The Western Balkans - with around 20 million inhabitants - risks being left without sources of information from media that are not under the influence of the main political forces in the countries of the region.
The initial blow came with the cutoff of funds from the former USAID budget, while the most recent surprise was the closure of the regional project, Al Jazeera Balkans - funded by Qatar.
More than 200 employees of this media network were left without jobs, while the specific reasons for the closure, according to Al Jazeera's announcement, are related to a decision that is "part of a broader strategy to strengthen its digital presence and expand into new media platforms."
USAID - the US Agency for International Development, which once supported many independent media outlets through grants - is practically no longer functioning; Voice of America has not published anything since March; Radio Free Europe has been facing a four-month funding shortage, while the owners of N1 and Nova televisions are in the process of reorganization and changes in leadership.
Legal advisor at the European Center for Press and Media Freedom, Flutura Kusari, warns that without independent media, "people will be less informed or misinformed, because unverified content from social networks and other unreliable sources will fill the void."
According to her, media outlets across the region operate in a difficult environment, including "political pressures, physical and online threats, legal attacks, financial difficulties and poor working conditions."
"Investigative journalism is becoming increasingly rare and journalism itself is no longer considered an attractive profession, due to the risks journalists face," says Kusari.
How did it start?
The problems for independent media in the region began when United States President Donald Trump, shortly after taking office in January, ordered the freezing of a large portion of American foreign aid.
This also affected USAID, which, according to 2023 data, supported over 6,200 journalists and 707 media organizations in more than 30 countries.
There is no exact data on the number of media outlets that USAID supported in the Western Balkans.
In early July, this agency was disbanded and, from now on, American aid to foreign countries will be managed by the US Department of State.
"USAID funding enabled journalists to produce independent and detailed reports, and media organizations to focus on topics that mainstream media largely neglect, such as human rights, LGBTI issues, and minority communities," says Kusari.
The next blow came in March, when Trump signed an executive order that provided for drastic reductions in the number of employees and funding for seven federal agencies, including the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which, among others, oversees the work of the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe.
Since March, Voice of America has not broadcast content, while Radio Free Europe continues to publish, but at the same time faces a lawsuit against USAGM in the United States.
Radio Free Europe took strict measures to cut costs, including sending some employees on mandatory leave and canceling contracts with salaried employees.
At the same time, the leaders of the United Group, which includes regional television stations N1 and Nova, were dismissed in June - leading editors of these media outlets to express concerns about potential political influence.
United Group operates in: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Greece and Bulgaria.
The company is owned by the London-based investment firm BS Partners, which has acquired a majority stake in the United Group since 2019.
The authorities in Serbia, led by President Aleksandar Vučić, have been criticizing media outlets that are part of the United Group for many years. In early July, journalists from N1 Television received death threats addressed to the editorial office.
Kosovo - the country with the most limited media freedom
Kusari says that the deterioration of media freedom in Kosovo has occurred mainly due to the actions of the Government and the ruling party, the Vetevendosje Movement.
"The government passed an unconstitutional law on the media, which was later overturned by the Constitutional Court. Journalists, media outlets, and activists face verbal attacks and targeted harassment from politicians, including Prime Minister Albin Kurti," says Kusari.
She adds that in Kosovo it has become "almost impossible to gain access to public documents," that transparency is at its lowest level, and that the ruling party constantly exerts pressure on regulators and boards of public broadcasters.
If the Government in Pristina continues on this path, according to her, Kosovo could go from being the best country for media freedom in the region to one of the most worrying cases of its deterioration.
In the most recent Reporters Without Borders press freedom report for 2025, Kosovo was ranked lower than all other countries in the Western Balkans - in 99th place.
Three positions higher was Serbia, ten positions higher was Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the best in the region was Montenegro - in 37th place.
Consequences in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Director of the Media Center in Sarajevo, Boro Kontić, tells Radio Free Europe that it is difficult to predict what the future of media in the Western Balkans will look like.
He believes that for the survival of independent media, it is necessary for both the media community and the state to be engaged.
The media, according to him, are one of the pillars of a democratic society.
"It is impossible to do anything if there is no strong media community, professional journalism, that is critical and that, in some way, represents the voice of the public," says Kontić.
He warns that even those who rejoice in the situation will soon realize how harmful it is to society.
With the disappearance of large independent media outlets, the media community is also lost, according to him.
"With their existence, you preserve something that is normal in any society - that there are critical voices, that there is research. Because, in that case, no one can do whatever they want," says Kontic.
The return of the state to the media in Serbia
"The extinction of a good, quality medium is always a loss for everyone," Snjezhana Milivojevic, a professor at the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade, tells Radio Free Europe.
"In addition to professional journalists losing their jobs - which is a particular blow to the journalism profession here - the loss to the general public also means the loss of a medium that maintained high professional standards, had a diverse program and contributed to media pluralism," she adds.
Milivojevic recalls that regional media in the Balkans, in general, were founded by foreign owners, but adds that the resistance they faced has been great.
"In parallel with the departure of foreign owners, a kind of return of the state to the media is also taking place. At least in Serbia this is visible, through the state-owned Telecom and a number of its channels, including some that present themselves as media with a regional dimension," she says.
Milivojevic emphasizes that strong political pressure on the media has caused "the international media assistance sector to practically disintegrate before our eyes."
"Media that have serious ambitions to inform about the situation in the region, or to raise professional standards, are now left in the middle of great political pressure from local authorities and a disregard or lack of willingness from the international democratic public to help them," she assesses.
A significantly different media scene in Montenegro
This is a worrying trend, Milka Tadic Mijovic, director of the Center for Investigative Journalism in Montenegro, tells Radio Free Europe.
"All these media have had extraordinary importance not only for us in Montenegro, but for the entire region. These are media with a legacy, which had a great role and importance even during the darkest period of the '90s," she says.
Tadic Mijovic emphasizes that these are media outlets "that have maintained a certain distance from all the authorities in the Balkans, which traditionally want to control and capture the media."
"These independent voices were very important and significant for us, and I fear that after the closure of these media outlets, our media scene will be significantly different," says Tadic Mijovic.
She warns that space is now being created in the Western Balkans for "authoritarian leaders and corrupt business elites to control the media."
"On the other hand, in those countries we have unreformed public services and a lot of tabloid media. And, another thing is a big danger: we have social networks, through which disinformation spreads at the speed of light," concludes Tadic Mijovic./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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