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IWPR & MEDIA PLAN
MONITORING REPORT
19 March 1997 Vol II / No 11 part I
The B&H Media Fortnight in Review: 3 March
- 16 March
While the media greeted yet another postponement of
the B&H municipal elections with indifference, the signing on
February 28 of an agreement on special relations between the FRY
and RS generated a great deal more controversy and excitement.
The fact that the RS National Assembly ratified the agreement on
the same day Croatian president Franjo Tudjman visited Mostar,
and Alija Izetbegovic, Chairman of the Presidency of BH, headed
up a single-nation delegation to Saudi Arabia, left political and
media analysts speculating on the extent to which these events
were interrelated.
In this issue:
The cantonal government has decided to remove the majority of
Sarajevo's news kiosks, drastically reducing the possible outlets
for press distribution. This most affects the publishers of daily
newspapers, and OPRESA, B&H's biggest press distributor,
which has lost 29 of its 50 kiosks. Representatives of the
dailies Vecernje novine and Oslobodjenje are concerned as
licenses for kiosk locations are extremely difficult to obtain
and also because it seems that Dnevni Avaz has much less
difficulty with its distribution, and seems to enjoy a privileged
position in this respect.
Governor Haracic, please inform us whether the policy of removing
old and installing new kiosks has taken account of the need to
protect the interests of all print media and distributors
equally.
The media and their political sponsors have never openly
opposed the Dayton agreement, instead, they tend to interpret its
provisions in various and, indeed, contradictory ways. While the
RS and Belgrade media celebrated the agreement on special
relations between the FRY and RS as a new step towards
strengthening peace and the Dayton provisions, the Sarajevo media
saw it as an attack on the sovereignty of B&H.
RTV Srpska (SRT) considered the formalisation of this special
relationship an "historic document" quoting Dragan
Kalinic, president of the RS National Assembly (Novosti 1/3). It
was Momcilo Krajisnik, however, the Serb member of the B&H
presidency who, having signed the Belgrade agreement on behalf of
RS, took the leading media role. Appearing on the Novosti of
March 2 he said: "We have signed nothing which the
Federation has not itself signed with Croatia, Turkey, Iran or
Pakistan." Radio Srpska and SRT responded to the negative
reactions of both Alija Izetbegovic, Chairman of the Presidency
and Haris Silajdzic, Co-Chair of the Council of Ministers Of
B&H, with special commentaries (3/1 & 4/1)
The session of the RS National Assembly on Mt. Jahorina, at which
the agreement was ratified, was broadcast live on SRT (15/3). It
was proposed that the assembly re-examine the appropriateness of
Article 14, which required the additional ratification of this
document by the B&H Parliament. This was in fact a small
concession to RS President Biljana Plavsic, who had considerable
reservations concerning the content of the agreement, the way in
which it was prepared ("It is time we gave up these secret
party deals"), and the very act of signing ("I am
obliged to take great care over what is signed, and by
whom").
RTV B&H newscasts greeted the signing of the agreement with a
chorus of criticism. Journalists and politicians were unanimous
in their view that it conflicted with Dayton and endangered the
existence of B&H. TV B&H endeavored to show that the
international community entirely shared this opinion, although
Carl Bildt's statement, which did not a priori reject the
agreement but warned that it "must be ratified by the
B&H Parliament", was reported without nuance. In Dnevnik
of 3 March the presenter's comment that "all international
parties are unanimous that the agreement is in conflict with
Dayton." was repeated by the reporter who interviewed
Michael Steiner, Bildt's deputy. Yet the reporter could not have
heard such an explicit opinion from Steiner himself. The
diplomat, in the part of the interview actually broadcast, said
only that "there are parts of this agreement that provoke
skepticism." Finally, introducing a report on the session of
the RS National Assembly which ratified the agreement, the
presenter termed the event "ridiculous", referring to
the FRY representative Milomir Minic as "an ex-communist
youth, now representing Milosevic." Whether deliberate or
not, this spoilt any impression of professionalism in the report
that followed.
