'Soft' Censorship Threatens Serbian Press Freedom

The Serbian government's use of "soft" censorship remains a threat to press freedom, a report issued on Thursday by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, WAN-IFRA, and the Center for International Media Assistance, CIMA, in Washington says.

The report, "Media reform stalled in the slow lane: Soft censorship in Serbia", was published with the support of the Open Society Foundation while BIRN Serbia was a research partner.

The report noted that Serbia lacks a functional, vital and competitive media market.

"Taxpayers' funds are now one of the most important sources for survival of media outlets. However, public monies are deployed with partisan intent," the report said.

As reported, "soft censorship" exploits media outlets' financial vulnerability to influence news coverage and shape the broader media landscape.

"Soft censorship is an indirect and often highly effective media control mechanism that diminishes journalistic independence, constrains freedom of expression, and narrows democratic debate," the report said.

WAN-IFRA and CIMA define soft censorship as "the array of official actions intended to influence media output, short of legal or extra-legal bans, direct censorship of specific content, or physical attacks on media outlets or media practitioners".

Indirect forms of censorship include selective media subsidies and partisan allocation of advertising, and the biased application of regulatory and licensing powers that can influence editorial content and affect a media outlet's viability.

Among other tools deployed by the Serbian government, the report noted selective government advertising, public enterprises contracting directly with media outlets, lack of competition or monitoring...