SARAJEVO, 13.11.2018. – In BiH there is a consensus among media professionals and the advertising industry to adopt an Advertising Law that will regulate the media and advertising market, as well as the Law on Transparency of Media Ownership and Media Financing, that together should lead to strengthening the freedom of expression, the rights of journalists and the strengthening of the media community in BiH, as concluded on the experts debate “Regulation the advertising market in BiH” held today in Sarajevo.
The Secretary General of BH Journalists Association Borka Rudić emphasized that the goal of regulating the advertisement market in BiH is primarly to streghten the advertising industry and to bring the money back into the bh. media because this stregtens also the position of journalist, who than ca work more in favor of citizens and public, and less in the interest of different interest groups, or political, national and economic lobbies.
„State institutions should act on the protection of the domestic market, through legislation that will cover all media sectors, social networks, advertising agencies and research agencies, but the issues of transparency of media ownership and various forms of media financing from public budgets, including advertising.“, considers Rudić.
Project menager of the EU Delegation Vladimir Pundurević pointed out that the EU accession process brings new challenges when it comes to the media and that the state needs to make significant changes, and it would be best if proposals and changes came from the media, the media industry and people who deal with this area.
Director of Marketing Agency Fabrika Senad Zaimović believes that the current situation in our country is dramatic because the game on the market is unequal and that the domestic business community must mobilize significant funds to compete with external attacks on the media market in BiH.
„The industry wants to participate in the adoption of such regulations, because by adopting these laws we will be closer to more orderly countries. With legal regulation, I consider equally important self-regulation of the advertising industry through the formation of a stakeholder organization that needs to define in which framework the advertising industry operates“- adds Zaimović emphasizing that he does not expect the Advertising Law to offer something better than it offered in the countries of the region, but that he hopes it to lead to the strengthening of self-regulation in order to stop the downward trend in the value of media market in BiH and the industry itself to progress professionally.
President of the Media Industry Association and Director of HAYAT TV Elvir Švrakić emphasizes that television as a media is cheaper than printed media and radio, although it should be the strongest when watching the advertiser’s budgets.
„We currently have regulations on electronic media, although this regulation has remained at the same standards when it was introduced 10 years ago, while, for example, in the countries of the region, the situation is different and gives TV stations the ability to provide a greater range of services than we do BiH. We have come to the situation now to watch channels from Croatia and Serbia that advertise domestic bh. companies through the cable system“, emphasites Švrakić and adds that even when the Law on transparency of media ownership and media financing is introduced, as well as the Advertising Law, there will still be problems, which will have to be solved by the self-regulatory and wider, joint influence of media and advertising agencies from BiH in creating conditions in which the advertising industry will function.
The expert debate was held within the project Media and Public Reputation, funded by the EU and implemented by Consortium of BH Journalists Association, Media Center Foundation, NGO JaBiHEU and the Press Council and online media. The final result of this project should be a Draft on the Law on Media Transparency and Advertising Law with additional procedures for financing media from public budgets. These drafts are being prepared by experts from BiH, Croatia and Slovenia and will be presented in Sarajevo in the middle of next month, and submitted to the BiH Parliament for further action, as said during today’s debate..