TV-INFO (TVIN) devoted considerable coverage to the Belgrade
agreement, primarily through exhaustive reports from the press
conference of the international mission representatives. An
exclusive statement from Bildt's special representative Michael
Maclay (3/1) was followed by a statement (excerpted from
interview) by Bildt himself. But over the next two weeks TVIN
apparently forgot all about the agreement, or why it might be
important. On 3/15 the news that the RS assembly had ratified the
agreement was placed after international news, the news of
Tudjman's visit to Mostar, and two interviews on matters of minor
importance. The assembly session was described in a mere two or
three sentences, and included the inaccurate report that RS
president Biljana Plavsic had dissociated herself from the
agreement and regarded it as non-binding (Plavsic had, in fact,
accepted the agreement under pressure from the SDS).
The same day, TVIN neglected to mention Izetbegovic's visit to
Saudi Arabia and Premier Edhem Bicakcic's trip to Washington to
prepare for a US- Bosnian summit. The relegation of similar
events to the margins of news coverage, was typical of what seems
to have become the attitude of this station. Its apparent
inability to prioritise news or cover the issues of the day in
large measure devalues its complementary media advantages.
TV Serbia, having for some time shown a notable lack of interest
in events in B&H, suddenly rediscovered Republika Srpska
after the signing of the agreement on mutual relations,
exhibiting a fresh interest in the fate of this segment of the
Serbian people. The agreement provided a media opportunity for
the Belgrade regime to emerge from political quarantine and take
the initiative in the important area of articulating pan-Serb
national interests (1/3). The same Dnevnik broadcast Momcilo
Krajisnik's statement that "the agreement was signed not
because of the political needs of those in power," while the
accompanying commentary ascribed all credit to Slobodan
Milosevic, "by means of whose exceptional skill and ability
many obstacles to the agreement were avoided." So that there
was no dilemma about the object of praise, the commentator
mentioned Milosevic no less than four times as the one most
meritorious in the "Serbian cause". Using the statement
made by Krajisnik, that "it was a happy people who were not
governed by such persons" as Vesna Pesic and Vuk Draskovic
(Zoran Djindjic was not included), the agreement was also used as
an opportunity to criticise the Zajedno coalition partners who
had attacked its signing as a piece of cheap political
merchandising. Might this help to explain why the agreement was
signed by Krajisnik, and not by Plavsic ?
Finally, in the absence of reactions from Croatian officials, the
Croatian media in B&H were content to broadcast only brief
agency reports on these events.
IWPR & MEDIA PLAN
MONITORING REPORT
19 March 1997 Vol II / No 11 part II
The B&H Media Fortnight in Review: 3 March
- 16 March
From 17 February to 17 March monitors registered the frequency
with which prominent politicians representing the three national
groups were mentioned or appeared on the main B&H news
broadcasts (see accompanying table). The twelve individuals were
chosen on the basis of the importance of their functions in state
or entity structures, or of their position in the appropriate
ruling national-party hierarchy.
The table does not contain qualitative criteria such as the
character, duration, position or presentation of the broadcasts
in which these individuals occur. This is compensated for by an
assessment of the attitude of the media towards individual
politicians: positive, negative, neutral. This indirectly
indicates the degree of this personÆs influence on the formation
of public opinion, as well assessing that mediaÆs stance towards
them.
RTV BH Radio B&H
Federal Premier Edhem Bicakcic gained the most attention on
Radio B&H. In three out of twenty one occasions this was in a
context of criticism, when questions were put to him concerning
the payment of Bosnia s gas debt (25/2), the release of funds
from the previously frozen account of the cantonal hospital in
Bihac (5/3), and the honouring of promises made to war invalids
(11/3).
B&H Presidency member Momcilo Krajisnik received the most
negative treatment, though spread over relatively few references,
in the context of his signing the controversial agreement on
special relations between the FRY and RS.
Similarly negative treatment was applied to the Croatian member
of the Presidency Kresimir Zubak. For example Radio B&H
broadcast the statement of Muslim Bosnjak Organisation (MBO) Vice
President Mufo Kafedzic in connection with the recent bloodshed
in Mostar, accusing Zubak of "protecting those whose
criminal acts were proven" (28/2).
Biljana Plavsic was rarely mentioned, one of only four references
appearing in a report on the session of the RS National Assembly
that ratified the agreement with the FRY. In this she was
described as "the insulted President of Republika
Srpska", who regarded the document as non-binding
"because Momcilo Krajisnik had signed it, not her in her
capacity as RS President."
