951. After being privatised in 2009, it was first bought by Ringier ltd and is, after its merger, now mainly owned by Ringier Axel Springer in Serbia. Politika is the country’s oldest daily broadsheet newspaper (established in 1904), with a reputation for serious journalism which, however, in different periods was strongly supportive of the ruling parties. During the 1990s Politika was under the firm control of then president Slobodan Milosevic and his authoritarian regime.
Leaders among independent papers in the 1990s (daily Danas, established in 1997, and weekly Vreme, established in 1990) met numerous obstacles since year 2000. The paradox in the status of the Serbian quality press is that the papers that contributed most to the democratisation of the country are the poorest and still have a limited influence on the public. Technological changes and migration of public to the digital media contributed to their difficult position. The major problem of the high quality press is economic sustainability.
The situation is particularly difficult for local media outlets critical of the authorities. In September 2017, the founder of magazine Vranjske and former head of Nezavisno drustvo novinara Srbije (the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia - NUNS), went on hunger strike after being forced to close his newspaper after 23 years of continuous publishing. He accused the Serbian authorities of using state institutions to suffocate the independent media via bodies like the tax authorities and the courts. In reaction to that and the worsening situation of the free media in the country, about 150 Serbian websites and NGOs participated in a "blackout" campaign called “Stop media darkness”.
The field of print media in Serbia in the last ten years is characterised by declining readership and revenues on one had, and high fluidity of media outlets on the other, with new titles appearing and disappearing quickly.
Daily newspapers have experienced the biggest decline in the overall consumption compared to other types of media. Only one out of twenty Serbians uses it to obtain news and information. Some of its readership has moved to the Internet, where most dailies are increasing efforts to survive. Total circulation of daily press has dropped from 800,000 sold copies in 2007 to less than 500,000 in the mid 2010s.
In 2016, according to surveying agency Ipsos, the average weekly reach of television was 6.9 million, while radio and Internet reached 3.5 million and 4.2 million, respectively. Print media had the lowest reach at four million.
There are ten daily papers: Politika, Novosti, Danas, Blic, Alo, Kurir, Informer, Srpski telegraf, Dnevnik and Magyar Szo. In 2007, however, there were 21 of them.
Serbian daily print media market shows high concentration of media ownership and readership share: 63.27 percent of the audience is shared between the Ringier Axel Springer company, that publishes daily Blic (and until 2017 Alo and 24 sata), then Adria Media Group, that publishes the daily Kurir, Insajder Tim, which publishes the pro-government paper Informer, and Novosti, a company in which the state remains the largest individual shareholder.
Most popular daily papers are tabloids, which are also among the cheapest national newspapers – some of them being sold at a hardly sustainable copy price of less than 20 cents. These same tabloids are the ones that, almost on a daily basis, undermine or break ethical and professional media codes. Monitoring data produced by the Savet za stampu (Serbian Press Council) show that the biggest number of breaches, more than thousand per paper in 2017 (March-November), made tabloids Srpski telegraf, Alo and Kurir. Most often violations involve making assumptions, presenting opinions as facts, and violating the presumption of innocence.
Political tabloids are a specific feature of the Serbian media environment since 2000. They appear and disappear in line with the dictates of mainly hidden, business-political networks. The market has seen the appearance and disappearance of around twenty daily papers in that period, most of which were tabloids.
Although formally the owners of most print media are known, in practice there is considerable debate as to who is really behind these proxy owners of certain outlets, as shows the Serbian edition of the Survey of Media Ownership Monitor carried by the Reporters without Borders and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). The most problematic examples in terms of transparency of ownership are the traditional daily newspapers Vecernje Novosti (also known as Novosti) and Politika, which were privatised under murky circumstances and where the state still has a dominant role. In other cases, while individual journalists and editors may be the formal founders and owners of certain publications, behind the scenes there are thought to be hidden links to influential businessmen or politicians. The exceptions are two big media groups - Ringier Axel Springer and Adria Media Group – where ownership is relatively clear. Ringier owns Blic, NIN and until 2017 daily Alo and free paper 24 sata, while Adria Media Group owns Kurir and a range of glossy magazines. It also published Newsweek Serbia until its closure in 2017.
There are seven weekly news magazines in the country: NIN, Vreme, Pecat, Novi magazin, Nedeljnik and Ekspres. The number was the same ten years ago, but some of the titles folded in the meantime, and new ones appeared.
In the field of glossy magazines leaders are Adria Media Group and Color Press Grupa, each publishing a range of weekly and monthly magazines.
A weak economy and a large public sector creates a situation in which the state is a big advertiser in the Serbian media world, especially in the printed press. This creates a fertile ground for exercising control over the media which are faced with the constant threat of the loss of state advertising if they criticise the ruling political elite.
Daily newspaper Blic has an audience share of 6.5 percent. It was founded in 1996 and was considered an ''opposition'' newspaper in Serbia. After it was acquired by Ringier in 2004, the paper became much more profit oriented, which was also reflected in its style, content and editorial policy. The ultimate owner of Blic is a Swiss company – Ringier Axel Springer Media AG, which was founded through a merger of Ringier AG from Switzerland and Axel Springer SE from Germany.
The Informer daily newspaper was founded in early 2012. Informer quickly became popular, primarily due to the sensationalist, tabloid content (audience share 6 percent) The newspaper is widely perceived not just as being close to the ruling Srpska napredna stranka (Serbian Progressive Party – SNS), but also frequently serving as a tool for attacking opponents and critics of the party, both in the political world and among independent media, journalists, and civil society groups and activists.
Kurir (audience share 6 percent) was founded in 2003. The paper played an important role in the process of media tabloidisation in Serbia, by making up political affairs and often spreading false information. Ever since its founding, Kurir has been changing its editorial policy numerous times.
The oldest publications in the market are daily Politika (established in 1904) and weekly NIN. The latter was originally founded in 1935 by a group of journalists. NIN has regularly been published since 1951. After being privatised in 2009, it was first bought by Ringier ltd and is, after its merger, now mainly owned by Ringier Axel Springer in Serbia. Politika is the country’s oldest daily broadsheet newspaper (established in 1904), with a reputation for serious journalism which, however, in different periods was strongly supportive of the ruling parties. During the 1990s Politika was under the firm control of then president Slobodan Milosevic and his authoritarian regime.
Leaders among independent papers in the 1990s (daily Danas, established in 1997, and weekly Vreme, established in 1990) met numerous obstacles since year 2000. The paradox in the status of the Serbian quality press is that the papers that contributed most to the democratisation of the country are the poorest and still have a limited influence on the public. Technological changes and migration of public to the digital media contributed to their difficult position. The major problem of the high quality press is economic sustainability.
The situation is particularly difficult for local media outlets critical of the authorities. In September 2017, the founder of magazine Vranjske and former head of Nezavisno drustvo novinara Srbije (the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia - NUNS), went on hunger strike after being forced to close his newspaper after 23 years of continuous publishing. He accused the Serbian authorities of using state institutions to suffocate the independent media via bodies like the tax authorities and the courts. In reaction to that and the worsening situation of the free media in the country, about 150 Serbian websites and NGOs participated in a "blackout" campaign called “Stop media darkness”.