The BBC research also concluded that the Serbian media market lacked the most basic provision of accurate and unbiased news coverage, that a lot of outlets simply copy and paste from government press releases, and coverage of the wider Balkans region was very heavily skewed toward war and conflict.



Neighbouring countries only feature in national news inasmuch as they present a real or perceived threat to Serbia. Local news was also poorly served.

For example, when a major explosion happened at a chemical factory in a town 150km away from Belgrade, the only coverage was on national TV news, as there was no local outlet.

A few years ago, Serbia introduced new media laws aimed at modernising its media landscape. News outlets, which had been owned and supported by local government since the communist days, were privatised.

This has had some adverse effects, with the emergence of mini-tycoons controlling small media empires.

“Nobody is sure who these people are, and there is evidence some are politically driven,” said a British diplomat. “Journalists say they feel under pressure, [media outlets] get tax audits or don’t get advertisement.”

According to Nikola Tomic, a media consultant and former senior editor at a number of Serbian media outlets, the privatisation process wasn’t transparent, and there are now not more than a handful of people ultimately controlling all local media in Serbia. Pro-Russian, anti-EU websites, the ownership of which is not always clear, have been popping up and spreading; websites with hyperpartisan news links like kremlin.rs, komersant.rs and reporter.rs.

And Moscow-backed outlets such as RT and Sputnik have found fertile ground to pump out Kremlin propaganda, and see it regularly picked up by domestic media and national newspapers.

“[Sputnik and RT] are not very popular, but they are highly quoted by mainstream media in Serbia,” said Tomic. The majority of the country’s media outlets and tabloids also repeat the same pro-Russia talking points, Tomic added.

Tomic said: “It’s not always clear if these outlets are financed directly or indirectly by Russia, or whether there is a mixture of Serbian and Russian political business interests.”

Russia and Serbia have historically had a close bond. As the current government in Belgrade has set the country on a path to joining the EU, it has sought to balance voters’ lack of enthusiasm for the EU, mistrust of NATO, and its positivity towards Russia by maintaining strong ties with Moscow.

“Russia sees all this as an opportunity, and invests time and energy, more than money and trade, in Serbia with cultural diplomacy and media,” said a senior British diplomat.

Moscow has also been apt at picking away at divisions in the broader region. Russia was allegedly behind an attempted coup in Montenegro two years ago. Earlier this year, Russian diplomats were expelled from Greece after being accused of fanning opposition to a deal between Greece and Macedonia that will see the latter country change its name following a decadeslong dispute. The agreement paves the way for Macedonia to join NATO and the EU.



Polling shows that among Orthodox Christians in Serbia, Montenegro, and Republika Srpska, Russia’s favorability remains high.

“The added oomph is that Russia backs them on Kosovo,” the same diplomat said.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Most Western nations recognise Kosovo, but Serbia, and notably Russia, do not. A proposal to redraw the border between Serbia and Kosovo as a solution to end the dispute has been gaining steam in recent months, worrying key European governments, including the UK and Germany.

Despite the UK’s vote to leave the EU, Britain’s historic policy positions and priorities toward the Western Balkans, including supporting the region’s efforts to reform and join the EU, have remained unchanged.

“One of the things needed for that is media,” the senior British diplomat added. “One of the BBC’s advantages is it brings is a solid pipeline of news, which is not coming through tainted sources. It’s also about improving professionalisation, and the overall media atmosphere.”

As part of the UK’s efforts to signal that Britain is committed to the region in the long term despite Brexit, it hosted the Western Balkans summit, and has increased development aid and funds for the region.

One characteristic of Serbian media coverage, diplomats and analysts said, was the need to identify an “enemy”. The role has traditionally been reserved for the US following NATO’s bombing campaign in 1999. More recently, the EU has often been accused of interfering in Serbian politics.

However, over the past year, attacks on the UK in the Serbian media have featured heavily, especially as Britain has often found itself at odds with Russia, and is perceived as less influential than other nations, such as Germany, which hold similar policy positions.

“It is a reflection of circumstances,” said a senior British diplomat. “There’s the Brexit factor. You can kick the UK, not the Germans, and can go only so far after the EU as you want to join.”

The diplomat reflected: “If you decide not to go after the US and Trump, and you need to pull your punches with the EU, cannot mess with the Germans, and want a foreign power, why not have a go at the Brits?”