Balkan Service
RFE/RL’s Balkan Service provides independent news in a challenging media environment.
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(January–December 2022)
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(January–December 2022)
About the Service
Reporting from five bureaus throughout the region, RFE/RL’s Balkan Service covers economic issues, corruption, Russian and Chinese influence, migration, and minority issues.
Investigations about disinformation on Srebrenica genocide led Google to remove content.
Counters Russian disinformation, with stories on Russian paramilitary organizations’ activities, including reports on Serbian volunteers who fought on the Russian side in Ukraine.
Serbia’s Prosecutor’s Office for Cyber-Crime initiated an investigation into Telegram group “Z-Orlovi” following a Balkan Service report on how it targets Russian citizens living in Serbia opposed to Russian’s invasion of Ukraine.
Reports on Chinese malign influence, including debt in Montenegro.
Counters violent extremism: investigated how pro-Nazi, white-power bands operate in Serbia.
Women’s Shadows is a resource for victims of gender-motivated violence.
Reported on the 2022 Bosnian and Serbian elections, giving a broader perspective on an unstable political environment.
Reporters were on the scene during December 2022 border tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.
Hosts the Jiri Dienstbier Journalism Fellowship with the Czech Foreign Ministry aimed at aspiring journalists.
Reaching Audiences
Media Climate
Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index ranks for the region: Bosnia-Herzegovina (81/180), Kosovo (75/180), Montenegro (40/180), North Macedonia (36/180), and Serbia (98/180).
Awards
Association of Journalists of Kosovo
A 2021 story on medical waste won Best Web Story of the Year by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo.
Annual Award for Investigative Journalism
Belgrade correspondent Dusan Komarcevic was a 2021 finalist for a prestigious journalism award for his investigation into the “gamification” of extremist violence.
Latest Updates
American RFE/RL Reporter Alsu Kurmasheva Tried & Convicted in Russian Court
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) called the ruling by a Russian court “a mockery of justice.”
Russia Extends American RFE/RL Journalist’s Detention for Sixth Time
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is outraged at today’s ruling in Russia to extend RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva’s pretrial detention for the sixth time.
Russia Extends Detention of Alsu Kurmasheva; Her Imprisonment “As Outrageous Today as It Was Six Months Ago”
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) condemns the latest extension of American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva’s pretrial detention.
Service Director
Milos Teodorovic
Milos Teodorovic is the Acting Service Director of RFE/RL’s Balkan Service. Teodorovic joined RFE /RL in 1999 and became the Bureau Chief of RFE/RL’s Serbian Service in 2015. As an RFE/RL journalist, Teodorovic received numerous awards, among which his “Gaffe of the Week” column was honored with the American Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts award (2014). Milos also received awards from the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia for his story on Serbian right-wing extremists (2012) and an EU investigative journalism award for his documentary on protected witnesses associated with war crimes in Serbia (2014).
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