Head of Serbia’s public RTS TV resigns after Student List election victory

Oct 29 (Reuters) – The director of Serbian state television RTS has resigned, following a landslide election win by a student-led protest movement over longtime leader Aleksandar Vucic. 

Manja Grcic handed in her resignation late on Wednesday after talks with union representatives. In a statement, she said that she was aware that among some parts of the public, her stay in office is “temporarily perceived as an obstacle to change”. 

“I expect the Managing Board, within the scope of its legal authority, to take all necessary steps without delay to ensure continuity of leadership and a lawful handover of duties,” Grcic said. 

Vucic, who served as information minister under Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s, maintained a tight grip over the media. 

The Vojvodina region’s public broadcaster RTV began its evening news bulletin on Monday by apologising to viewers for failing to fulfil its role, citing uncritical one-sided reporting.

The announcement was reminiscent of a move by the main Hungarian state TV channel, which in July, following the election defeat of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party three months earlier, displayed a black screen with the message: “Public media cannot lie. We apologise for doing so for many years.”

Reporters Without Borders ranked Serbia 104th out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, its lowest position ever. The Crta election monitor said last week that television stations with national reach gave three-quarters of the time allotted to politicians to government representatives. The Student List was portrayed negatively more than 80% of the time it was discussed, Crta added.

In its latest update on Wednesday, Serbia’s electoral commission said the students had secured 140 seats in the country’s 250-seat parliament, with Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party on 104, although the result is still not finalised. The country is waiting to see who the students will appoint as prime minister and to other key positions. 

(Writing by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)