SARAJEVO, 17.08.2018.-According to available data provided by the NGO sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, media houses in BiH receive over BAM 10,0 million on an annual level from public budgets and funds and there is no access or inquiry in the criteria of these allocations. Money is allocated to media houses from different income lines and the biggest problem of transparency is present in media houses on local levels.
This form of media financing contributes in the process of media sustainability in the small and rather poor market in Bosnia and Herzegovina and under the circumstances where most media houses dispose of insufficient potential income financial sources. Absence and lack of transparency of amounts and procedures of allocation of these financial means, including undefined and unclear criteria, open room for possible and eventual misuses and also obstruct the perception of the general public, regarding the legitimacy of such allocations, including media independence, as the users of these financial means.
Sarajevo Media Center implemented a survey covering this specific issue and their report comprised the information and data provided by the CRMA (Center for Media Development and Analysis) from 2013 and 2014 suggesting that media financing from public budget, including regular and public media financing, individual financing for both, public and private media houses, and money allocated for various promoting and commercial advertising, was around BAM 30, 0 million per year.
Branka Mrkić-Radević, zurnal.info (local website) female journalist, claims that one of the most important segments that governing bodies implement is an allocation of financial means through commercial advertising of public companies. Zurnal. info also did a survey and research regarding this specific issue. “Despite the fact that these (public) companies are partially owned by entity-level governments, which means that they also are entitled to budget financial means receiving, the information regarding the allocation of these financial means are often not transparent and unavailable. The biggest financial budget for this particular purpose is certainly in hands of telecom operators and providers such as BH Telecom and HT Eronet”, claimed Radevic – Mrkic.
She stated that significant funds are allocated by Elektroprivreda (op.a. Electrical Distribution Public Enterprise), Autoputevi RS (Motorways of the Republic of Srpska) and Autoceste Federacije (Motorways of the Federation of BiH) as well. “Taking into consideration that leading functions and executive boards are run and managed by political party individuals or groups, financial means are often allocated and distributed to biased media houses, that would, in particular, way, make and broadcast reports regarding the affirmative and positive results conducted by local governing authorities in return. By doing this, public companies represent an ideal channel for dispersing personal interests and media control. Pre-election campaigns are also financed in this specific way, because the financial means for commercial advertising are significantly increased during the pre-election period”, claimed Radevic – Mrkic Radevic – Mrkic also confirmed the existence and presence of “alternative” media houses, having absolutely no chance in allocation of the above mentioned financial means, because they can manage and operate without being subjects to political party influences and impacts the politics often impose.
“Media means are also dispersed through various projects implemented by governments at all levels through grants, funds etc. The government of the Republic of Srpska allocated millions of BAM for all media houses supporting the present governing authorities and their political system. During the survey and research process Elektroprivreda HZHB (op.a. Electrical Distribution Public Enterprise), and HT Eronet Mostar were exceptionally non – transparent in terms of cooperation and information sharing”, said Radevic – Mrkic.
Money for media through public budget sources non – transparent
Anida Sokol from Sarajevo Media Center explained to us, through the interview we had with her, about how the governing authorities allocate money to media houses, how transparent those allocations are in reality; what kind of criteria the governing authorities accept and do all media houses have the same treatment as far as financing from public budget sources is concerned. “There are two basic ways by which the governing authorities in BiH finance media houses: through direct allocations and through commercial advertising.
It is important to outline here that in BiH, biggest money amount is dispersed (almost two-thirds of the total amount) to public cantonal and local broadcasters (there are 81 TV public radio and TV broadcasters in BiH), as well as to entity-level news agencies (FENA and SRNA). Public broadcasting service media houses (BHRT, FTV, and RTRS) should normally be financed through the system of RTV Tax Fess payment and through commercial advertising marketing sources, which represents (to some extent) editing independence. However, because of the fact that the amount that should have been collected through the RTV Tax Fee payments has rapidly decreased, BiH governing authorities (at all levels), have been allocating financial means to public service broadcasters as well.
Additionally, Republic of Srpska government allocated BAM 2, 0 million last year to RTRS due to financial struggle this public broadcaster was in. This year, Republic of Srpska government shall allocate less than BAM 3, 0 million to public media houses. Another way which governing authorities use for allocation of public budget financial means is through commercial advertising which again is part of the public procurement system. Most public money for commercial advertising is spent by public companies with telecom operators (providers) leading this list, but also governments at all levels buy this media space, including advertising services and prepayments.
Therefore, for instance, local governing authorities spend around BAM 200,00 for a single greeting post message in the local newspaper and this amount often reaches up to BAM 100.000,00 for television broadcasting advertising the work of local authorities, including city or municipal mayor, local assemblies etc”, claimed Sokol. After being asked about the transparency and criteria required for media financing, Sokol said that detailed and precise long-term surveys and analysis are required in order to attain at least partial information regarding the amount of money that the governments have been allocating to media houses and this fact, as far as the non-transparency of this process is concerned.
Allocation to media houses should be issued and released by government authorities in a proactive manner and the allocated money amounts should be consolidated and available to the general public. Budget by governing authorities is to some extent unavailable and subject to further survey and research and often it is very difficult to determine the exact amount of money allocated to certain media houses. Media financing is often classified as the collective budget item such as “means aimed for informing”, and thus it is almost impossible to identify the end user of these financial means.
Furthermore, governing authorities do not reply and respond to inquiries regarding these specific kinds of allocations, and the media houses also fail to release an issue proactively all relevant information in relation with the amount of money they receive from public budget funds. Public media should, pursuant to entity-level laws and legislative on public companies, release and issue information regarding their financial business operating, although no public media houses have ever done this.
