prijava
SARAJEVO, April 21 (FENA) - According to the data of the OSCE Mission to BiH, the media freedom in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been in continued decline over the past 10 years, told FENA the president of the Association of BiH Journalists Faruk Zupčević.
Author: Jasna Avdibegović
He recalled that in the report of the Reporter Without Borders for 2019, investigating media freedom around the world, Bosnia and Herzegovina was ranked 63rd out of 180 countries.
"When it comes to the freedom of the media, and based on the Reporter without Borders data, BiH is ranked 63rd, which is something better compared to 2017. It is good in relation to our neighbors, but there is no comfort in that," Zupčević said.
Speaking about the conditions in which the media in BiH operate, he emphasized that they are extremely difficult.
"The journalists are poorly paid. Salaries range between 250 and 500 euros, many journalists are not insured and many of them work under temporary service contracts," said Zupčević.
He stressed that the safety of journalists has also been severely compromised.
"In the last 10 years, there were 550 attacks on journalists. We saw it the best in the first months of this year when 30 attacks on journalists were recorded. What is obvious is that these attacks do not get processed. or the process goes on too long. Economic pressure on journalists greatly affects the freedom of media and free speech in general," said Zupčević.
He stressed that the attacks on journalists comprise an attack on freedom of speech and democracy.
"It is necessary to report and prosecute any such attack. The Journalists of BiH Association is sending out a clear message to the public that violence and intimidation are unacceptable," he stressed.
He announced that on the occasion of the Freedom of Media Day - May 3, the Association of BiH Journalists shall organize the "Journalist of the Year" event, where it will award recognition to the best journalists in 2018.
(FENA) S. R.
