By: Lejla Turčilo.
From: Perspectives;
Publisher: Heinrich Böll Foundation
BH media and EU integration: some introductory remarks
Bosnia-Herzegovina is a country with a large number of media outlets, especially in comparison to its population size1. There are 5 daily newspapers in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 184 magazines, 148 radio stations, 47 TV stations, 6 news agencies and 80 web portals registered by the Press Council2 and Communication Regulatory Agency3. Although it is difficult to estimate how many of these media outlets deal with political issues (many of them are just entertainment-oriented and produce non-political content), this could be a good base for acquainting BH citizens with the EU integration of Bosnia-Herzegovina and related reforms. According to information from the Directorate for European Integration in BH (DEI),4 there are 235 journalists on a DEI mailing list who have been or still are reporting on EU integration. That is a big number, although the DEI claims that there are less than 10 journalists who are truly specialized in reporting about EU integration.5 There are also many governmental and non-governmental actors involved in the process of EU integration that either directly participate in the EU accession process in BH or monitor it.6 By looking only at these data we may say that there are many sources of information available, many channels of communication and many actors interested in, and available to perform EU-related journalism in Bosnia-Herzegovina and for fulfilling the three basic roles of the media in this regard: informing (providing reliable information), orientation (explaining the context and helping people to better understand the process) and education (political education of citizens regarding EU integration).
Is this however really the case? What is the general media discourse on EU accession and BH? And how is EU accession perceived by the public in Bosnia-Herzegovina?
The media are one of the main sources of information about the EU accession process for the majority of the population in BH. Most people use television as the primary source of news and information, while younger people prefer the Internet. However, it is important to mention that they do not use the official websites of EU-related institutions and organizations, such as the Directorate for European Integration, but prefer web portals and social networks as a source of news.7 The Foreign Policy Initiative in BH8 continuously monitors the public perception of EU integration processes, and one of their main findings (in 2010, 2012 and 2014) is that EU accession is not on the list of issues considered important by BH citizens. People employed in the public sector are slightly more interested in the EU integration process, as well as older and better educated people in urban areas, but young people do not show interest in this issue at all.9 Other research10 shows that media reports on integration into the EU do not help citizens to better understand the process and that EU integration is reported on either too technically (only reporting on the state of the process and steps that have or have not been taken, without deeper analysis) or for the run-of-the-mill political purposes (mainly reporting on meetings between BH and EU officials, running comments by different actors on political aspects of accession etc.). Media are not shaping the agenda regarding EU accession from the perspective of citizens (what citizens should know), but from the perspective of (mainly political) actors (following their agenda, that is, helping them to send messages they believe citizens should receive). This means that an average citizen following news about EU accession could get information on how far the process has come and who are its key actors, but would understand no better what this really means for him/her and how EU accession would affect his/her life in general. It does not come as a surprise, then, that average citizens in Bosnia-Herzegovina are not very much interested in the process of integration into the EU and do not see them as part of the solution to the many political, economic and social problems in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Media and EU accession: trends in reporting and their consequences
As we have already mentioned, when it comes to media reporting on EU integration,, the main question is not only: do the media report on EU integration, but how they report on this issue. There is limited media interest in this topic, but the manner in which they report is also problematic.
