Kosovo local news media

After World War II, Kosovo became an autonomous province of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (S.F.R.Y.) with status almost equivalent to that of a republic under the 1974 S.F.R.Y. constitution. Despite legislative concessions, Albanian nationalism increased in the 1980's, which led to riots and calls for Kosovo's independence. At the same time, Serbian nationalist leaders, such as Slobodan Milosevic, exploited Kosovo Serb claims of maltreatment to secure votes from supporters, many of whom viewed Kosovo as their cultural heartland. Under Milosevic's leadership, Serbia instituted a new constitution in 1989 that revoked Kosovo's status as an autonomous province of Serbia. Kosovo Albanian leaders responded in 1991 by organizing a referendum that declared Kosovo independent. Under Milosevic, Serbia carried out repressive measures against the Albanians in the early 1990's as the unofficial Kosovo government, led by Ibrahim Rugova, used passive resistance in an attempt to try to gain international assistance and recognition of an independent Kosovo. Albanians dissatisfied with Rugova's passive strategy in the 1990's created the Kosovo Liberation Army and launched an insurgency.

Starting in 1998, Serbian military, police, and paramilitary forces under Milosevic conducted a brutal counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians. Approximately 800,000 Albanians were forced from their homes in Kosovo during this time. International attempts to mediate the conflict failed, and Milosevic's rejection of a proposed settlement led to a three-month NATO military operation against Serbia beginning in March 1999 that forced Serbia to agree to withdraw its military and police forces from Kosovo. In 1999, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 placed Kosovo under a transitional administration, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, pending a determination of Kosovo's future status. A UN-led process began in late 2005 to determine Kosovo's final status. In 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared Kosovo independent. Since then, over 70 countries have recognized Kosovo, and it has joined the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Newspapers in Kosovo Include: Koha Ditore, Gazeta Express, Infopress, Bota Sot, Epoka e Re, Kosova Sot, Lajm, and Zëri. Broadcast media in Kosovo are limited as the civil wars of the 1990's interrupted their development. Radio Show Perballja, Radio Television of Kosovo, Urban FM, and Kohavision (KTV) are the dominant players in Kosovo's television and radio markets.