Who Is Žaklina Tatalović

Žaklina Tatalović (born 30 March 1980 in Zemun) is a Serbian television journalist who has reported for more than two decades for BK, Fox (later Prva Srpska Televizija) and N1. She became widely known for putting direct questions to politicians and state officials at press conferences and during sessions of the National Assembly.

She began her career at nineteen as a volunteer at BK television, then rose from street reporter to a journalist accredited at United Nations headquarters in New York. She spent twelve years at Fox, later Prva, before moving to N1 in 2018.

Her work has provoked strong and opposing reactions. Part of the public and several journalists’ associations have supported her approach, while some media close to the government have criticized her often. As a result, she has repeatedly been the target of insults and threats. In October 2026 she left N1 together with nine colleagues in a collective departure that drew considerable public attention.

Early Life and Childhood

Žaklina Tatalović was born in 1980 in Zemun, part of Belgrade, where she grew up and went to school. She finished elementary school in her hometown and then enrolled at Zemun Gymnasium.

Alongside her regular schooling, she attended the Kosta Manojlović Music School in Zemun. Little is widely known about her family and childhood, since she rarely speaks publicly about her private life. It is known that her mother played an important part in steering her early professional path, as described below.

Education

Toward the end of high school she hesitated between studying medicine and political science. She ultimately chose journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade, enrolling right after the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Because state faculties in Serbia were on strike at the time and classes were not being held, her mother also enrolled her in the BK School of Journalism. That school became the springboard for her professional career. Whether and when she graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences has not been publicly confirmed.

Early Career

She started her career at nineteen. After finishing the BK School of Journalism she stayed on at BK television as a volunteer, beginning as a field reporter in the morning program. Over time she advanced to become a journalist accredited at United Nations headquarters in New York.

In one interview she said that it was at BK that she learned everything she knows about journalism. By her own account, she has no role models in the profession, but felt lucky to have worked with editors such as Aleksandar Tijanić, Srđan Đurić, Bojana Lekić, Milomir Marić and Igor Šanjević, from whom she learned a great deal.

Rise to Prominence

Moving to Fox television brought her wider recognition and marked the longest phase of her career before N1.

Working at Fox Television

In 2006 she moved from BK to Fox, later renamed Prva Srpska Televizija. There she worked in nearly all newsroom departments, and as a news reporter she also covered sessions of Serbia’s National Assembly. In that role she gained recognition for the way she put questions to her interviewees.

In 2018 Fox was transformed into Prva Srpska Televizija. Tatalović disagreed with the new editorial policy and, after twelve years, left the station. She later said that the main reason for leaving was that she did not want to work for a media outlet where an editor tells her what she may ask at press conferences.

Direct Questions at Press Conferences

Tatalović is known for insisting on an actual answer to the question asked. She advocates objective journalism and direct access to interviewees, and she has raised questions about scandals and criticism aimed at the ruling coalition gathered around the Serbian Progressive Party.

Because of her approach at press conferences, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said she had long deserved to be thrown out of a press conference. The journalist herself later described how Vučić does not answer the question put to him and does not allow follow-up questions, which is why she refuses to accept an answer to a different question. In June 2023 she asked Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić how she would protect actors who are insulted by MPs of the ruling party.

Move to N1

From 2018 Žaklina Tatalović worked as a journalist in N1’s news department. At N1 she reported from press conferences, from the Serbian National Assembly and from the field, and she also published personal commentary pieces in the “Lični stav” (Personal View) section.

She worked at N1 during a period of intense political and social change in Serbia. According to her own words in October 2025, she alone had covered around eighty different events since December 2024. On that occasion, together with her colleague Ksenija Pavkov, she spoke about how demanding the reporting had been and how her private life had often been sacrificed.

Insults, Threats and Court Proceedings

Because of her way of working, Tatalović was for years the target of insults and threats, which journalists’ associations also documented.

The Case of Dragan J. Vučićević

In 2020, during the state of emergency caused by the pandemic, Informer editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević insulted Tatalović on social media because of the questions she had asked members of the Crisis Staff. He also posted her photographs together with insults about her physical appearance.

The journalist filed a private criminal complaint. The First Basic Court in Belgrade found Vučićević guilty of the criminal offense of insult and in September 2021 sentenced him to a fine of 200,000 dinars. The verdict was upheld on appeal and became final, which was reported in April 2022. According to media reports, the fine was later replaced by a prison sentence because it had not been paid.

