Some Montenegrin media are under Serbian influence. This is stated by Tamara Nikčević, an award-winning regional journalist and host of the show “Aritmija,” who adds that the authorities in Montenegro are not doing enough to combat this phenomenon.
According to her, the control of most influential media in Montenegro by structures linked to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s regime is primarily political rather than economic. “Vučić or BIA today control the majority of Montenegrin media,” she emphasizes.
Nikčević also discusses the challenges faced by journalists who criticize the authorities, including harassment and constant pressure.
“Unlike Serbia, where controlled media, on one hand by Vučić, and on the other by Dragan Šolak or Dragan Đilas, have an almost identical editorial policy regarding the region, particularly Montenegro and Kosovo, and according to Serbia’s foreign policy priorities, in Montenegro you see a clear distinction between BIA-controlled media and media that criticize government policy. The latter are not as powerful, but I wouldn’t underestimate their impact.”
The Geopost: Data shows that most of the most influential media in Montenegro are controlled or owned by Serbian structures directly or indirectly linked to Aleksandar Vučić’s regime. What are the reasons for this—economics or more political influence?
Nikčević: Certainly, it is a matter of political influence. Montenegro is a small market, and everyone knows there is no significant economic profit there. So, it is purely political influence.
Today, Vučić or BIA controls the majority of Montenegrin media. It is public knowledge that these televisions, newspapers, and portals are often coordinated by a central center that decides who will be a guest where, who will publish what kind of fake news, which is then broadcasted by others.
Unlike Serbia, where controlled media, on one hand by Vučić, and on the other by Dragan Šolak or Dragan Đilas, have an almost identical editorial policy concerning the region, particularly Montenegro and Kosovo, and Serbia’s foreign policy priorities, in Montenegro you have a clear distinction between BIA-controlled media and media that criticize government policy. The latter are not as powerful, but I wouldn’t underestimate their influence.
The Geopost: How are Montenegrin society, culture, and the country itself affected by such a media image?
Nikčević: To a large extent, media have influenced this, and everyone who takes this analysis seriously can see it. Unprofessional journalists and columnists with very low educational levels like to rewrite history, and you often have the impression that their so-called texts or columns are written with the intention of singing to a lute.
An example of the malign influence of media on Montenegrin society is the portal (In4S prim.nov.), which is not registered in Montenegro and whose founder is the current rector of the University of Montenegro, Vladan Božović.
All the apocalyptic media knights from the region, all the warmongers and darkness dwellers are there. Or, recently I heard a Serbian radio in Montenegro, which in its central news broadcasts not only provides more information from Serbia—Vučić is certainly the best and the most handsome—than from Montenegro, but also informs listeners about where the clergy of the Serbian state church will hold liturgies. Almost the same is true for other media.
The Geopost: Are the current authorities doing anything to change the situation, or do they actually adapt to these media opportunities?
Nikčević: They are doing nothing, not even talking about it. This media situation fits them exactly. The work of some local media, for example, is influenced not only by city authorities but also by those at the state level. This is, I believe, implied. Journalists of these media report that they are required to fulfill all the desires of local officials, directors, or city secretaries. This is what media freedom looks like in the interpretation of those primitives.
The Geopost: What is it like to be a journalist today in Montenegro, especially one who is critical of the authorities? Over the past four years, you have been targeted several times for being known as a critic of the authorities and state organs, and you have been questioned. The Special State Prosecutor’s Office (SDT) of Montenegro recently tried to penalize you because of your communication with former Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić.
Nikčević: You have asked me several questions, so I will answer them one by one. Unfortunately, I cannot demonstrate what it is like to be a journalist in Montenegro. As usual, at the moment I am collaborating with media in four former SFRY countries—Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Croatia.
Currently, I do not have a secure engagement in Montenegro. Besides my several-year status as a writer for Pobjeda from Belgrade, a kind of correspondent from Belgrade or someone covering the region, I occasionally visited Montenegro. The city television (Gradska televizija), the portal and radio RTV Podgorica that I founded and edited from 2020-2023 was actually an incident. Just like my shows that I had on the public media of Montenegrin Television.
In Montenegrin media, unfortunately, the situation is similar to that in politics: channels are opened, but among those local geniuses from both sides, whose fame generally does not extend beyond Bioče (a small town near Podgorica), there is still a consensus: there is no room for me in their media.
This low agreement is a compliment to me, imposes itself on me, and I carry it like a medal.
Regarding the attacks, as a journalist and editor of several media outlets, I have never mystified these matters. I created City Television (Gradska TV), edited it professionally, brought the best of Yugoslavia and the best Yugoslavs to Podgorica; after only one year, the local public media of Podgorica became a small regional brand. The liberators, of course, ruined this and created a “more beautiful and older” City TV. And I can only congratulate them for that!
With some of what journalists of “Gradska” and I, along with them, went through, the public is informed; some is unknown because we were not in the habit of complaining about every threatening email and message we received. We worked professionally, and we tried to work professionally despite attacks and labeling from the government, political parties, representatives of institutions, dangerous criminal groups, and others.
In the end, you asked me about the scandal involving former prosecutor Milivoje Katnić—the accusations of the bloodthirsty prosecutor (Miloš) Šoškić, who tried to criminalize several journalists and Montenegrin writer Milorad Popović because of their contact with former Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnić, who was not convicted at the time, a free man, not only speaks about how an important institution in Montenegro treats journalists and media but also about how the prosecution, by abusing its power, misuses and tries to kill a person whom it practically denies the right to defense.
And that would be all you need to know at this moment about the criminal, primitive, contentious, puppet government, which, aside from our “Western partners,” is wholeheartedly supported by our great friends from opposition parties and free media in Serbia.
The Geopost