Bozo Rajic, president of the HDZ in Bosnia, and RS foreign
minister Aleksa Buha remain for now unmentioned on Radio B&H.
TV B&H
On TV B&HÆs Dnevnik, Alija Izetbegovic (35) remained the
politician most frequently accorded coverage, followed by Haris
Silajdzic (27), Ejup Ganic (18) and Edhem Bicakcic (16).
Bosnjak politicians owe their frequent Dnevnik appearances not
only to their state activities but to their frequent attendance
at assorted cultural and commercial events, their commentaries on
current political issues (in which Haris Silajdzic holds first
place), and their open letters, telegrams of condolence and so
on. Izetbegovic appeared most frequently in his capacity as
Chairman of the BH Presidency, and only once as SDA president.
His state activities took precedence over the activities of other
politicians in terms of the order in which these were mentioned.
Croatian politicians received notably less coverage, with the
exception of Kresimir Zubak who appeared fifteen times. His HDZ
colleagues were only marginally mentioned: B&H Foreign
minister Jadranko Prlic four times and Bozo Rajic, HDZ President,
once. Federal Vice-President Drago Bilandzija, with the fading of
the "Lijanovic" scandal over tax concessions granted to
the company, has sunk into media obscurity.
It was noticeable that of Serbian politicians TV B&H gave
most prominence to Boro Bosic, Co-Chair of the Council of
Ministers. Following each session of the council his speeches
were accorded coverage equal with those of Haris Silajdzic,
though there was no such reciprocity on SRT. References to
Momcilo Krajisnik and Biljana Plavsic were largely in accordance
with agency reports of their meetings with foreign officials.
None of the Croatian or Serbian politicians listed were the
subject of either offensive commentaries or praise in the period
monitored. TV B&H is extremely restrained in its criticism of
any action on the part of official Bosnjak representatives, very
rarely commenting on their activities.
SRT
SRT prefers to cover Serbian political representatives, more
or less marginalising those of the other nations, when not
portraying them in markedly negative contexts. The opening and
closing slots of main RTV bulletins are normally reserved for
Biljana Plavsic and Momcilo Krajisnik on any day in which they
have public engagements. While the leading news item more often
concerns Plavsic than Krajisnik, this depends on the significance
of the meeting or importance of the theme discussed. Biljana
Plavsic was by far the most frequently mentioned politician on
Srpska Radio (39), while Momcilo Krajisnik held first place on
SRT (22).
After sessions of the B&H Presidency or Council of Ministers,
SRT normally broadcasts anything said by the Serb members of
these bodies, Momcilo Krajisnik and Boro Bosic, constituting a
sort of substitute for formal statements. The other members of
these joint organs are seen but not heard and SRT never
broadcasts statements made by the Croatian or Bosnjak
representatives.
Aleksa Buha, SDS President and RS "head of diplomacy"
also occupies a consistently important place on SRT, often in the
latter capacity, discussing key political issues such as the
Brcko arbitration, the elections, and military concerns.
It is interesting that of the representatives of the other
nations Chairman of the B&H Presidency Alija Izetbegovic took
an easy lead on SRT, and even surpassed Momcilo KrajisnikÆs
tally on Radio Srpska. Unfortunately, many of the reports were
covering the Banja Luka court in which Izetbegovic is being tried
in absentia for war crimes.
The opening of the trial in the Hague of three Bosnjaks and one
Croat accused of perpetrating war crimes against Serbs in the
Celebici camp in 1992 was announced by the presenter of Novosti
with the words: "Instead of the trial of the man who gave
the orders, Alija Izetbegovic, in The Hague tomorrow, the trial
of three Muslims commences..."(9/3). Some rather overheated
commentaries were also broadcast following IzetbegovicÆs and
SilajdzicÆs opposition to the signing of the agreement on
special relations between the FRY and RS (3/3 & 4/3). It is
clear that Izetbegovic ranks lowest in a qualitative rating of
all Federation politicians covered in the media. In him SRT
continues to see the chief protagonist of "a unitary Bosnia
under the domination of the Muslims."
