UNS: UNMIK should reinstate a separate section with reports from Serbian media in its bulletin

The Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS), together with its Kosovo branch, has opposed UNMIK’s decision to discontinue the long-standing practice of publishing content from Serbian and Albanian media in separate sections of its daily English-language bulletin. UNS is therefore calling on the Mission to reinstate a dedicated section containing information from Serbian media.

In its statement, UNS recalls that UNMIK’s bulletin—prepared since the beginning of the Mission’s work in Kosovo by its Media Department—previously published, twice daily, translated content from Serbian and Albanian media as distinct sections.

“Since 28 November last year, these two sections have been merged into a single one, with a disproportionately higher number of reports from Albanian media, thereby disrupting the delicate balance that had been built over the past decades. The bulletin, which had largely provided a balanced overview of reporting by all media outlets, is distributed to several thousand addresses, including individuals, institutions, and diplomatic missions across Europe and the world,” UNS stated.

Following an analysis of UNMIK’s bulletin after the Serbian-language section was abolished, UNS noted, for example, that on Orthodox Christmas Eve this year the bulletin relayed a statement by the police spokesperson for northern Kosovo claiming that no incidents had occurred, while failing to include information on incidents that took place in Gracanica on the same day.

“Moreover, there was no mention of the incident in 2023, when Serbian children were shot at on Orthodox Christmas Eve, despite the fact that Serbian-language media reported extensively on this case on 6 January this year,” UNS emphasized.

By doing so, UNMIK has undermined impartial reporting and clearly taken sides, the Journalists’ Association of Serbia concluded in its statement.