Two separate realities

Dimitrijević explained that this environment is further compounded by the lack of bilingual reporting. As a result, sources of information differ significantly. Most people consume news in their native language, through media that reflect the respective political narratives and, according to him, growing nationalism on both sides.

“The points of common ground are extremely limited and appear mainly through a small number of independent media outlets that focus on bilingual reporting, civil society initiatives, or joint reporting on everyday and universal issues such as the economy, healthcare and the environment,” he said.

Albanian-language media have reported on coexistence and tolerance between the two communities over the years, but such coverage has been largely sporadic and has failed to make the other community a consistent presence in each community’s information space.

In 2026, for example, K2.0 published a series of articles in which Serbian and Albanian journalists collaborated to report on shared concerns in their communities that extend beyond politics. They reported on hate speech, environmental degradation and rivers, as well as the menstrual tax. Eight journalists, four Albanian and four Serbian, went into the field to report on problems that transcend the political tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. They reported on issues that directly affect the lives of both communities, from the foul smell of the Kishnica River, which forces Albanian and Serb families to keep their windows closed, to older residents from both communities recalling the days when they swam and fished together in the river as children.

Dimitrijević, who co-authored an article on environmental degradation caused by illegal dumpsites in Peja, says sensationalist reporting — whether by pro-government media in Belgrade about the Albanian community or by Albanian-language media in Kosovo about the Serb community — leaves little room for the shared human realities of everyday life. Social and economic hardships, environmental concerns and real examples of neighbors living together are often pushed aside in favor of alarming headlines and coverage centered on threats.

“What is consistently missing from the dominant narrative, especially in sensationalist reporting, is the human dimension: everyday life, shared social and economic hardships, and real examples of interethnic cooperation on the ground. All of these are repeatedly pushed aside in favor of high-level political conflict,” he said.