Haris Silajdzic, Co-Chair of the Council of Ministers also
received frequent mention, again, more often with negative than
neutral connotations. Federation Vice President Ejup Ganic was
neglected, though he had earlier been the subject of scathing
criticism and, like Izetbegovic, has been charged in the Banja
Luka war crimes trial. Federation Premier Edhem Bicakcic, like
the government he heads, has not merited the slightest attention
from SRT.
The most senior Croatian representatives, Kresimir Zubak and
Jadranko Prlic, received only occasional mention on SRTÆs
newscasts, their names usually appearing in neutral, and not
negative context. Zubak (his name always accompanied by his
photograph) is the only Federation politician with whom SRT has
broadcast an interview, following his Banja Luka meeting with
Biljana Plavsic (4/3).
Foreign minister Jadranko Prlic, is referred to only in the
context of decisions reached by the B&H Presidency, and
particularly in connection with any preparations for foreign
diplomatic missions. SRT otherwise paid no attention to PrlicÆs
activities, even ignoring a visit to London decided upon by the
joint B&H Presidency. Serbian media still do not regard the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a joint B&H institution.
Croatian Radio Herceg-Bosna
The station tended to refer to B&H Presidency members in
the context of their official duties, with IzetbegovicÆs name
usually treated neutrally, though once in a notably negative
context when he threatened to resign prior to the Brcko verdict.
References to Momcilo Krajisnik were a consequence of both the
events and controversy surrounding the agreement on special
relations between the FRY and RS, while Kresimir Zubak was
mentioned exclusively in the context of his official duties.
The Co-Chairmen of the B&H Council of Ministers, Boro Bosic
and Haris Silajdzic, were of little interest to Radio
Herceg-Bosna whose reports on the sessions of the Council rarely
containing their names (11/3). Foreign Minister Jadranko Prlic
was mentioned only twice in connection with his official
activities.
Federal Premier Edhem Bicakcic was seldom mentioned in connection
with the regular activities of the Federation Government and it
would seem that Bicakcic was of more interest in his capacity as
a member of the Welcoming Committee for the Pope (4/3 & 5/3).
Fellow Federation leaders, Vice- Presidents Ejup Ganic and Drago
Bilandzija, scarcely figured in Radio Herceg-BosnaÆs broadcasts.
HDZ president Bozo Rajic meanwhile, was most frequently mentioned
during this period in connection with his dispute with SDP
president Nijaz Durakovic.
Topping the ratings list for Radio Herceg-Bosna, in terms of
frequency of appearance, general interest and the manner of
glorification, was the "father of the nation and president
of all Croats" Dr. Franjo Tudjman. Immediately behind him
came Mijo Brajkovic, governor of the Neretva canton and former
mayor of West Mostar. He was followed by Gojko Susak, the
Croatian defence minister, while the remaining twelve names on
our monitored list proved to be of minor interest.
Mirror, mirror on the wall...
In its reports on The Hague Tribunal, RTV B&H had until
recently used the TribunalÆs official terminology. However the
language has altered somewhat since the appearance in the dock of
the Bosnjaks in the Celebici case, described by RTV B&H as
being "accused of crimes supposedly committed against
Bosnian Serbs.
"Choose your words carefully!" might also be the advice
needed by the Radio B&H reporter, who said of a certain
Mostar official that "he quoted a number of facts that were
at variance with the truth" (3/3).
The first item on TV B&HÆs Dnevnik of March 4 concerned the
explosion that rocked St MarkÆs Church in Sarajevo. The
presenter called it "a terrorist attack on the church,"
while a reporter said that "an explosion occurred in the
immediate vicinity of the church." Were it not for the large
number of condemnations of this terrorist attack that followed,
viewers could have been left in some doubt as to where the
explosion had actually occurred.
The actual situation in the Federation continued to be the main
preoccupation of Radio Herceg-Bosna. Many reports asserted that
the Bosnjaks wished to frustrate the establishment of Federal
organs of government, and at the same time prevent the PopeÆs
arrival in Sarajevo. This was most explicitly stated in the
Chronicle of 4 March when a presenter introduced an interview
with Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Jozo Leotar, with the
following: "The increased terrorist activities of Muslim
extremists, and the hypocrisy of Muslim policies, which speak of
building the Federation but in fact destroy it, are the subject
of our conversation with... Jozo Leotar".On the PopeÆs
visit to Sarajevo, Leotar himself said that: "The Bosnjak
side says one thing through its media, but we on the other hand
do not see the slightest signs of welcome for the Holy
Father...."
