SiolNET

Siol.net is a Slovenian news portal published by TSmedia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the majority state-owned operator Telekom Slovenije. Launched in 1997, it describes itself as Slovenia’s first news portal. It covers news, sport, lifestyle, motoring and technology. It was the second most-read portal in the April 2026 MOSS rankings, with 877,459 users and a reach of 58.6 per cent. Peter Jančič has been its Editor-in-Chief since 1 July 2026.

Media assets

News portal: SiolNET

Publisher’s other businesses: the Najdi.si portal, the Bizi business directory, the Telefonski imenik Slovenije telephone directory, the 1188 directory-assistance centre, a network of outdoor digital screens and targeted advertising on Telekom Slovenije’s NEO television platform.

Ownership and governance

Siol.net is published by TSmedia, medijske vsebine in storitve, d.o.o., all of whose shares are held by Telekom Slovenije. On 30 June 2026 the Republic of Slovenia directly held 62.54 per cent of Telekom Slovenije, Kapitalska družba 5.59 per cent and Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH) 4.25 per cent. Telekom Slovenije’s supervisory board gives consent to the appointment of TSmedia’s director.

Telekom Slovenije began a process to sell TSmedia in September 2020. Its supervisory board approved halting the sale on 12 May 2021, and Chief Executive Cvetko Sršen denied that the decision was political. Necenzurirano reported, citing unofficial information, that United Group had made the highest offer, of about EUR 5 million, more than EUR 3 million above that of TV2 Media, the Hungarian group that had bought Telekom’s Planet TV in 2020.

On 20 August 2026, Telekom Slovenije’s shareholders elected four new Supervisory Board members on a counterproposal by Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH), for terms beginning on 9 September. The new members were Igor Hustić, Pavel Reberc, Andreja Strnad and Marko Pogačnik, a former SDS parliamentarian who was elected Chairman on 10 September. On 23 September 2026, the Supervisory Board approved the early departure of Chief Executive Boštjan Košak and Vice-President Irma Gubanec and appointed Cvetko Sršen President of the Management Board for four years from 1 October. Sršen, who had led Telekom Slovenije from March 2021 to October 2022 during Janez Janša’s previous government and had previously been an SDS mayoral candidate, returned alongside a reconstituted Management Board. Barbara Galičič Drakslar became Vice-President, with responsibility for TSmedia.

Source of funding and budget

Siol.net is financed commercially. Siol said its sales revenue rose 40 per cent in 2021 on 2020 and 50 per cent on 2019, through multimedia projects, content advertising and conventional advertising. TSmedia recorded total revenue of approximately EUR 6.88 million and net profit of EUR 99,000 in 2025, compared with EUR 6.73 million and EUR 39,000 respectively in 2024, according to financial data sourced from the Slovenian annual-report database AJPES. These figures cover TSmedia’s operations as a whole; separate financial results for Siol.net were not identified.

Editorial independence

Peter Jančič led the portal from April 2020 until 2 November 2022, when Mihael Šuštaršič, a journalist from the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), replaced him before the end of his four-year term. The change followed a new Telekom management under Košak and a new supervisory board, which replaced TSmedia’s director; Tino Mamić, editor of the weekly Domovina, described the new government’s personnel changes as a purge. Šuštaršič was appointed on 28 October 2022 with the support of a clear majority of the editorial staff.

In September 2026 RTV Slovenija reported that, during Sršen’s earlier tenure, Telekom Slovenije had been criticised for advertising in media seen as favouring SDS and the previous government, and that some commentators had suggested that halting the TSmedia sale was intended to preserve political influence over Siol. In 2021 Sršen had said that in his first two months at Telekom no one had called him about how Siol.net should operate or what it should publish.

Šuštaršič stepped down on 31 March 2025 by agreement with TSmedia director Roland Žel and remained with the company; he became Editor-in-Chief of the STA on 7 December 2025. Žel proposed Jaka Lopatič, a Siol journalist since 2003 and editor of the Sportal sports section since 2021, who received the support of more than 80 per cent of the journalists who voted. Lopatič left the post for personal reasons in April 2026, and Katja Nakrst became acting Editor-in-Chief from 1 May; he returned to the sports desk.

Jančič returned on 1 July 2026 for a four-year term, before the changes to Telekom Slovenije’s supervisory and management boards. According to figures Jančič published, 20 of the newsroom’s 30 members took part in the vote: 12 voted in favour, two against and six abstained or did not vote. He said Nakrst, previously his assistant, would again take that role; the masthead lists her as editor of the news section. Večer reported his return under the headline With the return of the Janša government, Peter Jančič returns as Siol’s editor-in-chief. Mladina’s Borut Mekina wrote that Siol had been the first major outlet to submit to the new coalition on its own initiative, while Demokracija described his 2022 removal as political and said a majority of the newsroom supported his return.

State Media Monitor’s ad hoc content analyses of May 2023 and February 2024 found a noticeable improvement in editorial balance compared with 2020 to 2022, and the portal was reclassified from Captured Public or State Managed/Owned Media (CaPu) to Independent State Managed/Owned (ISM). The return of Jančič and the subsequent changes in Telekom Slovenije’s supervisory and executive leadership have renewed concerns about political influence over Siol.net. State Media Monitor’s earlier assessment of improved editorial balance dates from 2023 and 2024; no comparable systematic assessment of coverage following Jančič’s return in July 2026 was available for this update.

AI and digital policy

No published policy governing the use of generative artificial intelligence at Siol.net or TSmedia was located at this update, and the portal’s masthead contains no statement on it.

Classification rationale

Siol.net is classified as Independent State Managed/Owned (ISM) because it is published by TSmedia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the majority state-owned Telekom Slovenije, and operates on a commercial financing model. State Media Monitor’s content analyses in 2023 and 2024 found improved editorial balance, supporting its reclassification from Captured Public or State Managed/Owned Media (CaPu). The return of its former Editor-in-Chief in July 2026 and subsequent changes in Telekom Slovenije’s leadership raise renewed concerns about political influence, but sustained government-directed editorial coverage had not been established by this review.

October 2026