Author: FENA/ Jelena Marković
The results of the report “Mapping of Web Portals in Bosnia and Herzegovina – 2025 Overview”, presented today in Sarajevo, showed that 488 news portals were registered in BiH this year, only 40 percent of which are focused on transparency.
The presentation of the Report was co-organized by the UNESCO Antenna Office in Sarajevo and the Press and Online Media Council in BiH.
The authors of the “Mapping” are Lejla Turčilo, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo, and Vuk Vučetić, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of East Sarajevo.
The Head of the UNESCO Office in BiH, Siniša Šešum, pointed out the discouraging fact that out of 488 registered news web portals, only 40 percent are truly focused on transparency. “Only 40 percent of the portals have fully completed Impressum, through which one can see who really stands behind these media”, Šešum said. He noted that it is particularly important that this project continues the cooperation with the Press and Online Media Council in BiH, whose role, he emphasized, needs to be further strengthened. “Today, we also discussed the need to create a registry of all web portals operating in BiH, to raise awareness of their importance for informing the public, but also to truly see which portals ensure complete transparency, not only in reporting but also in the structures behind them”, Šešum stated.
He stressed that the presented report is only the first step. “Now we must continue further and jointly agree on how to include other actors, institutions, and ministries, to clearly distinguish the relevant portals in BiH. We also discussed the possibility of creating a short video spot to present the research results, to draw citizens’ attention to the fact that what they read is not always completely accurate”, Šešum said.
Lejla Turčilo, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo, said that the goal of the research was not only to determine the total number of news web portals in BiH but also to develop a methodology that will enable their continuous monitoring. “We tried to create a framework through which portals could be monitored on an annual or semi-annual basis, and within the total number, to determine the percentage of those who are members of the Press and Online Media Council, who have full Impressum, who are private or public”, Turčilo explained.
She pointed out that the most important segment of the research was to clearly define what constitutes a news portal.
“Previously, we often had situations where portals of tourist boards or cities, which are not actually news portals, were included in that count”, she said.
She added that the goal was to identify portals that truly share information, have an editorial structure, organization, and adhere to professional standards. “Out of the 488 web portals, the most common are those that are solely on the web, not an extension of existing media, although there are such ones, of course. It is encouraging that a large number of portals have at least a partial Impressum, while a slightly smaller number have none. The task now is to increase the number of portals with an Impressum or explain to the public that those without one are not a credible source”, Turčilo emphasized.
She stressed that it is crucial for citizens to understand the significance of transparency. “When citizens know that a portal does not have an Impressum or refuses to post one, they will turn to those that do”, she said. She also warned that a large number of portals, as well as readers, do not recognize the importance of transparency.
“The next important step would be to explain to the audience that they should not consult sources behind which they do not know who stands”, Turčilo concluded.
These activities are part of the project “Building Trust in Media in South-East Europe: Support to Journalism as a Public Good”, financed by UNESCO/European Union.