A major public broadcaster in Serbia has apologized to its viewers. It admitted it failed for years to provide fair and balanced news. This apology came just one day after a national parliamentary election.
The Vojvodina Radio and Television service, known as RTV, made the statement during its Monday evening news program. The broadcaster said it had not done its job properly. It confessed to withholding information, ignoring important stories, and reporting in a one-sided manner. It said it had failed to ask the right questions or any questions at all on certain topics. The anchor stated the broadcaster owes its audience an apology.
Alongside this public admission, a key editor resigned. Nenad Čačić, the acting editor-in-chief for one of RTV’s channels, stepped down from his position. His departure followed meetings between station management, staff, and an independent trade union.
The union had demanded his removal a full year earlier. They argued the public broadcaster had lost its professional credibility. They claimed its reporting only served to support the ruling political powers instead of the public.
One union leader addressed staff on Monday. He reminded them of the Serbian journalists’ code of ethics. He stressed that public media must provide accurate, objective, and timely information. Its core duty is to ensure the public has access to trustworthy news.
| Key Issues |
|---|
| Withholding information |
| Ignoring important stories |
| One-sided reporting |
| Failure to ask the right questions |
| Lack of editorial freedom |
| Loss of professional credibility |
The apology acknowledged that many journalists at RTV had fought for years for editorial freedom. They wanted to work according to professional and ethical rules. The broadcaster said this fight was not won in time.
The news anchor concluded by saying the station is now starting on a path to earn back the audience’s trust. Vojvodina RTV is a significant broadcaster in Serbia’s public media system. It produces content in Serbian and in the languages of national minorities in the region, including Hungarian.
