Bosnia-Herzegovina

[BA] Amendments to the BHRT Statute Adopted

IRIS 2011-7:1/10

Dusan Babic

Media Analyst, Sarajevo

On 26 April 2011 the BHRT’s (Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina) Governing Board - composed of four appointed members - adopted amendments to the BHRT Statute.

The Statute now entrusts the Board with full editorial and managerial control over the broadcaster, including the prior approval of programmes and the recruitment of editors, which actually should be the role of the Director General.

The OSCE Representative for the Media criticised these developments as “a further indication of the crisis and stalled reform process of the public service broadcasting system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, [which] also highlights the urgent need for the Parliament to appoint two members of the BHRT Governing Board, to replace those whose mandates expired one and two years ago. [...] Public service broadcasting is one of the basic tools of democracies. The objective and pluralistic news it can offer is indispensable in ensuring the freedom and transparency of elections, in fighting against corruption and in informing the people about all issues of public importance. Public broadcasters can only do so if their infrastructure is legally protected, including a guaranteed editorial autonomy.”