The ongoing privatisation of media organisations in Serbia has forced many local, independent outlets to close – or become the tools of political parties.
Three of the eight local media outlets in Serbia bought last year by Radoica Milosavljevic, a businessman from the town of Krusevac, have since closed, while a fourth is expected to follow suit soon, the Journalists’ Syndicate of Serbia, SINOS, reported in late August.
The closure of these organisations suggests Milosavljevic ignored his obligations under the terms of the privatisation deals, which were to keep these organisations running for at least five years and keep paying the staff salaries for at least two years.
The demise of at least three, if not four, local media organisations in Krusevac is only one example of the many problems and dilemmas, which local and independent media organisations in Serbia face as they struggle to survive.
