At the conference “The Right Measure of Media 2.0” the current media scene in Serbia was presented, focusing on trends and innovative practical examples in the area of media measurements. This event, in the organization of the Media Association and supported by the USAID project “Strengthening the Environment for Media Sustainability”, has been held for the second year in a row.
“There are few countries in the world with this many different media and with so little money in the media business, at the same time”, said prof. Dr. Srđan Bogosavljević at the beginning of his presentation of the research “Media scene in Serbia in 2019” and continued:
“The number of media in Serbia is above market abilities and in the last 20 years, it reached 2357 media units. Media market revenue is currently 440 million euros. On the other hand, the decrease of trust in the media is worrying and represents a sign that something isn’t right regarding our media scene. Television represents the main source of information for our citizens, while the online media is becoming an equally relevant and important communication channel. Our citizens are losing faith in traditional media, but they have trust in social networks, which is, together with Greece, a rare example of such trend in Europe”, explained professor Bogosavljević from the company Ipsos Strategic Marketing.
The main source of information for Serbian citizens is still television with 82,6 percent, followed by the online media with 56 percent and social networks with 40 percent.
“The conference Right Measure of Media 2.0 is one of the many activities of the Media Association in which we presented the study about the organization of media measurements in markets across Europe. Our mutual goal is the development of media in the world of new technologies, according to the needs of the modern society and business. During the today’s event, we presented the Serbian market, trends and issues in the area of media measurements, as well as the models operating in Europe”, said Izabela Branković, Executive director of the Media Association.
At two panels within the conference, media experts were talking about the state and the outlook of media measurements, as well as about the recommended model of JIC (Joint Industry Comitee) organizations which represents a functional way of collaboration between three most important groups of actors in the media market – media publishers, agencies and advertisers.
„Our desire is to, together with the Serbian team, contribute to changes that will have an impact on the transparency and responsibility of actors in the Serbian media scene. We believe that news should be true, objective and ensure that voices of different individuals are being heard. This desire is ambitious and has economic and political challenges, which are sometimes even unfriendly. However, we believe that the media environment will be more transparent if independent media are provided with tools to reach the wider audience. We wish that media, advertisers and, most importantly, citizens, feel the improvement on the media market“, explained Kristin M. Lord, CEO and President of IREX, the American development organization which implements the USAID project “Strengthening the Environment for Media Sustainability” in Serbia.
At the conference, two case studies were presented as well, that explained more about the habits of TV subscribers and new ways of measuring interaction of digital media with the audience.