{"id":6389,"date":"2025-06-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cntiwpedev.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=6389"},"modified":"2026-01-27T14:59:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T19:59:22","slug":"a-letter-from-serbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnti.org\/guest-essay\/letters-from-the-field\/a-letter-from-serbia\/","title":{"rendered":"A Letter from Serbia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor’s Note<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This essay is part of CNTI’s “Letters from the Field” series,<\/mark><\/a> in which journalists from around the world share their experiences reporting in restrictive spaces and share advice for journalists in the U.S.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t even remember when or how I decided to become a journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was somewhere around elementary school. The \u201cwhy\u201d was never clear to the people around me. Being a journalist in Serbia is stressful, often thankless, and many see it as a dead-end job. But I guess I just wanted to do it. I still do. Being a voice for people who don\u2019t have one \u2014 that part has stayed with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In university, I wrote for \u017durnalist, a student-run monthly magazine. For a group of undergrads, it was serious work. We won awards, tackled real issues. But I often felt limited by the format \u2014 so much depended on whether someone agreed to talk. Investigative journalism seemed like a solution. With documents, data and proof, you didn\u2019t need anyone\u2019s permission to tell the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least, that\u2019s what I thought \u2014 before I realized how hard it could be to get those documents in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Serbia, media freedom has never been a given. We have never had a solid foundation of transparency or accountability. Journalists have been working under pressure for decades. Some were even killed. To this day, their murders remain unresolved. When people ask me when things started to decline, I say: they didn\u2019t. Things have always been difficult \u2014 they\u2019re just becoming more refined. Institutions have learned how to block access in smarter, quieter ways. And some don\u2019t even bother to hide it. I\u2019m still not sure which is worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Letters From the Field<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From Afghanistan and Nigeria to Ukraine, journalists speak of exile, legacy, and resilience. Read their stories, insights, and calls to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Explore the Series<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Map<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A few years ago, at the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS), we had what seemed like a simple idea: let\u2019s build a database showing how much members of parliament (MPs) cost taxpayers. Salaries, housing allowances, travel reimbursements, daily stipends. Nothing revolutionary \u2014 just public information, presented in a clear, searchable format so people could understand where their money was going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We expected it to be quick. It wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We filed freedom of information requests. We explained the public interest. Still, the National Assembly delayed, redirected and sent us partial responses. Some requests were simply ignored. And this was before the pandemic. COVID-19 only made things worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took nearly seven months of emails, clarifications, verifications and data cleaning to get data for 402 MPs \u2014 except for one well-known name: the president of the National Assembly, Maja Gojkovi\u0107. At some point it felt ridiculous \u2014 why did we have to fight this hard for information that should be on a government website by default?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we kept going. And eventually, we published the database: Koliko ko\u0161ta poslanik? <\/em>(How Much Does an MP Cost?). The response was immediate. People shared it, used it, cited it. It became a resource \u2014 not just for citizens, but for other journalists and researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What that project taught me is this: When those in power want to stay invisible, they don\u2019t have to say \u201cno.\u201d They just make things slow, complicated and exhausting \u2014 so you stop asking. Almost every request becomes a negotiation. Sometimes with the institution, sometimes with yourself. Is it worth it? Will they ever respond? Can I make this story work with what little I have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s designed to wear you down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when you finally get the data \u2014 when you clean it, understand it, and tell the story \u2014 it\u2019s worth it. That feeling of clarity, of creating something useful out of what was meant to stay hidden, is why I keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep doing this kind of work, I\u2019ve learned to lean on a couple of things. First, teamwork. Good investigative journalism is never a solo effort. My colleagues have saved stories more times than I can count. Second, learning. Over the years I\u2019ve taken every opportunity to grow \u2014 through data training, visualization, digital security. Recently, I was accepted into Columbia University\u2019s Lede Program to deepen those skills. And third, trust. Building relationships with sources who know how systems actually work \u2014 who can guide you, explain the fine print or simply say, \u201cYou\u2019re asking the right question\u201d\u2014that\u2019s priceless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To journalists in the U.S., I know our contexts are not the same. But the erosion of press freedom doesn\u2019t always come with sirens. Sometimes it feels like a locked door, an unanswered email, a law on a piece of paper. And in those moments, it can be easy to feel like you have failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t do this job because it\u2019s easy. We do it because it matters. And when it gets hard, we get creative. We insist. We persist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because sometimes, persistence is the method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Teodora \u0106ur\u010di\u0107 is a data journalist and multimedia producer from Serbia, with a strong focus on investigative reporting and data-driven storytelling. Over the years, she has worked on topics such as political finance, election manipulation, gender-based violence, and systemic failures that affect everyday people. Teodora has developed public databases that bring transparency to political spending and corruption cases, and she regularly trains journalists in using data, open sources, and visualization tools. In summer 2025, she will join the Lede Program at Columbia University to deepen her skills in programming, data analysis and visual storytelling. Teodora cares deeply about using journalism to make institutions accountable \u2014 and she really enjoys making maps.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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