Smokers' favorite stairs are at the entrance to the N1 headquarters, a glass building in Airport City, where the Belgrade airport used to be. On the stairs, journalists and guests in a hurry smoke, drink coffee from the machine and exchange news and gossip that is not for the air.
There and in the newsroom these days there is only one topic - what will happen to N1 and other media from the same company? Will there be television at all in a few months? And where will they go and what will they, journalists, videographers, producers, directors do?
"Tension and uncertainty, and that's psychologically tiring", one journalist N1 told us. "Everyone is fighting their own internal battle, but we all do our best not to show it in the program."
He says that they make jokes because of the pain - what would one do if the thing fails. Because, they feel, for television journalists who are not similar there is no refuge in Serbia anymore.
The matter with the media of "United Group" accelerated last year with the sale of parts of the company, and again these days, with the replacement of the first man of N1, Igor Božić. No one knows how it will end - even the sale of media (see box) and their shutdown are in play. Many are convinced that the goal is silence before the elections, which the regime of Aleksandar Vučić could lose.
There is also the question of how, if the only two major critical television stations are put on a short leash, the citizens will be informed in a country where almost all major media outlets are sympathetic to the regime.
WORDS AND DEEDS
From the "United Group", under which N1, Nova S, "Danas", "Radar" and other media work, so far we have heard the kind of statements written by the PR departments of large corporations - they are committed to professional media, editors have full freedom, there will be no layoffs or sales.
"I believe in actions, not promises," says our interlocutor. "It is true that for now they are keeping their promises and not interfering in the editorial policy, but we have heard that everything remains the same. They expect us to take their word for it after they told Igor Božić that he will remain in charge of the editorial office, and only a few days later they replaced him via e-mail and without a meaningful explanation."
The man who could provide "meaningful explanations" is Brent Sadler (75), a retired British journalist and Serbian son-in-law. He has been with the company for a long time, but gained importance during the last year. Recently, he was appointed as the "Chief Executive Editor" of the network in which the mentioned media are located, and then he was also listed as the director of each of the media. In written answers for "Vreme", Sadler many times points out that the media he is in charge of must be professional, precise, work with due care and so that no one can accuse them of taking sides. But he denies that he is "dissatisfied" with them now.
"By professionalism, for example, I mean a clear separation of news and commentary, use of disciplined language, clear citation of sources, fair presentation of controversial claims and proportionate editorial assessments," says Sadler. He adds that even in live broadcast situations one must remain composed and professional, while avoiding sensationalism.
In newsrooms, it is difficult to find an interlocutor who is ready to give his first and last name.
"Now they are stalking us for every mistake," says one of the editors. But, off the record, people are talking.
Several "Vremena" sources described Sadler's meeting with N1 employees. At times, it looked like a press conference, but Sadler was ready for any questions. He confirmed that on the evening of March 31, when the police were combing the Rectorate ostensibly because of the death of a student at the Faculty of Philosophy, he called Igor Božić asking him to broadcast "Dnevnik" instead of broadcasting the gathering in front of the Rectorate.
Sadler says that he had a dilemma whether the uninterrupted live broadcast was more important than the regular evening "Dnevnik". He adds that vulgar exclamations were heard during the broadcast for several minutes, for which the reporter appropriately apologized. He told Božić that that time of day, when they may be younger with the TV, is not for such unfiltered content.
"I also suggested that the main daily could run in parallel, while the presenter in the studio can enter and exit the live broadcast as needed. This is a common practice in many newsrooms. The editor estimated that he should continue with the live broadcast," adds Sadler for "Vreme" about Božić's decision.
It seemed to those present at the meeting that Sadler wrote the fact that the entire newsroom found out about their phone conversation as an indiscretion and a minus for Božić.
At the same meeting, Sadler said that the government has no influence on the work of those media, and that Božić's successor will be someone "within the family" - someone from the family, that is, from the company.
In his answers to "Vreme", he repeats this, but without going into details - neither about the replacement of Božić nor about a possible successor. He confirms that before Christmas, he even spoke to his employees about the possibility of "de-escalating" the situation with the Serbian authorities.
He is aware, he says, of attacks on journalists and thinks about their safety every day. It would be welcome, he adds, if people in positions and institutions are available to all media, but the rhetoric and mistrust in Serbia are such that relations between the media and institutions have become "extremely difficult".
"Serious journalism works best when it is precise, calm and disciplined. I am not interested in performative confrontation. I am interested in rigorous independent reporting that calls those in power to account. These are not the same things. In this sense, de-escalation means creating conditions in which our journalists can do their work safely and professionally," adds Sadler to "Vreme".
