Media News 47

Media News is a fifteen-day service which speaks about the media situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the most important media events, media legislation, relations between the media and the state and international community…

High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina Wolfgang Petritsch by special decision named 21 members of the Governing Council of RTV Federation BiH for a four-year term. The reason for the decision is that the Federal Parliament, due to political disagreement, failed to appoint seven members of the Governing Council as required by the Law on RTV FBiH by October 8. The High Representative was required to name the remaining 14 members.

The vast majority of the named candidates are close to the political alternative or opposition in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although decisions by the High Representative are binding, Federal Prime Minister Edhem Bicakcic expressed objection to the appointment of the Governing Council members, while the ruling Croat party HDZ assessed the appointment as a “step back in creating the federal television.”… (R.U.)

Media Plan Institute Sarajevo in the period of November 13 to November 30, 19991 monitored six daily newspapers2 published in Bosnia-Herzegovina to find out how much local dailies report on economic issues.

Of the total 9,555 published articles in all the monitored papers in this period, only 956 referred to the economy, which is 9.6 percent of the total number of published articles. By the number of articles published on economic issues, Vecernje novine is in the lead by dedicating 161 out of a total of 1,254 articles to the economy. This is 12.8 percent of the total number of articles published in this paper. Vecernje novine is followed by Glas srpski, in which out of 1,312 articles, 150, or 11.4 percent, were dedicated to the economy, and then comes Oslobodjenje, which out of 1,906 articles dedicated 216 to the economy. This figure is 11.3 percent of the total number of articles published in this paper.

Monitoring showed that daily newspapers generally reported on economic issues in that part of the country in which they are published…..(S. C. – Media Plan Monitoring Center)

(Written for Media News by Alexander Levy, Prominent Reporters Without Frontiers Activist)

Freedom of press has not been achieved in the southeast of Europe. The main reason is the lack of democracy in countries that make up this region, characterized by war, corruption and political instability. Whereas a certain number of countries in central Europe have decisively turned to Europe, in most southeastern countries democratic transition seems longer and less certain. Wars that have torn the Yugoslav region have brought into power regimes that have little respect for freedom of press. In the states that arose from the former Yugoslavia, with the exception of Slovenia and Macedonia, European and international standards in the field of press freedom have not been adhered to. Journalists are victims of repression from the authorities or nationalist parties, the state controls public media which are used for propaganda purposes, censorship is still present, but it is more concealed and pervert than during the totalitarian period. The most obvious example of this is Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia, followed by Croatia, and to a lesser degree Bosnia-Herzegovina, in which the international community is responsible for re-establishing good functioning of media.

…In the field of media there was a true boom reflected in the appearance of new print and broadcast media. To Macedonia’s population of two million, according to the Secretariat of Information of the Government of Macedonia, there are 210 registered radio and television stations…. (Mirco Tomovski)

The Center for Development of Media of Montenegro (CERAM), which was formed recently on initiative by the non-governmental organizations Media Plan from Sarajevo and Alter Modus from Podgorica, has carried out its first project – a survey among journalists in Montenegrin media – with the aim of obtaining data necessary for making basic judgments about the situation in this field.

The survey encompassed 43 of the total 56 registered media, which is 75 percent. In addition to other results obtained by analyzing the survey, an indicative result concerns the qualification structure, according to which out of 197 surveyed journalists, 37 percent do not have a university degree, while only 17 percent have a degree in journalism. This survey is only an introduction to a wider project to create a media portrait of Montenegro, which CERAM plans to carry out in cooperation with Media Plan from Sarajevo.

The fourth international television festival BAR ’99 was held in Bar on November 25-28. A total of 14 countries participated with six state and 25 private television stations.

TV Serbia took part in the festival for the first time, which was assessed as a pleasant surprise in view of the tense relations between the authorities in Belgrade and Podgorica.

The Grand Prix was awarded to the documentary program “Soldiers of Love” by VIC company ORT Russia…. (P.R.)

Media News continues to publish articles on ethics and culture of communication written by well-known authors, as well as experts who are familiar with the media situation in countries in transition and southeast Europe. In this issue we publish the second part of the article “Journalist Ethics – European Experiences” written by Dr. Miroljub Radojkovic, full professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade and member of the Media Plan Institute Council….

The First Conference on the Internet and New Services was held November 30 and December 1 at the UNESCO seat in Paris. The conference brought together renowned scientists dealing with this field and representatives of all world organizations for protection of media freedom.

Particular attention was given to requests from certain governments and institutions for control of the Internet. It was underlined that people do not have to accept everything that is offered on the Internet, but that censorship is undesirable because such practice would become a limiting factor in promoting also progressive ideas.

The general conclusion was that the Internet does not need special legislation, but it was underlined that the following should be sanctioned: crime, conspiracy, fraudulent advertisements, copyright violations, instigation of violence, pimp pornography, and other unacceptable content on the Internet, which all countries prosecute anyway. It is therefore necessary to pass special laws against only such activities on the Internet and harmonize them in all countries… (M.P.)

The Managing Board of Media Plan decided that the Media Plan School of Journalist will have a regional character in the year 2000. This means that interested candidates from the whole region of southeast Europe will be able to enroll in the third generation in October of next year.

This time the competition for the third generation of students will open already in February of 2000 to give enough time to students and the School to provide scholarships for staying in Sarajevo.

The school lasts for 10 months, and every generation consists of 22 students. Classes are held by local teachers and professors from the High School of Journalism in Lille, France.

Media News is marking its second year of publishing. With this double issue, we have published a total of 48 editions, which our readers have received via electronic mail or in hard copy, a summary of which they could read on our Internet site. We would like to thank Open Society Fund Bosnia-Herzegovina and Westminster Foundation London who helped local media receive this service free of charge.

SAFAX and Media Plan Institute are intensively preparing to start a new edition next year, a Media Journal, which will deal with the media situation in countries of southeast Europe and in the context of wider European and world experiences and trends. This service will use all the advantages of the Internet as a new medium. Until then, we will continue to put out Media News using the present concept, but it will be distributed solely via electronic mail. The price of subscription for foreign users in English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian remains the same, while local media will receive a proposal of cooperation for publishing and using this service. The next issue of Media News will come out on January 10, 2000.

1 Papers from the Republika Srpska were analyzed in the period of November 13 to 28, while papers from the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina from November 15 to 30, 1999.

2 Glas srpski (Banja Luka), Dnevni avaz (Sarajevo), Nezavisne novine (Banja Luka), Oslobodjenje (Sarajevo), Slobodna BiH (Split/Mostar) and Vecernje novine (Sarajevo).

Prof. Dr. Muhamed Nuhić, Hamza Bakšić (Sarajevo); Perica Vučinić (Banja Luka); M.S. Lenart Šetinc (Ljubljana); Prof. Dr. Mario Plenković (Zagreb); M.S. Loius de la Ronciere (Paris); M.S. Aleksandar Todorović (Montreaux); Prof. Dr. Slavo Kukić (Mostar), Prof.Dr. Miroljub Radojković (Beograd).