Press Council Monitoring: Highest Number of Violations in the Past Five Years
(Source: Mašina) The new monitoring report by the Press Council shows that the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics was violated 7,246 times in 4,506 articles in the second half of 2025. The top three outlets in terms of breaches of ethical and professional standards were Alo, Informer, and Kurir. The author of the monitoring and journalist Bojan Cvejić told Mašina that the number of violations has increased compared to last year and that this is the highest number recorded in the past five years.
When it comes to pro-regime tabloids, most violations relate to an increase in breaches concerning the omission of relevant facts.
“For example, when certain pro-regime tabloids reported on various protests and on different individuals supporting the protests, they targeted them through negative campaigns. Regarding the omission of facts, they failed to provide context or background as to why something was happening, offering only negative criticism. Of course, there were also inappropriate expressions used for people who were protesting. Not only ‘blockaders,’ but they were also labeled as slackers, Ustaše, terrorists, extremists, ‘trash-blockaders,’ and the like,” Cvejić emphasized in his statement to Mašina.
Cvejić noted a growing trend in Code violations, except in the case of Srpski telegraf, which remained at last year’s level, and Blic, which is the only outlet that reduced the number of violations. As for the daily newspaper Danas, although it traditionally has the lowest number of violations, this year it committed twice as many as in the previous year.
“In the case of Nova and Danas, the highest number of violations concerns the provision related to presenting the other side. An article must include multiple independent sources. Among their violations, most were texts presenting only one side of an issue. This is partly due to the overall situation, as in 2025 we had student and civic protests, various accusations from both sides, and in some articles, there was simply a failure to contact or attempt to contact the other side,” Cvejić said.
Alo, Informer, and Kurir Among the Media Outlets with the Most Violations of the Journalists’ Code of Ethics
According to the Press Council’s analysis, tabloids—Alo, Informer, and Kurir—recorded the highest number of violations of ethical and professional standards. Alo ranked first with 2,004 violations in 1,205 articles, followed by Informer with 1,456 violations in 837 articles, and Kurir with 1,318 violations in 811 articles. The fewest departures from the Journalists’ Code of Ethics were once again recorded by Danas, with 40 such articles, and by Nova, with 117 pieces containing Code violations.
The largest number of recorded violations relates to Chapter 1 of the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics, which concerns truthfulness and accuracy in reporting, with a total of 3,898 cases. Chapter 6, which regulates respect for the right to privacy, ranks second with 1,167 recorded breaches, while Chapter 3, devoted to the responsibility of journalists, ranks third with 850 violations.
Most daily newspapers recorded an increase in breaches of ethical and professional norms, as well as a rise in the number of articles containing such violations. The exception is Srpski telegraf, where the total number of violations remained at last year’s level, with a slight decrease in the number of problematic headlines, as well as Blic, which stands out as the only newspaper with a significant decline in content deviating from prescribed standards. This primarily refers to fewer violations of privacy rights and less frequent publication of speculative and unverified information in the so-called “crime” section.
A significant increase in ethical Code violations compared to 2024 was also recorded in Kurir and Politika. During 2025, Kurir had noticeably more cases of violations of the right to privacy and more frequent omission of important facts, while in Politika the dominant breaches were related to accuracy and credibility in reporting.
As in previous years, the highest number of Code violations was recorded in articles dealing with domestic politics, the “crime” section, and entertainment topics. During the observed six-month period, the most frequently violated provision in daily newspapers was Provision 2 of Chapter 1, which concerns the publication of unverified information and insufficiently clear distinction between assumptions and facts, recorded in 1,789 cases.
The second most frequent violation was Provision 1 of the chapter concerning the right to privacy, most often involving the disclosure of the identity of suspects or victims, recorded in 1,112 articles. Third place is held by violations of Provision 1 of Chapter 1, concerning the obligation of truthful reporting in the public interest, with a total of 1,090 cases—almost double the number compared to the previous year.
Fourth in frequency is the omission of information that could significantly influence the formation of readers’ opinions (Provision 4, Chapter 1), present in 599 published articles.
The eleventh annual monitoring of compliance with the Journalists’ Code of Ethics conducted by the Press Council covered the print editions of national daily newspapers—Alo, Blic, Danas, Večernje novosti, Informer, Kurir, Politika, Nova, and Srpski telegraf—during the period from July 1 to December 31, 2025. The full Press Council monitoring report is available on its website.
Author: A.Đ.