THE CURRENT SITUATION OF B&H JOURNALISM

THE STATE AND THE MEDIA

AIM Tuzla, December 12, 1995.

Recently, Soros Media Centre and independent Union of Professional Journalists of B&H have organized in Tuzla a discussion about the current situation of Bosnian- Herzegovinian journalism. Journalists from Sarajevo, Tuzla and Zenica have attended the gathering, in other words, journalists from territories controlled by the Administration in Sarajevo, and the main topic was the attempt to analyze the attitude of the state towards media in this republic. Basis of the discussion was a very interesting analysis, a practical investigation carried out by the Open Society Fund, i.e. the Soros Media Centre, Sarajevo, with the general ambition to present the current picture of media in B&H.

This institution, the Open Society, since the war in B&H broke out, has invested more than a million dollars in support of Bosnian-Herzegovinian media. In the beginning of this year it was concluded that it was necessary to check the effects of such engagement in Bosnia. As no approval arrived for extension of the project to include territopries controlled by the Croat Defence Council, the investigation was performed only on the territory controlled by the Army of B&H. In the end of August this year, in the observed area (Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zenica, eastern bank of Mostar and several small places) there were 105 reviews, magazines and journals, 43 radio stations, 17 television stations (RTV B&H inclusive) and 4 news gancies. For the sake of comparison, before the war in 109 B&H municipalities, there were 370 journals and magazines, 48 radio stations, one TV centre and several experimental attempts to establish cable tv. Therefore, despite all difficulties and obstacles, the war being certainly the greatest, there can be no doubt that those who claim that B&H have experienced a specific boom of the media are right. There are two positive factors which conditioned this: a more or less pluralistic political and social scene in large cities, and liberal conditions for establishing public media. But, various irregular situations such as absence of economic and market conditions of operation, irregular payments of electric power, copyrights or loans, small share of live labour in the expenses (majority of the employees receive their salaries just temporarily or they get only a minimum sum of financial aid), and also various illegal situations such as primarily absence of relevant regulations on radio channels and authors' protection have all caused a specific deviations in such expansion of the media.

In conditions of a communication blockade, political media, especially radio and television, have started using new sources of information and therefore breaking the traditionally petrified conception of pre-war media. Along with direct live coverage of events and transmitting news of domestic agencies, foreign radio-tv stations are increasingly used as a source of information. This new quality is the result of an intentional editorial policy, but also of an attempt to cope with the impossible conditions of work, which is not negligible. It is characteristic that some local media still have no developed contacts with sources of information in the country, and they are significant for everyday life of the population, but they do have correspondents abroad, for instance. Apart from that, there is no traditional division of media to "local" and "global", which will certainly be even more prominent in the conditions of peace.

The media market in B&H practically does not exist. Media do not investigate what their listeners, spectators or readers think about them. Absence of competition which can be established only in market conditions, is certainly not capable of providing an incentive for the media to fight for consumers by high-quality or exclusiveness. A struggle for donnations among the media is actually on the scene here. Only a small number of them succeeds to cover a part of their expenses by sold circulation, propaganda and different services. Media management is underdeveloped and unknown for most of them. That is why the thesis that media are primarily a part of political operation of the system has reappeared.

This investigation of the situation in B&H media offered a series of interesting data on the relation between ownership and editorial policy. Motives of private owners of capital in foundation of the media, as concluded, are quite veiled. Their many-foldedness can only be suspected: engagement of capital surplus for the sake of earning a profit, promotion of their own products and services, political promotion, humanitarian support to media projects, their own affinity or different speculative reasons.

The present legislature does nothing to stimulate development of commercial and public systems of media. Ownership transformation of formerly socially-owned media has not been completed yet, and they are still treated as state-owned. A new law on informing, according to what people from the competent ministry say, has not even been conceived yet. In the field, or better still, in life, all these facts are acquiring even more dramatic components. Arson of the transmitter of independent Radio 99 in Sarajevo was mentioned again, as well as the murder of Radio Zavidovici editor, Jadranko Bozinovic, and the assault against Oslobodjenje journalist Mate Brkic. These "cases" have not been resolved by state police yet, nor have perpetrators been arrested.

Sources of information, even the topmost ones - state sources, are often completely closed for some of the independent media, even when purely protocol issues are concerned, such as activities of the President of the Presidency. National or party eligible editorial staffs or editors are given exclusive rights to information. On the local level, lessons in suitability of the journalists are even more drastic - complete editorial staffs which are not to the liking of the regime, are often mobilized and sent to the front. But, obviously these are issues and problems which international institutions primarily in charge of protection of human rights should deal with as a matter of great urgency.

And in the end, a fact that speaks for itself: the greatest part of the burden of these problems lies on the back of the journalists who are, apart from the struggle for survival, expected to fight the battle for truth and objective information of the citizens. At this moment in B&H media space, this battle is fought mostly by the people who have just begun their professional life. According to the investigation of the Soros Media Centre, 75 per cent of the journalists in B&H are at the age between 15 and 25. There is no doubt that they are courageous, but the issue at stake here is whether that quality alone will be sufficient for a profound change of the total system of values in all spheres of life, journalism inclusive?

KONSTANTIN JOVANOVIC