The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has set for itself goals that go beyond bringing perpetrators of crimes to account. Some of these functions directly depend on the media for their fulfilment, because it is precisely the media who transmits these functions to the public. This ever-increasing reliance on the media brings a need for a minimal standard of balanced reporting,which seems to be lacking in Serbia. I will examine Serbian media reporting and conclude that it does not further the Tribunals purposes, thus negatively affecting the Serbian public. I will contrast Serbian to Rwandan news reporting in order to show that a higher standard can be expected of these news outlets. Nevertheless, regardless of what kind of reporting is prevalent, the effect on the ground may not be negative if it motivates people to access other sources and thus widen their outlooks on the issues.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has set for itself goals that go beyond bringing perpetrators of crimes to account. Some of these functions directly depend on the media for their fulfilment, because it is precisely the media who transmits these functions to the public. This ever-increasing reliance on the media brings a need for a minimal standard of balanced reporting,which seems to be lacking in Serbia. I will examine Serbian media reporting and conclude that it does not further the Tribunals purposes, thus negatively affecting the Serbian public. I will contrast Serbian to Rwandan news reporting in order to show that a higher standard can be expected of these news outlets. Nevertheless, regardless of what kind of reporting is prevalent, the effect on the ground may not be negative if it motivates people to access other sources and thus widen their outlooks on the issues.