In recent days, the editor-in-chief of the Regional Information Agency JUGpress (Regionalna informativna agencija – JUGpress – https://jugpress.com/), Ljiljana Stojanović, has faced relentless attacks in tabloids.
The hostility stems from questions she raised during a press conference held in Leskovac, Serbia, on 5 October 2024 directed at one politician. Stojanović asked the politician to explain the logical meaning of her criticism directed at couples who do not want/cannot have one or more children, or who enter married life later and later, when she herself, by her own admission, started a family “relatively late”.
Following this question, Stojanović was subjected to online media onslaught, accused of invading privacy and being disrespectful. The attacks claimed on social media that the journalist’s comments reflected a “brutal hatred” for women and motherhood, framing it as opposition to government policies.
JUGpress has strongly refuted these accusations, emphasizing that Stojanović’s question was neither a personal attack nor an affront to women, but rather an effort to hold public officials accountable for their statements. The media outlet underlined that their reporting, including the press conference in question, follows professional standards, and that they stand by their mission to serve the public interest by asking the hard questions that those in power may not want to hear.
According to Stojanović and the team at JUGpress they remain resolute in their commitment to journalistic integrity, asserting that they will continue to ask difficult questions in the public interest, despite attempts to silence them. As a media outlet serving southern Serbia, JUGpress insists that their work will remain focused on objective reporting and accountability, refusing to be swayed by external pressures.
You can read JUGpress article here: https://jugpress.com/urednistvo-jugpress-a-povodom-napada-ministarki-mesarovic-i-djurdjevic-stamenkovski/
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns the recent attacks on Ljiljana Stojanović, editor of the Regional Information Agency JUGpress, following her legitimate journalistic question at the Leskovac press conference. The targeted campaign is unacceptable and a clear attempt to suppress press freedom. SEEMO will closely monitor this situation to ensure that independent journalism in Serbia is protected, and calls for accountability from public officials involved in inciting these attacks.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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