By: PETRIT SARACHINI
For years, independent media outlets and journalists in Serbia have been facing strong pressure from the Vučić authorities, which are suppressing media freedom and narrowing the space for public debate and criticism.
For many years, Zoran Kesić has been a symbol of that free media spirit, with his show “24 Minutes” and his original satirical approach. His show is not only among the most watched in Serbia, but also has fans throughout the region – in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia…
Unfortunately, as he himself wrote, his show, just two weeks before the scheduled start of the new season on Serbian TV Nova, is facing silence from its new owners from Portugal, who have not returned the signed contract that had previously been negotiated and agreed upon.
It is not difficult to guess who is behind the attempts to silence Kesić, but knowing him, that will be devilishly difficult, if not – impossible.
Support for the (already) legend of journalistic satire and for all colleagues in Serbia who have been resisting the authoritarian government for years. I wish they will have the opportunity to create and inform freely as soon as possible, and I hope that those of us who have already experienced such conditions, will never have to go through them again!
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The author is president of the Institute for Media and Analytics IMA.
