In homes all over Of Serbia these days, exactly at 20 p.m., the events of a Belgrade neighborhood are followed. Through the character of a curious pensioner who knows everyone and everything, the audience gets to know everyday problems, small dramas and social issues that intersect the life of a Belgrade neighborhood.
Series "Radio Mileva", which has reached its seventh season, has been balancing humor and social commentary for years, opening up issues of professional, family and broader social relationships.
However, some scenes from the last episodes caused stormy reactions in tabloids, which are a series, but also Serbian Radio and Television on which it is shown, accused of political propaganda and subversion of the state.
"Perfidious pumping on RTS"
The reactions, in a short period of time, took the shape of a kind of media hysteria.
The tabloids presented the televised fiction as a political pamphlet and a threat to state interests, claiming that through the dialogues and plots, hidden but also direct messages are sent and it supports the current protests and blockades.
Thus, "Informer" announced that the Radio and Television of Serbia "perfidiously pumps the blockade colored revolution", with the claim that the popular series "like a coward's egg is planted with blockade propaganda".
As proof, this newspaper cites the line of the main character: "My nails burned. The sea, wow, revolution! Demonstrations, blockades of schools, colleges, kindergartens, everything... Internet and portals, media, television, everything, social networks, public figures..."
"Any resemblance to real events in Serbia, apparently, is more than intentional," the Informer concludes.
Criticism spread to other tabloids, such as the daily newspaper "Alo", claiming in its headlines that RTS "doesn't hide anymore" and that it "has joined the service of those who would destroy the state and the system".
The tabloids also state how much the series costs, i.e. how much citizens pay for this kind of content through subscriptions.
A little about Belgrade on the water
In addition to the blockades, Informer editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević singled out the scene in which the character played by Nikola Kojo speaks critically about the "Belgrade on the Water" project, citing it as another "proof" of the alleged political alignment of the Public Service.
In the same context, they recall the earlier case of the show "Important Matters", in which a child talked about student blockades, which the tabloids also interpreted as part of the same "campaign".
The regulatory body for electronic media passed, let's recall, the decision that there was no abuse of a child for political purposes in the said episode of "Important Things"..
RTS is making excuses to the tabloids
Radio-television of Serbia (RTS) announced that the script for the episode of the series "Radio Mileva", which caused hysteria in the pro-regime tabloids, was submitted several months before the blockades began and that it cannot be a matter of "blockade" propaganda, FoNet agency reported.
"The words that are characterized as controversial were said by Mileva - played by the actress Olga Odanović, and that line is found in the script that the executive producer, Nira pro, handed over to the Editorial Board of the drama and domestic serial program on August 16, 2024, at 11:15 a.m.," stated RTS.
In the announcement, it is recalled that in the allegedly disputed episode, the tenants of Rankeova 12 in Belgrade received information that their building was slated for demolition, and that in a series of proposals put forward by the tenants to resolve the situation, Mileva proposed a revolution and the lifting of blockades.
"No one accepts her proposal and very quickly continue to look for solutions in accordance with the comic content. The behavior of the title character is characteristic of her explosive character, visible in all the episodes shown so far, and since the script was written and submitted before the beginning of the blockades, the criticism that it is propaganda is unfounded," RTS says.
Big holiday discount on "Vreme" - subscriptions 25 percent cheaper until mid-January. Give it away subscription to yourself or to someone else, read what matters.
