Alternative media: Bosnia
A number of media outlets in Bosnia and Herzegovina are providing fresh and independent views on issues that matter.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina’s complex media landscape, there are a number of alternative media outlets that have started up, declaring themselves to be editorially independent and transparent about their funding.
Slobodna Bosna is an investigative weekly news magazine based out of Sarajevo. The circulation is very limited, not more than 2000 copies per edition, but the publication’s determined efforts to prove its uncompromising journalism have caught people’s attention.
Recently, the magazine ran a story about criminal activity in the offices of one of their sponsors – the story was published alongside an ad from the very same company.
In Banja Luka, Buka is the most read outlet online, edited by one of our interviewees, Aleksander Trifunovi?.
He has done a lot in recent years to shed light on the local government, publishing stories severely criticising Milorad Dodik, his party, the SNSD, and the politics of Republika Srpska. One note for readers – as the website makes clear, Buka is registered as an NGO and is largely financed by foreign donors.
Finally, there is Balkans Diskurs – a new multimedia platform, in both Bosnian and English, created and run by a regional network of journalists, bloggers and activists. According to the Director, Velma Šari, the group came together in response to the lack of objective regional media.
Their aim is to bridge divides, providing fresh and independent views on issues that matter to people throughout former Yugoslavia. Though they are yet to gain much traction, they published a number of stories to mark the Srebrenica anniversary and have also touched on controversial topics like human trafficking, unemployment and fighting gender stereotypes.