The main conclusion of the analysis of media reporting on the EU accession of Bosnia-Herzegovina, done by the Institute of Social Research, Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo11 is that there is a reduced interest in these questions, which is manifested primarily through a reduced number of texts and broadcast news items (86 articles in print media, 31 radio station broadcasts, 22 TV broadcasts in the three-month monitoring period) as well as through a domination of the news and reports as reporting genres (the news and reports made up 58% of the content in the press sample, 87% on the radio, while on television 41% of the content was news accompanied by images and 41% of broadcasts were TV packages). The media usually follow the agenda set by the protagonists of the events related to EU integration, that is to say, they cover the events to which they are invited and report about these in the form of the news or report (a current event was the occasion for reporting in the press in 60% of the cases, the situation on the radio was the same, while on TV a current event was the occasion in 50% of the cases). These are mostly short articles and/or broadcasts that remain at the factual level, with no thorough analysis or interpretations. This was the case in 2013. In 2014. media organisations have sent 165 requests to the DEI, in which they asked for support in reporting about EU integration: 118 requests for a short statement, 11 requests for an interview, 11 requests to send someone as a guest in a news program, and 25 requests for information.12 This shows that media generally tend to report on the EU only in short formats and rarely consult representatives of the Directorate for European Integration for more in-depth explanations and interviews. Of course, representatives of the DEI are not the only actors in this process, but an interesting observation from the representatives of the DEI that one of the reasons why journalists contact them less than some other, mainly political actors, is the fact that representatives of the DEI cannot give political statements, but only neutral interpretation of the process, also shows that the media are interested in political observations rather than facts and explaining the process to citizens.
If we use Laswell’s paradigm and apply it to the issue of media reporting on EU accession and BH, we could systematize media reporting on this issue as follows:
- Who speaks about EU integration: mainly political leaders, representatives of the international community in BH and political analysts. This is interesting because it shows a dominant narrative produced by the media, which is that EU integration is mainly a political matter and that politicians are responsible for it. Political analysts serve mostly as commentators on statements and activities of politicians, while representatives of the international community usually speak about measures taken by the international community to help move the process forward. This kind of discourse excludes the public from the discussion regarding EU integration and gives the wrong impression that the public is and should be passive in the process. That may be one of the reasons why the public remains less interested in this topic, since it is to a certain extent “estranged” from it.
- What is the key issue and a dominant message that is sent to the public: for quite a long time, the dominant message was that the EU process is some kind of a magic wand that would help solve (mainly) political problems in BH. Since the political crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina has deepened, there has been a shift in reporting on EU accession, which implied that problems in BH are so huge that EU integration offers no solution. A difference in interpreting such a message was visible in the Federation of BH and RS media: while in the Federation, EU accession was seen as a way to preserve BH as a state (although it would not solve other problems, at least it would help prevent RS from seceding from BH), the media in Republika Srpska often report on the internal problems of EU Member States (such as demands for the independence of Scotland and Catalonia), arguing that EU membership does not guarantee a functioning state13 After the economic crisis in Greece, there was more debate around the economic aspect of EU membership, while recently the refugee crisis has become the most debated issue. It is still early to discuss the narrative about the EU refugee crisis in BH media, but it is significant that reports are mainly focused on individual states within the EU, and rarely on the consequences of such crisis on the EU as a union.
- Which channel is used to discuss EU integration: according to media monitoring by the DEI, public broadcasters are more interested in EU integration in that they try to explain to citizens the process and its consequences. However, other media do occasionally report on this issue, but mainly to show the ineffectiveness of the authorities in trying to cope with the standards and procedures of accession.
- To whom these messages are sent: most of the media production about this topic is for the general public, but, as it has already been said, it is not used to explain the context of EU integration, its consequences, pros and cons etc. The aim is mainly to point at the complicated BH structure, the problems that this country is facing, and the inability of the authorities to either solve these problems as part of the EU accession process or to fulfil requirements stemming from the accession process.
- What effect this produces: this kind of reporting has not placed EU integration high on the agenda and into the focus of the general population, and even if the general public has certain information on EU accession at its disposal, it is mainly about the political aspect thereof and about the complicated reforms that need to be done, but due to a lack of political will are not. People in Bosnia-Herzegovina are still less familiar with the economic aspect of the EU accession process. A survey from March 201514 has thus shown that 29.4% of respondents have never heard of any pre-accession funds that BH could use, and only 22% of respondents are aware of a project financed from the EU funds. Also, citizens do see EU accession as a way or means to make certain reforms in BH society, but 85% of them say that reforms need to be done even if they were not a pre-condition for BH entering the EU. 39.4% respondents in the survey say that anti-corruption activities are the most important reforms that need to be done. However, citizens feel excluded from the process and think that politicians are responsible for performing all necessary activities related to accession, but there is a lack of political will to do that more efficiently. In a focus group discussion organized by the Foreign Policy Initiative15, one of the respondents said: “The EU is strictly political issue. And politicians should deal with it. But, they do not want to, because once we are part of the EU there will be some order and system and they could not do things they do now”. This is, we may say, one of the dominant interpretations of the EU integration process among the BH public.
