INTERVIEW: JASMIN DURAKOVIC, DIRECTOR OF RTV FEDERATION BIH: CENTRALIZED PLANNING AND DECENTRALIZED PRODUCTION

by Radenko Udovičić

Television Federation BiH started broadcasting on October 27, which is another in a series of key events in the transformation of the broadcasting system in this country unfolding under the international community’s sponsorship. Basically, the former RTV BiH no longer exists and the country’s media space is closer to the final goal of creating a public broadcasting system in Bosnia-Herzegovina composed of three media organizations – RTV Republika Srpska, RTV Federation BiH and the nationwide public RTV (PBS). Practically, the efforts of domestic staff and the international community are now directed towards creating conditions for functional, self-productive work of the PBS, which should bring together journalists from both entities.

The startup of TV Federation BiH (radio program started several months earlier) was accompanied by a lot of political skepticism, mostly coming from the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Croats, because this television station took over the frequencies that had been used for years by Croatian Television HRT (at first illegally, and then legally). Federation Television thus got the unrewarding role of having to become a worthy replacement for HRT and having to become a television that would satisfy the social and cultural needs of all the peoples living in the Federation. For a media organization this can sometimes be a big burden and development obstacle. The challenge was accepted by Jasmin Durakovic, recently appointed director of Radio-Television Federation BiH, who had previously held the position of editor of TVBiH cultural program. Durakovic belongs to the so-called middle journalist generation. He worked for many independent newspapers, usually as cultural pages editor. On a number of occasions he showed good political understanding, which will certainly help him in resolving the many difficulties of running the largest media system in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

We talked with Jasmin Durakovic about his development vision of Television Federation BiH. According to him, it is based on centralized planning and decentralized production.

Mr. Durakovic, when you were appointed director of Radio Television Federation BiH, the explanation was that of all the candidates, you offered the best program. However, it has not been publicly announced in any media outlet what your program, which won you trust for such an important job, consisted of?

The media generally focus on the event, not the essence, and therefore no one has even asked me what I offered. I offered my vision of a whole range of issues that make up a public service, especially in a country with such specific political characteristics. There are two things here. First, the post-Dayton Bosnia, as a complex state, really requires new forms of organizing a public service like television. I acknowledged Federation Television as part of the overall public service in the country where this TV’s place will be defined, as well as the place of Television Republika Srpska, as the other constitutional part of the country, and of course of the PBS project, the nationwide project. Naturally, we at Federation Television must take into account the particularities in the social, cultural and religious milieu and we must profile the program in such a way that it makes allowance for these things based on certain civilizational achievements and standards.

However, on the other hand, a medium by itself, especially television, is pure industry. It has its own rules – related to production, structure, etc. What seems important to me is that it was essential to change the television that we had. But not only in the framework of these political agreements; also in the sphere that gives the medium its identity – in the professional, ideological and production sense. Namely, we have a legacy of a television created here over the past 30 years in the time of communism. That television had its professional standards and they must not be underestimated. But that television was marked by the ideological character of the society of that period. Then we had television during the war. That time had its merits, but it was also a time of major sidetracks in program content and the internal structure of the house. In the past few years we moved away from public service standards in Europe. And it is precisely these standards that I listed in my program – centralized planning and decentralized production. Being a complex system, it calls for centralized planning carried out by a professional management that will take into account all the aspects that this television offers its viewers, and on the other hand decentralized production. Here is what this means. At this moment we are developing three production forms in the house, which I consider my own small credit. One is the old one, the system of departments that plan and create program and production. That system cannot be replaced overnight as it is part of the local tradition in any television, including ours. On the other hand, besides this we have enabled the development of an in-house production model where more and more projects are implemented outside of departments. This means that individuals run these projects, from the initial idea to the final implementation. This is a new experience. Although there is resistance, this model is developing. The third model is to develop production through independent producers. At this moment we have already provided 10 percent independent production in our program as we are obliged by the law. But that is what we want. It is not a matter of being forced to do it by the law; it is our goal and need. This enables us to engage out-of-house professionals. Most of these projects are documentary series and some are entertainment programs. We control the news and political program and, naturally, we cannot give that to independent houses. These three production models, in my opinion, must lead to more internal and in-house competition for the programs we make, but also competition with independent production as the third element. Actually, in this way we are creating an environment for better quality program.

One’s own production and especially cooperation with independent producers in principle requires money. Also, in order for Federation Television to become the strongest television station in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the whole country, it is essential to buy foreign programs, which also requires a lot of money. How is Federation Television financed?

At this moment, compared to some other stations, for example HRT (Croatian Television), we are a small television in the financial sense. Our revenues come primarily from the license fee. We have a lot of problems in that regard for various reasons, from political reasons to reasons that have to do with us ourselves. At this moment 41 percent of the license fee is raised in the Federation. Compared to HRT which raises 98 percent, this is really a huge difference. In my plan for next year I aim for 60 percent by the end of 2002. It is very hard, especially after a war, to reintroduce the habit of paying the license fee because people do not understand that it is an obligation. They are not aware that license fee, as anywhere in Europe, is an instrument that protects citizens from the influence of politics on their public television.

