The Belgrade Research and Publishing centre, Demostat, has conducted a survey, published on Monday, which showed that 39 percent of the survey participants did not trust the public broadcaster, Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS), 28 were indifferent, while 30 percent said they trusted this state-run TV station.
The survey about the trust in RTS also showed that less than a third of the polled people believed it provided the information of public interest they could rely on.
The poll was conducted in the last week of July by telephone among 1,200 people, a representative sample for Serbia.
„The results of the survey are negative for RTS, but not unexpected. They are a consequence of the station’s editorial policy, which is one-sided, sterile and, above all, uninformative,“ Vukasin Obradovic, a journalist, said.
He told Demostat that the lack of trust was based on people becoming increasingly aware that RTS did not offer the necessary information that leads to understanding important social processes.
Judita Popovic, a member of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) Council, said, „such a level of mistrust casts serious doubt that RTS can provide timely and unbiased information.“
The fact that RTS is the most watched television in Serbia, i.e. that out of the total number of six million people who watch this TV station and that 20% of the viewers rely on its public service, gives a moral, as well as legal, responsibility to the managers and employees of RTS to report in fair and unbiased manner.
(Danas, 06.09.2021)
https://www.danas.rs/politika/demostat/istrazivanje-demostata-cak-39-odsto-gradjana-ne-veruje-rts-u/
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