What needs to be done (differently) in the future?
In general, we may say that the media provide a superficial and reductive portrait of the EU integration process, and citizens do not receive in-depth explanations and analysis. The informative function of the media is to a certain extent fulfilled, but the functions of orientation and education are not.
So far, this has not influenced citizens’ support for EU integration (DEI data show that at the level of Bosnia-Herzegovina 78% of citizens are in favor of integration, while on the entity level, 91% of citizens in the Federation of BH and 58% of citizens of Republika Srpska favor integration). It is interesting that 22% of those who are not in favor of EU integrations say that this is not due to classical Euro-scepticism, but rather a consequence of the general idea that the problems of BH are so immense that not even EU accession could help solve them. This actually shows a low level of esteem for the country, and not for the EU itself.
More “down-to-earth” reporting, in which media would provide in-depth explanations of what EU really means for an average citizen and how it impacts on his/her everyday life would be of help to citizens to better understand the process. Furthermore, a shift from the political to the economic, cultural and social fields would be of help as well. This, of course, requires more specialized programs and better-trained and specialized journalists, as well as more experts from different fields to be present in media instead of politicians .
So far, citizens have been very disappointed with the political and economic situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, sometimes to the extent that they do not believe that anything (including integration into the EU) could make it better. They have also been disappointed with incompetent political elites and their lack of willingness to resolve the accumulated issues and problems and to lead Bosnia-Herzegovina in the direction of EU integration. Nevertheless, as the public has still not turned towards euroscepticism, media influence in this context remains very important and will be even more so in the future.
References:
1 Which is 3,791,622 people, according to the preliminary results of the 2013 census (since final results have not been published yet) http://www.bhas.ba.
2 Press Council: The Self-regulatory body for print and online media http://www.vzs.ba.
3 Communication Regulatory Agency: the regulatory body for broadcast media http://www.rak.ba
4 Interview with Marina Kavaz Siručić, DEI spokesperson (September 17, 2015)
5 Others actually report on the EU integration process among other things, but do not report exclusively on this issue.
6 The abovementioned Directorate for European Integration (http://www.dei.gov.ba) is (or should be) the key player. As for the NGO sector, in 2013, 30 NGOs established an informal coalition, the Initiative for monitoring the European integration of BH (http://www.eu-monitoring.ba), which carries out research and creates policy recommendations related to the EU accession process in BH.
7 http://eu.boell.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2013/12/lejla-turcilo-bosnia-herzegovina-and-the-eu.pdf
9 http://www.vpi.ba/upload/documents/Javno_mijenje_BiH_o_procesu_europskih_integracija_2009-2012.pdf
10 By DEI, Institute for Social Research at the Faculty of Political Sciences Sarajevo etc.
11 Research conducted within Regional Research Promotion Program (RRPP); full report can be found at: http://www.rrpp-westernbalkans.net/en/research/Completed-Projects/Media–Political-and-Social-Discourses/Europe–Here-and-There–Analysis-of-Europeanization-Discourse-in-the-Western-Balkans-Media-/mainColumnParagraphs/0/text_files/file0/Europe_here_and_there-libre.pdf
12 Data received in an interview with Marina Kavaz Siručić, spokesperson of the DEI (September 17, 2015).
13 http://eu.boell.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2013/12/lejla-turcilo-bosnia-herzegovina-and-the-eu.pdf
14 Survey conducted on a representative sample of 1200 people in Bosnia-Herzegovina, by the DEI (http://www.dei.gov.ba).
15http://www.vpi.ba/upload/documents/Javno_mijenje_BiH_o_procesu_europskih_integracija_2009-2012.pdf