Insults on the Show “Hit tvit”

In November 2020 folk singer Aca Lukas (Aleksandar Vuksanović) directed sexist insults at Tatalović on the show “Hit tvit” on TV Pink. The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) gave her full support and demanded that the station apologize publicly, while N1 asked the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) to condemn the misuse of a national frequency. The Protector of Citizens (ombudsman) also reacted.

Threats and Attacks

The SafeJournalists network recorded threats that Tatalović received in an Instagram message on 11 November 2020. In late March 2023 she also received death threats, and the Journalists’ Association of Serbia demanded that the perpetrators be found. In statements, the journalist said she reports every threat and that they do not affect her work.

Reporting on the Novi Sad Canopy Collapse

After the canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad on 1 November 2024, killing a number of people, Tatalović reported from the scene. The tragedy set off a wave of protests across Serbia, and N1 made covering them one of the focal points of its programming.

During the Novi Sad protest on 5 November 2024, Tatalović and N1 cameraman Nikola Popović were insulted during a live broadcast, and Popović was struck on the hands, causing his camera to fall and be damaged. According to reports, the attack was carried out by a group of masked individuals. The identity of one attacker was later made public, and in February 2025 NUNS reported that misdemeanor and criminal proceedings had been launched over the attacks on N1 and Euronews crews.

Controversy Over Her Family Background

In early May 2026 Tatalović became the center of a media controversy after some media close to the government published a letter from Professor Dr. Rade Hajdin, son of the late academician Nikola Hajdin, stating that she is not related to his family. Tatalović had previously said in public that academician Nikola Hajdin was her grandfather.

On 4 May 2026 N1 stated that documentation provided by the journalist confirms her descent from the Hajdin family of Vrbovsko in Gorski Kotar, and described the coverage as a targeting campaign. The newsroom acknowledged that certain on-air remarks about her family background during the 2025 protest coverage were not editorially justified, and apologized for the inconsistency. The question of kinship remained a matter of public debate, with the parties to the dispute making opposing claims.

Leaving N1

On 16 October 2026 Žaklina Tatalović left N1 together with nine colleagues, among them Danica Vučenić, Nataša Miljković, Adam Santovac and Mia Bjelogrlić. In a joint statement they said they could not accept the structural and editorial changes introduced by the new management led by Brent Sadler and news director Branislav Šovljanski.

The journalists cited authoritarian management, the erosion of internal professional standards and attempts to steer editorial policy toward presenting political normalcy ahead of the 2026 elections. Earlier, in September 2026, staff had submitted a formal grievance over the public treatment of Tatalović and Vučenić, to which management did not respond. Previously, part of the newsroom had publicly condemned Šovljanski over accusations made against the two journalists. The sources reviewed do not say where Tatalović will continue her career.

Greatest Achievements

Although she is not known to have received a formal award, several significant achievements mark her professional path:

• United Nations accreditation: from street reporter at BK television to an accredited journalist in New York.
• Twelve years at Fox and Prva: work in nearly all newsroom departments and reporting from the Serbian National Assembly.
• A recognizable journalistic style: insistence on direct questions and answers.
• Protest coverage in 2024–2025: by her own account, around eighty events since December 2024.
• Legal protection: a final court verdict against the editor of Informer for insults.

Private Life

Žaklina Tatalović lives and works in Belgrade. She rarely speaks publicly about her private life, family or relationships, so such details are not publicly known and are not included in this biography. Out of respect for her privacy, the text relies solely on publicly confirmed professional information.

Interesting Facts

• She attended the Kosta Manojlović Music School in Zemun.
• Before enrolling at university she hesitated between medicine and political science.
• She appeared as herself in episode 13 of season 2 of the series “Žigosani u reketu” (“Marked in the Racket”, 2019).
• At N1 she wrote personal commentary pieces in the “Lični stav” section.
• She is active on X under the handle @zaklina_prva.

Legacy and Influence

Žaklina Tatalović has become one of the most recognizable faces of Serbian television journalism of the past decade. For some she is a symbol of professional persistence and of the pressures journalists face, while others criticize her work, which shows how divided the public is over the role of the media.

Her cases, including the court proceedings against the Informer editor and the attacks in the field, became important reference points in debates about journalist safety, hate speech aimed at women journalists and media freedom in Serbia. They have been documented by NUNS, SafeJournalists and other organizations.