The ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) condemned Radio Television of Serbia’s (RTS) coverage of student protests in Novi Sad, accusing the public broadcaster of breaching journalistic standards and supporting political figures opposing Serbia’s constitutional order. The SNS also accused RTS of attacking one of the country’s state pillars and attempting to control the public.
The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has strongly criticized Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) after the evening news broadcasted a professional report on the student protests in Novi Sad, airing images of the large-scale demonstrations. The report, which showed footage of the protesters and the considerable size of the crowd, was featured in the 19:30 Dnevnik broadcast.
Following the seven-minute segment, the Dnevnik anchor read a statement from the SNS, calling RTS’s reporting “unprofessional and scandalous,” and accusing the network of violating journalistic ethics and objectivity. The party claimed that RTS’s coverage “breached all rules of impartial journalism.”
Earlier, RTS had broadcasted five-minute reports on the Novi Sad protests during its 16:30 and 17:30 news segments, featuring aerial drone footage showing the scale of the protests, which involved tens of thousands of students and citizens.
Despite the live reports in the afternoon being largely unimpeded, the RTS reporter in the evening segment struggled to report due to the loud noise of whistles, vuvuzelas, chants against President Vučić, and banners placed in front of the camera.
The SNS’s condemnation of RTS’s coverage may have stemmed from the public broadcaster’s objective approach to the Novi Sad protests, which is why the party’s statement accused the station of “abusing its position” and warned citizens about “the manipulation of the public.”
In its statement, the SNS also accused RTS of attacking one of the state pillars of Serbia and attempting to control public opinion by using its platform to support political figures aiming to overthrow the constitutional order. The party claimed the broadcaster had violated journalism codes and threatened to take action to protect Serbia’s institutions in order to prevent further attempts to “undermine the country and deceive the public.”