Upcoming: Research on PSB in multiethnic communities
The first part of a comparative project on public broadcasting systems in multiethnic states, coordinated by the Mediacentar Sarajevo, will be launched in Sarajevo on 15 May 2008. The resulting publication, "Divided They Fall. Public service broadcasting in multiethnic states," covers Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Macedonia and Belgium. The research was carried out as one of the follow-up projects to the Television across Europe monitoring.
by Marius Dragomir
Feb. 26, 2008
The research considers the legal framework, financing, editorial and employment policies of public service broadcasters in multiethnic societies. Public service broadcasting in such societies is expected not only to promote more tolerant relations between ethno-cultural groups, but also to meet the cultural needs of different groups in the same country.
Each of the three cultural communities in Belgium – Flemish, French and German – has its own public service broadcasting system. The separation of the systems is almost complete and the French and Flemish halves of the country hardly ever watch each other’s programmes. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, public service broadcasting has been in continual crisis due to a constant struggle for political power. As a result, the public service broadcaster has been unable to build social cohesion among the three ethnic groups in a country where the war ended more than 12 years ago, but intense inter-ethnic tensions persist. In Switzerland, the media are not structured according to territorial arrangements, but according to language differences. Each of the four language areas has its own media.
This research is intended to stimulate public debate on public service broadcasting in multiethnic communities, in order to identify the best legal frameworks and operational mechanisms needed for broadcasting in such societies.
The research was carried out by Nena Skopljanac in Switzerland, Vesna Sopar in Macedonia, Tarik Jusic and Amer Džihana in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and by Frédéric Antoine, Dieter Grammens, Elke Van Damme and the late Frieda Saeys in Belgium. These authors write about the structures, operation, strengths and weaknesses of public service broadcasting in relation to their countries’ power-sharing models and territorial arrangements.
Based on this research, the Mediacentar is preparing normative recommendations for a PSB system that can both protect the cultural identity and autonomy of distinct ethno-cultural groups, while contributing to cross-ethnic understanding and tolerance.
Following the publication of the book, the Mediacentar will organise a one-day conference on "The Public Broadcasting in Divided and/or Multicultural Societies", in Sarajevo.
