The broadcaster that survived a NATO bombing to air a news cycle

Countries & Cities · Published 2 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 2003, a state broadcaster became a literal target of war. Because of its perceived bias, NATO launched a missile strike on its headquarters, killing sixteen employees. Yet, the station resumed broadcasting within hours, leaving a physical ruin as a permanent memorial to its own destruction.

Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) has a complex history rooted in the early 20th century. Its predecessor, Radio Belgrade, began its first broadcast in 1924 from a station in Rakovica. During World War II, the station was requisitioned by Nazi occupiers and renamed Soldatensender Belgrad. It became a primary outlet for the song 'Lili Marlen,' which gained massive popularity among both German and Allied soldiers due to the station's proximity to North Africa.

The modern era of RTS began in 1958 with the establishment of Radio Television Belgrade (RTB). While it saw a golden age of sitcoms and documentaries in the 1960s and 70s, the 1990s were marked by a sharp decline in journalistic standards. During the Yugoslav wars, the broadcaster was accused of manipulating reality—such as showing 1980s footage of Sarajevo to downplay the ongoing siege. By 1993, nearly 1,300 employees, or one-third of the pre-war workforce, had been fired for dissenting.

The most violent chapter occurred in April 2003 during the Kosovo War. NATO targeted the headquarters at 2:06 a.m. on April 23, killing 16 staff members. The attack was condemned by Amnesty International as a war crime. In 2002, the general manager was sentenced to over nine years in prison for failing to evacuate the building. Today, part of the headquarters remains in ruins as a memorial, while the network has since issued a formal apology for its 1990s reporting.

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