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Media News 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… D I G E S T No 54, Vol I Sarajevo, March, 20th 2000. If
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to Media News, Issue
54
- You can read about: ¨ Press Self-Regulation Press Council Soon to Start Working Preparations for the constitution of a Press Council of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is to have a regulatory role in creating professional standards in print media, are coming to an end. At an OSCE conference on March 13 in Sarajevo, a document was presented which was made by the Independent Media Commission (IMC) and Media Self-Regulation Working Group and which specifies the composition and jurisdiction of the Press Council. If journalist associations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Syndicate of Professional Journalists of the BiH Federation, which have earlier accepted the idea of having a Press Council at state level and which have been actively involved in developing it, ratify this document, Bosnia-Herzegovina will get an institution which exists in most democratic countries in the world and which self-regulates and professionally articulates the conduct of print media. Practically, this will complete the process of media regulation in the country as the IMC almost two years ago assumed a regulatory role in the work of broadcasters. The Press Council, according to this proposal, shall have two functions – appellate and advisory. The Council’s appellate function shall be carried out in that it will be open to complaints filed by those who are referred to in a story published in the press and who are dissatisfied or hurt by it. Third persons shall have the right to complain only if they raise an issue of public interest. However, such a wide rule and different interpretations of what a public interest is, may lead to disagreements within the Council and therefore it cannot be ruled out that this position will in the end either by precisely regulated or left out altogether. As stipulated by the founding proposal, the Council shall settle all complaints on the basis of fairness, common sense, in a civilized manner, and using journalistic means only. One of those means, that is to say sanctions, shall be to print the Council’s findings in full in a prominent place in the publication whose writing is the subject of dispute. According to this proposal, the Council shall not have the power to pronounce fines on media. The Press Council shall be composed of 13 members, including a representative of the international community as chairman. Six members shall be representatives of the press, and six shall be prominent figures from Bosnian-Herzegovinian public who shall not be journalists and who, needless to say, shall not be politically affiliated. The main criterion of appointment shall be professional qualification and experience. As to status, the Council shall most likely be established as a non-profit, non-governmental organization. Initially, the Council shall be financed by IMC and OSCE, and later it would most likely receive support from IREX. However, at the above mentioned journalist gathering in Sarajevo, disagreements arose among members of the Print Media Self-Regulation Working Group concerning the Council’s composition and method of work. Working Group President Vlatko Menigs of the Association of Croat Journalists of Bosnia-Herzegovina maintained that the Council should have national parity, and even a degree of consensual decision-making. He justified his position with the present reality of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is composed of two entities and three constituent peoples. According to him, if this principle is not accepted, the result could be that media from the Republika Srpska and the Croat part of the Federation will not accept decisions imposed by the Bosniak majority. This position was opposed by representatives of the Association of Journalists of Bosnia-Herzegovina and, especially, by the Union of Independent Journalists of Bosnia-Herzegovina from Sarajevo. Union President Mehmed Husic even threatened that his association may withdraw from the whole project if parity and any kind of national consensus are introduced because that would completely block the Press Council’s work. The Sarajevo meeting was not attended by representatives of the two Republika Srpska associations which participate in the Working Group, and their opinions could not be heard. However, Media Plan Institute, based on earlier conversations with these associations, is aware that their views are similar to those of Menigs. OSCE Senior Media Advisor Regan McCarthy, as a meritorious person representing the international community, agreed that any kind of consensual decision-making would make the Press Council inefficient. However, she said that one cannot shut one’s eyes to the reality of Bosnia-Herzegovina and that national representation should be taken into account in appointing the Council members. A questionnaire was made available to journalists who attended the OSCE press conference in which, among other things, they could choose how the Council should vote. The offered options were consensus, two-thirds majority, relative majority or simple majority. This shows that the method of decision-making is yet to be decided. The Press Council should remain immune to the current internal journalist animosities present both in the Federation and the Republika Srpska, and to different interpretations of what is ethical, tendentious and inflammatory. True, the Press Council will follow the Press Code adopted by all journalist associations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. However, even the Code leaves a lot of room for interpreting so-called border areas when it is necessary to distinguish when standards of privacy are violated, when political predictions end and political speculation and tendentiousness start. Therefore, the future Press Council needs to be composed of true professionals and people who do not fall under the influence of current political trends in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Unfortunately, some journalists in Bosnia-Herzegovina have not remained immune to the political reality in the country. The Press Council is being established precisely to prevent damaging influence on the general public by politicized or irresponsible journalists. Of course, under the condition that they do not first exert this same influence on the Council. (Radenko Udovicic) ¨ Monitoring Visual
Presentation of Political Parties in BiH Daily Press Photograph
as a Political Stand This monitoring project was made with the intention of opening a new perspective in monitoring and research of principles of political party and figure presentation in local media. In that context, this article focuses on the character of presentation of important political figures and parties on photographs published in daily press. The aim of research is to examine the principles of visual presentation and presence of these political subjects in the election period which recently started. (Local elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina are due on April 8). ¨ Ownership Transformation of Media in Slovenia A Time of Media “Strongmen” (
by Petra Subic, Ljubljana) Slovenia is one of the rare countries in transition in which foreign capital has only recently entered print media, but that does not mean that local investors are not attracted to owning media. ¨ Internet Control – Yes or No (5) Today we conclude our series
on possibilities of Internet regulation, initiated by
discussions during the Conference on the Internet held in October of 1999
in Paris under UNESCO auspices. The conference gave a “visa” for
initiating a regulation procedure, although many dilemmas and warnings
were heard. A number of scientific workers, journalists and Internet
experts presented their opinions in Media News. Most maintained that at
this moment the Internet cannot be (and need not be) regulated. For the
final part of our series, we feature M.S. Lenart Setinc of the Institute
for Media Law, Ljubljana. ¨ News Vladimir
Bilic Director, Fahro Balvanovic Deputy Director of FTV Vladimir Bilic was appointed director-general of Federal Radio-Television, and Fahro Balvanovic his deputy, according to an FRTV Council decision made at a session held in Sarajevo on March 8. Lower
Fees for Private Radio and TV Stations License fees for radio and TV stations now directly depend not only on the output power and the number of the emitters operated, but also on the status of the broadcaster, i.e. public of private, as defined by IMC rules, the Independent Media Commission Council decided at its regular session on March 10, 2000, adopting amendments to the Broadcasts License Fees, which had entered into force on January 1, 2000. Private broadcasters will be granted 20 percent reduction on the total monthly fee payable by a public broadcaster and fees for private broadcasters will be phased-in. Oslobodjenje
in Pre-War Premises The newsroom of the Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje on November 17 moved back to its old building in the Nedzarici neighborhood, which has been partly reconstructed. The building was completely destroyed, and its burnt and shattered tower which held the business premises still stands as a reminder of the destruction of the besieged Sarajevo.
Listen with your ears! Look with your eyes! Think with your head!
Council:Media Plan Institute Prof. Dr. Muhamed Nuhic, Hamza Baksic (Sarajevo); Perica Vucinis (Banja Luka); M.S. Lenart Setinc (Ljubljana); Prof. Dr. Mario Plenkovic (Zagreb); M.S. Loius de la Ronciere (Paris); M.S. Aleksandar Todorovic (Montreaux); Prof. Dr. Slavo Kukic (Mostar), Prof.Dr. Miroljub Radojkovic (Beograd). |