Part 1 - we ran out of time

​

At a time marked by global crises, and more than a year into sustained public resistance to the authoritarian practices of the ruling party, a four-sided clock is installed in the center of Belgrade: handmade, one of a kind, yet curiously detached from the surrounding reality. In parallel, party-controlled media outlets concentrate their coverage almost exclusively on this singular object, amplifying its significance while suppressing more urgent political and social realities. The gesture produces a subtle displacement, one that becomes more pronounced when the clock begins to behave erratically, and eventually breaks down entirely on its own.

Within this context, media freedom in Serbia continues its steady decline. The landscape is characterized by escalating violence against journalists, persistent impunity for perpetrators, and entrenched political control over major media institutions. Information becomes increasingly aligned and disciplined, while independent journalism persists only at the margins, within a system that structurally rewards loyalty and fosters self-censorship.