Media in BiH gives superficial and sensationalist reports on corruption

Banja Luka, September 30, 2011. – For the purpose of the Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prime Communications conducted an Analysis of the media reporting on corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the period of August 15  to August 28, 2011., including the analysis of reports’ frequency on corruption and the manner in which the media interpret the cases of corruption that are being reported.

In the mentioned period of two weeks, there were 135 press releases related to corruption, in nine daily newspapers, (Dnevni Avaz, Dnevni list, Euro Blic, Fokus, Glas Srpske, Nezavisne novine, Oslobodjenje, Press, Vecernji list), two weekly newspapers ( Dani, Slobodna Bosna), three TV stations (news programmes of BHT, FTV and RTS, with two features from OBN and TV SA) and seven web sites (24sata.info, bih-x.info, biznis.ba, depo.ba, dnevnik.ba, Sarajevo-x.com, zurnal.info).

Events that received the most media attention in the last period, when it comes to alleged cases of corruption, are the accusations on nepotism within the Social Democratic Party BiH, and the operation “Coffee” that was carried out by the State Investigation and Protection Agency. As well as in most cases in BiH, there is a difference in the media reporting in the Federation of BiH and the Republic of Srpska. In FBiH  the intensity of some media reporting is not caused by endeavours to present such corruptive activities to the public, but emphasizing who’s the ‘actor’ of those activities i.e. of which political party. However, the media from RS, primarily Glas Srpske, Fokus, Press and Nezavisne novine, put an emphasis on ‘ where’ they take place, so that all the press releases, published in these media, refer to the cases of corruption in FBiH or at state level, without any reference to similar cases in RS.

Referring to the contents of press releases on corruption, in relation to whether they talk about certain activities or give notices of activities to combat corruption, it might be concluded that corruption is much more a phenomenon that is being rumored than a subject of activities aimed at its sanctioning or prevention. Namely, only 24% of press releases were related to the implemented activities, 16% of them contained future planned activities to combat corruption, while 60% of press releases didn’t mention any activities, neither for future nor in the last period.

When the analyzed contents are observed as news genre, there is a high percentage (39%) of interpretive genres within which journalists and/or information resources, by interpreting certain events, pass their own valued opinions. If we add comments, columns and analytical genres, in which authors also give their interpretations, it appears that almost half of the analyzed text and features are followed by valued opinions on events that are being reported.  It is noticed that, focusing on interpretation about a certain event, except through their own attitudes or choices of information resources, supporting a particular attitude, journalists are able to achieve by making a selection of headlines. It also happens that through the selection of headlines, they give preference to the interpretation of one information resource to detriment of another, which has offered opposing interpretation, and there is a clear fact that more than a half of the analyzed texts (52%) had interpretive and suggestive headlines.

What is particularly distressing is that information resources on corruption are mostly representatives of political parties, who have pointed to corruptive activities connected to conflicts within party members or accusations among parties (36 press releases). The credibility of those accusations in some cases is doubtful, because they are coming from party representatives, whose many members were suspected or prosecuted for criminal acts of corruption. Next to the party members, as information resources there are representatives of institutions and then representatives of civil society. When it comes to resources, it is necessary to point out that most press releases are based on one or no resources i.e. 51 releases on one source, 14 on two, 11 on three or more sources while 59 releases are not based on reports of information resources.

Unfortunately, all the mentioned data indicate that investigative journalism in BiH, if it’s possible to talk about it, still isn’t at an adequate level, and the media often follow sensationalism, and become a victim and a weapon in inter-party, political and inter-entity conflicts even when it is about corruption.