Original article (in Serbian) was published on 22/2/2026; Author: Stefan Kosanović
After we reported that longtime United Media director Aleksandra Subotić had been fired, dozens of outlets picked up our story. Among them, unusually, was Pink TV, a Serbian television network widely seen as loyal to President Aleksandar Vučić. In their first version of the article, they stated that Subotić’s dismissal followed a conversation between United Group CEO Sten Miler and Telekom Srbija director Vladimir Lučić, in which Lučić indicated that the demand for her removal had come from President Vučić. However, just minutes after publication, that information was removed from the article on Pink’s website.
If you happened to visit Pink’s website on February 21st around half past six, you could have read something quite unusual for that outlet’s editorial policy.
The article stated that the dismissal of United Media director Aleksandra Subotić followed a conversation between United Group CEO Sten Miler and Telekom Srbija director Vladimir Lučić, in which Lučić said that the demand for her removal had come from President Vučić.
Pink published that information citing our article. The author did not reproduce the full content from our site, but the first version retained the key finding by KRIK and the international journalism network OCCRP — namely, an audio recording of the conversation between Miler and Lučić.
Just minutes after publication, that section was removed from the article.
However, we managed to preserve the original version of the article using the archiving tool Archive Today.
Numerous tabloids — including Kurir, Informer, Novosti, Politika, and many others — also covered the news of Subotić’s dismissal, citing Raskrikavanje as their source. However, their articles omitted any mention of the conversation in question, as well as the fact that President Vučić had previously publicly signaled that firings were coming.
Subotić’s Dismissal
United Media director Aleksandra Subotić was fired this February, shortly after the announcement of the formation of a new company called Adria News Network, confirmed to Raskrikavanje by multiple sources.
Subotić was one of the key figures at United Media. Her removal is the realization of a plan that, according to a previously published audio recording, was discussed between newly appointed United Group CEO Sten Miler and Telekom director Vladimir Lučić.
“I understand that the President called you and that he is very upset, and I can understand that, but I need to find a way to do this quickly and efficiently (…) When I promise something, I deliver. I am a man of my word,” Miler had told Lučić.
On the same day Subotić was dismissed, United Group also removed all members of the Board of Adria News in Luxembourg, marking the beginning of a broader reorganization of media assets within United Media.
United Media is one of the last major media groups in Serbia operating independently of the government. Its outlets have been among the few widely accessible platforms where government-critical reporting is regularly published. President Vučić has publicly labeled N1 and Nova S “enemies of Serbia.”The audio recording at the center of this story was obtained by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and its Serbian investigative partner KRIK in late August 2025. It captures a conversation between United Group CEO Stan Miller and Vladimir Lučić, CEO of state-owned Telekom Srbija, in which Lučić relays Vučić’s explicit demand for Subotić’s removal.
