Miloš Vasić (1947–2021)

One of the founders of "Vremen", journalist Miloš Vasić, died today in Belgrade after a long illness.

He started working as a journalist in 1969. Before joining Vreme, he spent 15 years at the weekly NIN, which he left due to pressure from Slobodan Milošević's regime. At the suggestion of Srđa Popović, in 1990 he accepted the idea of ​​participating in the launch of the new weekly "Vreme".

"And so we start gathering. We gathered at least once a week at Srđa Popović's office. There were various people there, Jug Grizelj, Hari Steiner, Jurka Gustinčić, Ratko Bošković, Zoran Jeličić, Lazar Stojanović... (...) Then I got a whole bunch of books about how to found new newspapers, read them all and explain to people that they should let's start making a number from minus 15, then slowly arrive, as Umberto Eco would say, to the number zero. We started to construct and create just fine, the truth is less artistically, more content-wise, and when we were down to the third number, Milošević called for elections. We had no choice but to fly out with the first issue on October 29," said Vasić last year in October, when the editorial office set a precedent and decided to publish an interview with its founder, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of "Vremen".

During three decades in "Vremen", Vasić covered absolutely all important topics, from the demonstrations on March 9, 1991, through the war in Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo... followed, they set the standards of what we consider investigative journalism today in Serbia. Vasić took the texts from that period as the basis for the book "The Assassination of Zoran", and it brought him almost all important journalistic awards in Serbia.

He is also the author of several books about weapons, the novel "Panic Bird", as well as the collection of columns "My Male Life".

As a journalist, he was sharp, precise, with a recognizable style. As a colleague, he was the complete opposite: gentle like a parent, a wise adviser and gentle critic, the one from whom all the younger members of the editorial staff learned, aware that he would never be anywhere near as Misha.

Miloš Vasić is survived by five children and numerous grandchildren.