Politika is a Serbian daily newspaper, the oldest daily newspaper still in operation in the Balkans.
Media assets
Publishing: Politika
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
Politika is run by the publishing house Politika Novine i Magazini, a company 50%-owned by the Serbian government. The other half has been for years in the hands of Miroslav Bogicevic who took over the stake from the German-owned publisher WAZ, Politika’s previous owner, in 2012. Bogicevic sold his stake in Politika Novine i Magazini in late 2021 to Boban Rajic, owner of Novosti daily, a pro-government tabloid newspaper.
Source of funding and budget
Politika is funded through a combination of subscriptions, advertising and government funding (in the form of state advertising and state aid). Without financial data, it can’t be established whether the newspaper is majority funded by the government.
Editorial independence
Politika is known for its pro-government editorial agenda, according to local experts and journalists. There are no rules imposed on the outlet by the government, yet through its ownership, the government has a significant say in the newspaper’s editorial affairs.
No domestic statute and no independent mechanism of assessment or oversight that would validate Politika’s editorial independence have been identified.
October 2023