"Vijesti" generated plenty of criticism during the initial period from all sides of the political spectrum in Montenegro. Pro-Serbian camp saw it as an aggressive proponent of Montenegro's separation from Serbia. On the other end, the pro-independence camp (especially members and sympathizers of LSCG party) wasn't entirely happy with it either, criticizing the paper's pro-independence stance as being tailored for and by Đukanović's day to day political needs. Some have even claimed (most notably LSCG leader Slavko Perović) that the initial funds for paper's launch were in fact provided by Đukanović who needed a seemingly independent media support at a time when he was distancing himself from Milošević. Similar criticism came from journalist Nebojša Redžić who worked at "Vijesti" for six months - in 1999 he accused the individuals behind the newspaper of creating it "solely for the purposes of manipulating the electorate in Montenegro and steering the pro-independence voters towards Đukanović and DPS", referring to his own involvement in the paper's formation as the "biggest mistake in my career". Although occasionally critical of Đukanović and the Democratic Party of Socialists on minor municipal issues in the years to come, "Vijesti" firmly supported his government's policies on all the major issues such as the relations with Serbia. Furthermore, the paper ignored all the evidence and foreign reports of widespread tobacco and oil state-sponsored smuggling that took place in Montenegro under Đukanović as well as his involvement in Milošević's war efforts during the early 1990s.