Media and the Market
"Extermination" Because of Copyright
AIM Banja Luka, 2 December, 1999
The Independent Media Commission (IMC) has recently promoted the end of the first phase of its activities in Bosnia & Herzegovina. At the seminar for media in Mostar it presented its report titled "Evaluation of the Decision of the Independet Media Commission" which offers a comprehensive analysis of the influence the code on program editting had on program conceptions of the media in B&H. The code was promoted on 1 August, 1998, and the period of 14 months of its implementation is a long enough period for analysing how far the good intentions have reached and in what direction the media situation is developing.
According to the report of the Commission, in the first 12 months of its operation the department for monitoring and appeals looked into 224 appeals, 107 of which were officially lodged, 80 were lodged by radio-television stations, 18 by international organisations, and 14 arrived from "other sources". "In many cases it was not necessary to take measures, but a certain number of the appeals required some form of regulatory activities", it is said in the statement for the public. In 46 cases, director general of the IMC and the implementation board intervened with decisions. In majority of cases they issued warnings. Apart from a few fines which ranged between one and two thousand German marks, broadcasting of a few was temporarily banned which later resulted in negotiations and re-issuing of permits.
The situation might drastically change in the forthcoming period. At the moment, B&H has the highest density of radio and TV stations in the world. There are 280 identified organisations for broadcasting program, which use more than 750 radio and TV transmitters, or one per 4700 persons. Out of this number, in the Republic of Srpska which has about one million inhabitants there are 101 radio and TV stations.
A large number of radio and TV stations is not in itself such a big problem if it had not been a symptom of highly politicised nature of electronic media and of absence of the market which would regulate their number and survival. Due to that, according to the opinion of the Independent Commission, these stations will continue to seek and accept support of the richest political parties for as long as advertising and transparent public collecting of subscription does not replace concealed political financing.
Three uncoordinated centres for issuing permits which operated between 1992 and mid 1998 created a big problem in the sense of interference among stations and they were also partly responsible for obstruction of the normal development of economically sustainable commericial networks. Absence of regulations for establishment of standards on quality in broadcasting enabled increase of the number of stations below standard which complicates the problem of interference of signals. Uncontrolled piracy in video production enables oversupply of the market with low-quality television broadcasting, discourages participation of most of international advertisers and prevents commercially capable stations to survive in the unregulated market.
One of the important rules which regulates this sphere and which was in the end of October adopted by the Independent Media Commission will make big commotion among electronic media if its implementation actually begins. This is the rule of meeting obligations resulting from copyright, the rule which is exceptionally significant for development of regulations and loyal competition on the media market. This rule came into force on 1 November and in one of the sections of general rules concerning operation permits issued by the Independent Commission it is stated that: "The user of the permit will be responsible for all duties and obligations to any third party concerning copyright or other intellectual property rights which may result from broadcasting such property or its presentation". Sanctions for violation of this rule will also be determined by the mentioned commission for media in consultations with an authorised vendor. Predrag Brajovic of the office of the Independent Media Commission in Banja Luka says that the rule has come into force officially but not practically.
The fact that copyright must be observed is known to people in the media business from before. Due to circumstances conditioned by the war and various sanctions, this rule was violated by all. "Now we must induce them that they must re-start obeying these rules", says Predrag Bajovic, adding that he is surprised how this decision affects the people from the media. "As if someone was forcibly depriving them of something of their own, and not suggesting to them to respect something that belongs to someone else and something that they are not entitled to", says Bajevic.
It is assessed that in the whole of B&H only three or four stations are capable of obeying the rule on copyright. Should the rigid sanctions of the Independent Media Commission be implemented, a true "extermination" of electronic media may take place in whole of B&H. It is a problem for Bajevic that a large majority of media are not even trying to resolve this question in any way although obeying of this rule will be one of the main conditions for obtaining a permit for work in the next phase.
"The stress that nobody has the right and must not use other people's work as their own and even try to make a profit from it is something that must be clear to all persons responsible for the media. This does not mean that the Independent Media Commission wishes to show its teeth and punish them, time has simply come for establishing rules of the game which apply everywhere in the world. If B&H wishes to join the world, this must be observed here, too", says Predrag Bajovic.
Banja Luka Independent Radio-Television is one of the rare stations in RS which is doing its best to implement the rule on observing copyrights. Its executive director Nenad Novakovic says that they are trying to get approval for broadcasting all programs they themselves do not produce. "I must admit that this still is not the case with a part of the musical program and shots used in information program", Novakovic admits. In this media, they put all their journalists and editors under obligation to observe the rules on copyright.
President of the Association of Electronic Media of RS Zoran Kalinic believes that one of the tasks of this Association is to try to find solution how to help most of the electronic media in RS to prepare for the period that lies ahead. "The best way for the least painful solution of this problem would be if they formed a union", says Kalinic.
Mladen Mirosavljevic
(AIM)
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