As many as 40 percent of respondents to the "Digital News Report 2025" survey answered that they have the most confidence in reporting in Serbia "Vreme" weekly, show the results they announced on Tuesday (June 17). Reuters and the University Oxford.
There are only three media ahead of Vremen in this regard, all from the United Group - the portal Nova.rs, as well as television stations N1 and Nova. The daily newspaper Danas is equal to the weekly Vreme je.
This information is even more important when taking into account the low trust in the media in Serbia - according to the same survey, only 27 percent of respondents trust the news globally, and 58 percent are worried about fake news.
The lowest distrust in "Vreme"
In addition to "Vremen" and media from the United Group, the research also examined trust in the following media: "Blic", "Informer", "Kurir", NIN, Politika, Radio and Television of Serbia, TV Happy, TV Pink, TV Prva and Večernje Novosti.
Although the media of the United Group is a few percent ahead of "Vremen" in terms of audience trust, the weekly "Vreme" can "boast" of the fact that the fewest respondents said they did not trust our media - only 29 percent, compared to 30 percent and more, as received by the other media on this list.
For example, as many as 63 percent of respondents do not trust Pink, 62 percent do not trust Informer, 57 percent do not trust Happy at all, and 55 percent do not trust Kurir.
In the so-called "country page" of the "Digital News Report 2025", authored by the professor of the Faculty of Political Sciences, Snježana Milivojević, it is written that "the media market in Serbia is oversaturated, poorly regulated and under strong political control".
One of the world's most important researches
The Digital Media News Report, jointly produced by the Reuters agency and the British University of Oxford, is one of the world's most important researches devoted to the media and every year examines the situation in the media in dozens of countries in detail.
"Following the accident in November 2024, when 16 people died due to the collapse of the concrete roof of the railway station in Serbia's second largest city - Novi Sad, anti-government protests followed as the protesters believed that the government was responsible for the tragedy. Students and young people were active in organizing continuous and growing protests across the country since November 2024. Their accusations of corruption in the government and dysfunctional institutions led to the resignation of the prime minister and the fall government in January 2025. However, President Aleksandar Vučić remained in power in April, after 13 years of effectively governing the country, with even stronger control over the media. Protesters also called for a boycott of the pro-government media, which culminated in a two-week blockade of the RTS Public Service in April 2025.
As stated further in the text, the Reporters Without Borders index for 2025 placed Serbia in 96th place out of 180 countries, which is its lowest result in the last 23 years.
In November, the organization condemned attacks on critical journalists, the use of SLAPP lawsuits against independent media and the fact that the country had made no progress on freedom of expression in the previous year.