Croatian TV (HRT) devoted a special half-hour programme, at
peak viewing time, to President Franjo Tudjman s visit on March
15 to the dedication of an aluminium factory in West Mostar and
to Medjugorje, the Catholic shrine in Herzegovina. The report did
not include the controversial remarks of Mijo Brajkovic, Neretva
governor and former mayor of the Croat-held west part of Mostar,
who insulted the EU and former EU administrator of the city, Hans
Koschnick. It also failed to mention that Sir Martin Garrod,
Deputy of the High Representative in Mostar had walked out of the
ceremony at the aluminium plant, or even remark on the notable
absence of Bosnjak representatives. No indication was given that
Tudjman was visiting a foreign country. HRT presented the
Croatian President"s visit in the spirit of the HDZ's
election slogan " in our own faith, on our own land ".
- A round-table discussion on "Ethics and
Professionalism in Bosnian Journalism" was held in
Sarajevo on March 7 and 8, including print journalists
and editors from the Federation and Republika Srpska. The
meeting was organised by the Independent Union of
Professional Journalists of B&H, the Council of
Europe, the International Federation of Newspaper
Publishers (FIEJ), and the International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ). (Oslobodjenje, 9 March)
- OSCE officials have criticised the Croatian media in west
Mostar for falsely reporting certain recent events in the
city.
- At a press conference of international organisations in
Mostar OSCE spokesman David Foley stated that the media
in the part of the city under Bosnian Croat control had
failed to broadcast MostarÆs Vice-Mayor Safet Orucevic
personal appeal for refugees of Croatian nationality to
return to the part of the city under B&H control.
Orucevic had made the call in the wake of clashes between
Bosnjaks and Croats in Mostar and following criticism by
Croat officials that there was no will for these refugees
to return. Croatian radio and TV had ignored the
statement.
- According to David Foley, media in the western part of
the city had also published false reports concerning the
local elections in respect of Mostar. (Oslobodjenje, 12
March)
- Avaz Weekly, the first Bosnian-Herzegovinian English-
language weekly, was launched in Sarajevo on 14 March and
will consist mainly of texts translated from the daily
Dnevni Avaz.
This venture is directed not only at the diplomatic corps and
international political circles, but also at those journalists
interested in Bosnia & Herzegovina. We hope that Avaz Weekly
will provide them with useful material for political comment and
analysis, said editor Edina Becirevic. (Dnevni Avaz, 15 March)
NB: We would like to apologise for an error made in the
Bosnian original of this bulletin, in the section on TVIN, and
note that this has been rectified in this English language
version.
IWPR & Media Plan would like to express their heartfelt
thanks to Mark Wheeler, IWPR's Project Director in Sarajevo from
May 1996 to March 1997. We wish him the very best in his new role
in the UN as Chair of the Media Experts Commission in Vukovar,
Eastern Slavonia.
IWPR, Media Plan and the editorial board for Monitoring Report
The following media were monitored for this weekÆs report:
Srpski Radio, Srpska TV, Radio BiH, TV BiH, TVIN, Hrvatski radio
HB, TV Srbije, HB Televizija, Hrvatska televizija,
A Report by MEDIA PLAN and IWPR; Project Director: Zoran
Udovicic Obala Kulina bana 4/I, 71000 Sarajevo, B&H Tel/Fax
071-667-734/735 E-mail: MEDIAPLAN_ZU@ZAMIR-SA.ztn.apc.org &
101657.3100@compuserve.com
MEDIA PLAN is Bosnia's first private company specialising in
media research and analysis. Its central aim is to promote the
renewal and development of the B&H media. The company has at
its disposal an extensive data-base on the Bosnian media scene.
MEDIA PLAN has correspondents in Tuzla, Zenica, Mostar, Banja
Luka and Bihac, as well as in Sarajevo. Eighteen monitors,
researchers and other staff are engaged in work on Monitoring
Report.
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war. It publishes the monthly journal War Report and the
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