Bosnia-Herzegovina

[BA] Act on Public Broadcasting System still in Draft

IRIS 2005-6:1/13

Dusan Babic

Media Analyst, Sarajevo

The Act on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) of Bosnia and Herzegovina is still in draft version (see IRIS 2004-1: 9). The House of Representatives of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Parliamentary Assembly rejected the report of the House of Representatives' Commission for Traffic and Communications on the draft Law on PBS.

The changes in the act should bring new provisions concerning TV licence fees and the appointment of the members of the Board of Governors. It should ensure that the management and editorial team are appointed in a way that will not threaten the independence of the PBS, as well as the autonomy of editors and reporters.

One point of discussion is the demand of the ruling political party of Bosnian Croats for a separate Croat-language channel. Currently, PBS consists of BHT1 (set up to be a state-level and countrywide broadcaster), Federal Radio and Television (FTVBiH), and Radio Televison of Republika Srpska (RTRS). Representatives of the international organizations in Bosnia-Herzegovina meanwhile offered a compromise solution: to establish three TV centres in Sarajevo, Mostar and Banjaluka, which should produce ethnically balanced programmes.