TAKEOVER OF NOVA.RS, ACT TWO: New editor offers severance packages to rebellious journalists: “The offer is fair, and the deadline is reasonable”

“I think the offer is fair, and the deadline is reasonable. This change of ownership did not happen overnight, and I believe the vast majority of colleagues in the Nova.rs newsroom have already formed an opinion on whether they want to continue working under the new management.” With these words, Marko Stjepanović, the new editor-in-chief of the Nova.rs portal, responds to the question of why journalists at the portal have been given such a short deadline to apply for severance packages.

As a reminder, according to a statement from the board of directors of the company that owns Nova.rs, journalists at the portal who do not wish to continue working under the new management have until Thursday, October 15, at 7 p.m. to apply for severance packages.

Under the published terms, journalists who decide to leave would receive an amount equivalent to two-thirds of one month’s salary for each year of service, calculated proportionally to their length of employment.

Stjepanović says he has no estimate of how many colleagues might accept the offer and does not want to speculate.

“That is an individual decision for each employee, and it is important that everyone be able to make it independently,” Stjepanović says.

Asked how he would continue running the portal if the number of journalists were to fall significantly, Stjepanović says:

“I spent almost my entire editorial career working for Swiss and German media companies, where the newsrooms I led operated on a commercially sound and cost-conscious basis while still achieving outstanding results. That is how it will be this time as well. To begin with, we may not publish a huge number of articles, but everything we publish will have to be accurate, fair, and professional,” Marko Stjepanović emphasized.