WHY DID CHRISTMAS FALL FIRST?
The replaced first man of N1, Igor Božić, had no comment for "Vreme". He is still employed, but unassigned. It was suggested to him not to come to work. Editorial meetings are still held in his office, but nobody is sitting on Božić's chair, as if they are showing that they want their boss back.
According to several insiders, Božić was the first to be replaced because he is seen as close to Aleksandra Subotić, formerly the powerful director of United Media. Her replacement - which took place this February - was already discussed last year by the leaders of "United Group" and Serbian "Telekom". That phone deal was secretly recorded and leaked to the media. Hence the claims that the "United Group" media fell prey to a political deal worth billions of euros.
Subotic was the right hand of Dragan Šolak, the minority owner of "United Group" and its former manager. Although Sholak opposed the sale of the property, he had no influence - he sold the majority package long ago, which is in the hands of the BC Partners investment fund. And they, as big capital usually does, went after the money.
In a deal worth around one and a half billion euros, at the beginning of 2025, they sold the cable operator SBB, their golden cocoon, to the Arab-Czech owners of "Jetel". They sold all the sports rights to the state-owned "Telekom", their previous competitor, which became a monopoly on sports broadcasts.
On those steps in front of the N1, and in other newsrooms, all sorts of things are being said. Let's say that the weekly "Radar", created by journalists who left NIN, is already thinking about whether they can survive independently. It is similar in "Danas".
For N1 and Nova S, two televisions whose monthly expenses total one million euros, living independently is hardly an option. Finances are stable because the old "sister" contract with SBB, according to which television stations receive money from each cable subscriber, continues for about four years.
PRE-ELECTION TIGHTENING
But why all that? Insiders in the media bazaar believe that the goal is to adapt or at least soften the critical tone of these media until the parliamentary elections. No one expects thunderous cuts or failures in waves, but rather a quiet change.
"I'm afraid that the government's attitude towards them will only further escalate as the elections approach, when informing citizens is actually the most important," Rade Veljanovski, a retired professor of journalism, told "Vreme".
Our interlocutor from N1 thinks that this kind of logic has one weak point: "If the elections are soon, which the government still leaves as an option, I think that silencing and alleviating criticism from N1 is an impossible mission. For that, it would be necessary to make a clear cut, which would mean a dramatic deviation of N1 from the path it has been building for years, which would be followed by a serious reaction from the public," he says.
So far, he adds, it does not seem that the management is ready to take drastic steps in a short period of time, "but we also thought that they would not replace the director, so there he is, unassigned, but employed."
The "Nezavisnost" trade union, that is, the N1 journalists who belong to it, have been seeking a meeting with Brent Sadler for weeks to find out more about their fate. And that meeting is postponed.
Viewers of N1 and Nova S, and readers of "Danasa" and "Radar" and all their online portals do not notice any changes for now. Criticism of the government is sharp and lively. And how healthy she is and how long it will last, may be found out in the next episode of the saga.
The owner of Euronews is coming?
The investment group "Alpak Kapital", the owner of the "Juronujz" network, is heavily involved in negotiations to buy the "United Group" media, according to several "Vremena" sources.
Until the publication of this article, neither "Alpak Capital" nor the investment fund BC Partners, the majority owner of "United Group", responded to "Vremen"'s inquiries. Brent Sadler briefly told Nova that it was not a question for him, but for the "shareholders".
Portuguese "Alpak Capital" invests in media, telecommunications and technology. The first man of the Pedro Vargas David group is close to the outgoing Hungarian ruler Viktor Orbán. The businessman's father, Mario David, is Orbán's longtime adviser and intimate. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić also mentioned his good relations with Mario David.
"They are now in a hurry to market the media in Serbia until all of Orban's schemes fail," a source told Vreme. "For BC Partners, this is another opportunity to take money from the Vučić regime or related parties, and then beat Serbia."
In 2022, "Alpak Kapital" bought "Juronuj" from the Egyptian mogul Nagib Sawiris for 170 million euros. "Juronujz", founded in 1993 as a pan-European news television, has become the "megaphone of the European right", as assessed by the serious European press.
The television channel "Juronjuz" in Serbian does not belong to "Alpak Kapital", but is financed by the state Serbian "Telekom". They buy the rights to use the brand and editorial standards for a multimillion-dollar annual sum.
And they, as you can see from the program of the Serbian "Juronjuza", are quite disappointed. Dozens of journalists lost their jobs on that television or left it, complaining of censorship and propaganda in favor of the government.
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