The Press Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina congratulates all media workers World Press Freedom Day, reminding the public of the extremely important role of the media, which was especially evident during the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which we are still facing.
Accurate, verified and timely information in these difficult circumstances, when hundreds of thousands of people around the world are fighting for their lives, is of great importance and can literally save a human life.
Therefore, it is inadmissible censorship caused by favoring certain media, which was shown by individuals in high positions, thus directly denying the public their human right to accurate and timely information. In addition, crisis communication in which media pools were organized has often been abused and journalists have been denied the right to receive answers to their questions.
The European Federation of Journalists emphasized that it is important to protect journalists, but that this must not be used to restrict media freedoms.
In addition to the great burden of responsibility for every written word, to which responsible journalists are accustomed when writing about corruption, crime, political and numerous other malversations, today they additionally risk their own lives and the lives of their families, reporting daily on the fight against COVID-19.
Also, media houses have found themselves in a major economic crisis, under pressure of costs, newspaper circulation declining, drastically reduced inflows of earnings from advertisers, whose outcome could have far-reaching consequences for our fragile democratic society. Because the independence of the media, which have relentlessly put all their resources at the service of the community, depends most on their economic stability.
Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomes the World Press Freedom Day 2020 in 58 th place, according to the World Press Freedom Index, which is an improvement of five places compared to last year. However, Reporters Without Borders states in its report that BiH has the most liberal laws on media freedom in the region, but that their implementation and realization has been hampered by a saturated judicial system.
Therefore, on this important Press Freedom Day, the Press Council in BiH once again calls all citizens to be the bearers of the fight for free and responsible media, as the foundations of a free and democratic society and life, by reacting on attacks on journalists, denial of information to journalists and sending complanaints on unaccurate and unprofessional media reporting.
Press Council in BiH