A second means of financing is marketing. Marketing makes up 30 to 33 percent of our total revenues. Our total revenues are two to 2.5 million marks, which is enough to give salaries to employees and invest some money, although not enough, into programming. Another one of our major problems is that we do not have enough money to invest in technological reconstruction. In the last 10 to 15 years we have become a completely archaic television and we have reached the end of our editing equipment, cameras and transmitters. We must do something urgently, either in cooperation with our government, because the government as the founder is obligated to invest in these things from its budget, or with the help of certain international institutions. At this moment it is most likely that help will come from the European Union. In the next two years they promised eight million euros for helping the reconstruction of the public service in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which also includes TV Republika Srpska and PBS. Of course, in order to get that money, we must meet certain conditions. These conditions primarily concern proper establishment of television as a public service.

All the media in Bosnia-Herzegovina, especially television, have a staffing problem. During the war, and also after it, a large number of professionals left this house. Now that the transformation of the public broadcasting system has finally started, some people have returned and television has been freshened up. Is there a strategy of filling the “staffing holes”? Has a general announcement been made to fill vacancies in order to attract people who can successfully create program and bring about a technical revival?

I fully agree that television has experienced a staffing decline. There has been a large brain drain over the last 10 years, due to political circumstances but also due to in-house reasons. However, we must take into account the fact that in communism television had a monopoly as there was only one television. Private media started being established over the past 10 years and it was normal and a result of market conditions that some staff left TVBiH.

What we are doing now is trying to change these things, actually to create an environment in which we will be the strongest television in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which we actually are even now, but we must truly confirm our position. We will try to attract people to work for this house. We will place emphasis on creative people of all profiles, from journalists to directors, but we will also strongly cooperate with independent production. But even independent production programs are practically our programs. We order and pay for these programs; they are only implemented by someone who is not permanently here. Another important thing is that we will be able to hire the people we need on contract. If someone has a one-year project for a TV show, that is how long he or she will be tied by contract. Up until now we had a situation that some people bought their social peace by working here permanently. We now have a possibility to hire people for a limited time, which means that someone may be hired for one year and have all the benefits resulting from such employment. But this person will also have a higher salary than someone who is employed permanently. This practice exists in Europe and in this way we will employ young people or good journalists who do not want to tie themselves to this house for life.

We must go into the sphere of politics. Part of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Croats, namely Croats who favor the HDZ as the strongest Croat party, are very distrustful towards Federation Television. Also, some Bosniaks are unsatisfied that TV Bosnia-Herzegovina has disappeared, which had been a symbol of statehood and with which a considerable number of Bosniaks identified. These circumstances must surely make your work difficult. How can this be overcome? Is there a strategy? Will the television try to win over this distrustful population by some political stand or just by quality of program?

It really is true that in Sarajevo, in part of the Bosnian public, Federation Television is seen as a betrayal of certain principles and symbols of this country’s statehood. On the other hand, in western Herzegovina we have another kind of resistance, which you have mentioned. Of course, there is a third thing as well: it is not I, nor the journalists in this house, who caused the war. It is not I who signed the Dayton Agreement, it is not I who created the environment we have now. Looking from my position, I am not happy with this environment. I would like to live in a different country in which relationships are solved in a better way, but for now this is our political reality.

What Federation Television, in my opinion, can do is to make its program good by promoting the civilizational values that exist in every nation. Of course, we will not focus solely on this national component and we will promote primarily civil values. I, of course, see Federation TV only as part of the system, in which we also have PBS, and I would find it unacceptable if we developed this television as a television of only one part of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This would only deepen the country’s division. In any case, our goal is for the viewer in Siroki Brijeg (Croat inhabited town) to realize that this is his television too.

There is another problem here. We have learned to look at things through centralist eyes – there is one state television and this television is everything. People do not accept the fact that the public service consists of several televisions, and even local programs. Everyone is looking at things though politics and is simplifying matters in the sense that there is a Bosnian unitarianism and an anti-Bosnian separatism. Well, I do not want to look at the television’s problem in these categories. Television should find a way to express all these interests. If we succeed in that, it will be the art of running a medium. Regardless of all these differences, I think the best way is to adhere to the basic media principles, which means to be professional. In the long run this must give result. I must say in the end that I do not see Federation Television as a Bosniak-Croat television. I see it as a medium of the citizens who live in the Federation, but also wider, and a television that must find a way to respect all these particularities in our social milieu.

Radenko Udovicic is editor-in-chief of the SAFAX news agency and editor of the ‘Media Online’ news column. Translation by: K.H. ©Media Online 2001. All rights reserved.

source: MHxJU
published by: Roland Brunner rbr@medienhilfe.ch date of release on this site: 16-11-2001

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