Serbia drops 14 places on 2019 World Press Freedom Index

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Serbia has dropped 14 places on the 2019 World Press Freedom Index and now ranks 90th on the list of 180 countries, the Reporters Without Borders global media watchdog said on Thursday.

The authors of the report warned that Serbia is not safe for journalists. “Within five years of President Aleksandar Vucic in effect governing the country, Serbia has become a place where practising journalism is neither safe nor supported by the state,” the report said and warned of a rise in attacks on the media.  

“The number of attacks on media is on the rise, including death threats, and inflammatory rhetoric targeting journalists is increasingly coming from the governing officials. Many attempts on journalists’ integrity have not been investigated, solved, or punished, and the aggressive smear campaigns that pro-government media orchestrate against investigative reporters are in full swing,” it said.

The report noted the arson attack on the home of investigative journalist Milan Jovanovic in a Belgrade suburb following his reports on corruption at the local level.  

Reporters Without Borders said that “some courageous journalists continue to cover dangerous subjects such as crime and corruption, but because of media ownership concentration, their stories are usually with a limited reach”.  

“Collusion between politicians and media, widespread government-tolerated fake news, and a lack of pluralism in the print and broadcast media are also all sources of a big concern,” the report said.