"Shaping The Media System Of Bih: Political Instrumentalization And Media Autonomy"

Abstract

This paper examines the links between the media and the political system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hallin and Mancini's approach to the analysis of media and political systems is briefly presented, which examines in detail the connections between the media and politics. Then, the peculiarities of the development of the media system in BiH are presented. The central thesis is that the political instrumentalization of the media has a long tradition in BiH and that, despite comprehensive international intervention in the media sector, it has remained an important tool for shaping the media system and further deepens its polarization. Consequently, the gap between the established normative framework and the way the media system functions is widening every day.