SARAJEVO, 03.05.2018. – The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have the most trust in the media (76.8% of respondents) and the religious communities (72.2%), and the least trust in politicians (15%) and political parties (19.4%), showed the results of the research „Freedom of Media in BiH 2018” that were presented today in Sarajevo and Banja Luka on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day 2018.
Compared to the survey conducted in 2017, there was an increase in confidence in the media, the international community and non-governmental organizations. Most of the respondents believe that the main obstacles to free media in BiH are the political (51,1%) and financial dependence (26,8%), and that politicians and political parties have the largest influence on media (75.4%). The respondents still consider the politicians and political parties to be the main violators of journalists rights and media freedom.
„Most respondents (69,2%) is satisfied with the work of the media, which is 20% higher than in 2009. This year, as in previous years, the highest number of respondents (45.1%) believe that the main obstacles to the free work of the media are political dependence, “said, among other things, General Secretary of BiH journalist Association Borka Rudić who presented the results. She emphasized that BiH is ahead of the guarantee of freedom of the media in comparison with the countries of the region due to good laws, active civil society and the openness of various institutions of government.
Director of The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Fondation BiH Marius Müller-Hennig expressed hope that the results of this research will be exploited by political actors and media representatives for strengthening the freedom of the media in the country. He commented on trends from the comparative report 2009-2018.
„The most positive result is that more than 90 percent of the respondents believe that any form of attack on journalists is inadmissible, which was not the case in the survey results conducted in previous years“. He added that the perception of citizens that the biggest influence on the media comes from politicians and political parties points to the deficit in political practice and culture, for which FES will in the future want to pay more attention to the freedom of media in BiH.
Director of the Media Centre Sarajevo Boro Kontić commented on the results: „People in BiH mostly consume those media that confirm their opinions and do not ask the media to give them different views of the society. Most information are from TV content and online media, and consuming daily newspapers and radio is rarely reported. This points to the problem of the disappearance of traditional media out of focus.“
Vildana Selimbegović, Editor of The Daily Newspeper Oslobođenja, stressed that in BiH the problem is the impunity of the attack on journalists, and that there are still cases that are not investigated. „For the defense of media freedom and professional community, and the reduction of political pressures, journalistic solidarity is important“, said Selimbegović.
The research „Freedom of Media in BiH 2018”, thta was presented today in Sarajevo and Banja Luka on the occasion of the 3rd May – World Press Freedom Day, was conducted by the Agency for Communication Chapter4 with the financial support of the Fondation of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Fondation, through the method of CATI questining of 500 respondents from the whole BiH in the period from 22nd March until 22nd April, 2018.
