The investment fund Alpac Capital is buying the media brand Adria News Network (ANN) - the network that covers the critical outlets N1, Nova S, Vesti and Danas in Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. The audience: over 16 million people, with more than 1,000 journalists and staff. The price: 30 million euros.

Why this sum, and why Alpac? Because behind the name stands Pedro Vargas David, whose father Mario David was "a longtime adviser to former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban," according to reports. On top of that, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic has described Mario David as a friend. Two facts in the same room are a good reason to ask - who is going to look after N1's editorial independence going forward?

The deal "guarantees" preservation of "editorial independence and the existing management model." There are "contractual protection mechanisms" and an "independent external advisory body." In the language of investment contracts - that's pretending. When you buy a media outlet with 16 million viewers in countries whose governments are unhappy with it, owning the outlet is itself a political move - regardless of what's written on the paper.

The editorial leadership at N1 has already been replaced right after the sale was announced. In media circles, that's the first signal as to where this is going. The "deal" on independence will be measured over the next 6 to 12 months - not in press conferences, but in the news that gets broadcast, and in the news that doesn't.

For the Balkans, this is a story as old as the region - when a critical voice gets sold, the new owner changes the newsroom. Only this time, it's happening across the entire ANN network at once, and that consolidation means five countries get one and the same editorial tone. It's a small change for the viewer - until the moment they want to know what is actually happening in their own country.