For example, Media Center has implemented the survey and research on local public media houses and our researches sent a questionnaire to public local and cantonal broadcasters in BiH (81 in total) and only 14 of these replied and answered to our questions, in regard with earnings and incomes deriving from public budget funds”, said Sokol. The fact that media houses (broadcasting and posting reports where they openly criticize governing authorities) do not receive money from governing officials, does indeed speak for itself. However, we cannot claim that media houses are the only entity biased towards political parties that receive public budget money through many different ways; but also, media that do not broadcast or post critics directed to local governing officials.
Bearing in mind the decline of earnings deriving from commercial advertising sources, the BiH governing authorities have become an increasing and significant source of earnings for media houses. Public money is required and necessary for media survival and this money should be directed to encourage media pluralism. However, without the existence and presence of clear and precise criteria, including transparent actions, this, as a result, could open room for eventual political and financial pressures. Sokol also said that with local and cantonal based media houses, for which local and cantonal governing authorities (as their founders) must allocate money based on the founding and establishing contracts.
There were cases of financial conditioning and blackmailing or even financial budget cuts. Journalists even mentioned the presence of auto-censorship and the fact that their writing was too critical towards local governing authorities since they were their main source of financing and incomes. “City and municipal mayors and local level assemblies could randomly make decisions regarding the amount of financial funding and thus impose local media houses with pressure. It is also problematic that certain local governments with already its local public radio, pay private radio station for following the work of this local government and there are many similar cases if you go through the site of public procurements.
The survey and research conducted by non – government sector also outlined to possible samples of the instrument – based and commercial relationships between the public sector and media, purely based on political interests. Similar misuses are normally not confirmed by court verdicts and it is certain that the lack of legislative and monitoring in this particular field allows eventual misuses”, claimed Sokol.
Money for biased, not for unbiased
Marija Arnautovic, a long-term TV Liberty female journalist, and editor working at Radio Europe emphasized that money in Bosnia and Herzegovina is in many different segments, allocated, dispersed and distributed to biased groups or individuals, rather than to unbiased groups or individuals and to those who indeed deserve it. The situation is the same with money allocation to media houses. Unfortunately, there is no reliable information indicating how much, how and when any governing level authorities allocated financial means and thus funded certain media houses; however, the fact is that this money has been unequally allocated and dispersed in rather non – transparent way.
“What is known today is the fact that local governing authorities finance local media houses and that these media houses are mostly under the strong influence of the same local governing authorities. This kind of operating does jeopardize and endanger not only media freedoms and liberties but also eliminates every single type of creativity and better broadcasting program. Also, the case of public service broadcasters confirms, particularly concerning those operating in the Republic of Srpska, about this, rather enormous influence and impact imposed by the local governing authorities. I personally believe that it is not only the money (deriving from public budget lines) that influences the work of certain media house but also the money coming from big companies investing into media as these companies, according to certain surveys and research, mostly include public companies such as Telecom operators (providers) or Elektroprivreda (Electrical distribution company) which again are, also under the political influence. All of this may lead to emerging of a bedazzled circle where limited number of media houses, independent from political influences or powerful lobbies or individuals, which eventually results in poor quality program, journalists’ safety and everything that journalism should comprehend and which, above any other thing, should serve the general public interest and sustain with providing of correct, true and accurate information”, claimed Arnautovic.
In BiH, there is a so-called “unofficial rule” claiming that parties making the govern- ing coalition is “determined” to automatically rule and manage state-owned and public companies, public services, and many other institutions, which should fundamentally serve all citizens in the most appropriate way. This, of course, is not the case and both, the institutions and media houses, become servants of governing authorities and eventually become their spokespersons. Ivana Maric, a female political analyst says that money allocation for media displays an impeccable mean for public service blackmailing. “Public media services are in exceptionally independent positions because of the power they possess in terms of influencing the public opinion.
Additionally, any changes to government levels produces the changes in managing or supervising boards within public media houses, in terms of employees; many people lose their jobs and are dismissed and those so-called “non-obeying” journalists are degraded; inconvenient analysts are no more invited and asked to provide their expert comments and views, and those that are considered biased and obeying are on the other hand, favored and made priorities””, said Maric. She reckoned that this is not the only way where governing authorities impose pressure upon media houses, including both private and public media houses. Punishing and awarding media houses is done by the governing authorities through marketing controlling, where they define and determine which companies they shall advertise and for how long. “If media houses obey and are biased towards the local governing politics, they shall in return be provided with extra incomes and consequently make extra profit, on the other hand, if they dare to instigate, initiate or launch any story they shouldn’t or story where they criticize the governing authorities, they shall certainly pay the price for disobeying such politics through the budget money allocation, which in most cases will be significantly reduced or even terminated permanently.
As long as financial flows and money allocation dispersed to media houses is not clearly distinct from an ongoing politics, we cannot expect professional and independent journalism. Until this happens we shall witness media houses and journalists “playing the tune as conducted by a band leader”, because they shall find themselves in a position where they (and this does make sense in terms of financial existence) have to keep their jobs and provide financial existence for themselves and their families.
The certain number of media houses is somehow managing the resist local political influences although they mostly base their work on critics directed towards illegal actions and operations done by local governing authorities. They manage to survive and sustain primarily with the help and aid provided by international financiers”, emphasized Maric. For the time being, there has been no concrete concept of public interests which should be served through various types of financing. Public media in BiH, including three public RTV services, local and cantonal broadcasters and entity – level agencies, are now placed in the specific position of a complete dependability by the local governing authorities. One of the main reasons for such occurrences is incongruously actual forms of their financing.
This text is a part of E-Bulletin– sixth edition of special serial of BHN online bulletin implemented through the “Media and Public Reputation” (origin. “Mediji i javni ugled”) project, also representing a contribution to public debate regarding the transparency of media ownership and upholding and encouraging the passing of set of laws aimed to advance media field and information market in BiH.