FOR BEGINNING

A seven-year project of support provided by the French Government for development of free and independent media in Western Balkan countries has been completed. Under the name Priority Assistance Fund, (Fonds de Solidarité Prioritaire, FSP) and implemented through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, the Fund was used to support democratization and professional development of media in the region.

The Fund provided extensive support to Media Plan Institute, in particular its Journalism School from which 184 students from the region graduated since its founding in 1998. A regional media network called Media Initiatives was also created and the first online magazine on media was launched (www.mediaonline.ba). More than 70 seminars and workshops organized by Media Plan were attended by over 1,500 journalists and journalism students from Bosnia-Herzegovina and other countries in the region. The French Government covered 50 percent of costs of these activities, while the other half was provided by Media Plan. Just for scholarships for students, 245,000 Euros was spent from the French Fund.

Media Plan’s strategic partner was the best-known journalism school from Lille, France (ESJ Lille). The project participants assessed that all project goals were achieved in full, while MPI thanks to the support grew into a respectable media institute.

At Media Plan Institute changes in internal organization were carried out in early June which will boost the institute’s efficient market orientation and better implementation of new work carried out by the organization. The Institute is organized into three sectors: Education and Research (headed by Bojana Sutvic and Davor Marko), Public Relations and Media Consulting (headed by Adnan Burazerovic) and Audio and Video Production and Technical Services (headed by Darko Udovicic). The manager’s office is headed by Aleksandra Ostojic Matic. The organization’s president is Zoran Udovicic and his deputy is Radenko Udovicic.

The Journalism School has been operating since 2006 in the framework of the Media Initiatives association, one of whose founders is Media Plan.

INCLUSION OF ROMA IN BIH MEDIA:
ACTIVITIES IN 2008.

For the third year now we have continued activities on the project “Social Empowerment and Inclusion of Roma in BiH Media” aimed at improving Roma access to media as a means of expression and raising public awareness toward solving Roma problems. The project is supported by the Swedish Helsinki Committee and World Vision.

For associates of the Roma Information Center a workshop on methods of writing long articles for press has been held on July 16, after which the workshop participants will continue to work with experienced journalists. The best articles will be published in Oslobodjenje, Tuzlanski List and the Roma Information Center magazine “Crno Bijeli Svijet”.

In the framework of this year’s project, we will continue to carry out activities related to monitoring and analysis of treatment of the Roma population in BiH media, we will put together a guide on professional reporting on Roma issues and we will organize a conference.

RESEARCH:
TREATMENT OF ISLAM IN BIH MEDIA

From July 15 to September 15 we will continuously monitor BiH and regional press with the aim of researching what kind of treatment Islam has in these media outlets. The result of monitoring will be a qualitative analysis and a book about the phenomenon of stereotype and prejudice toward religious diversity. The author is Davor Marko.

INTERNSHIP FOR JOURNALISM STUDENTS:
ENCOUNTER OF CULTURES AND COVERAGE OF SFF,
August 13 -24

Participants of this year’s third internship program will have an opportunity to learn about and encounter “diversity” during high-quality specialized and practical training in radio. During the internship, at the time of the Sarajevo Film Festival on August 15 – 23, Sarajevo will be flooded with prominent guests from the world of film and art, which will give participants an abundance of material and opportunities for field work. During the first three days of the internship, participants will have a chance to become acquainted with the characteristics of the BiH media landscape, media attitude to diversity, radio as a medium, and characteristics of reporting on cultural events. Following a theoretical introduction, participants will spend seven days doing practical work, which will consist of following festival programs and events and producing a joint “Festival Chronicle” to be sent every day to local radio stations in the region. More

TV INTERVIEW, LEVEL 2:
TRAINING FOR FTV AND BHT JOURNALISTS,
September 8 - 12

The second part of training in TV interview designed for journalists working for the Federation Television and BHT will be held in Sarajevo on September 8 - 12. This is a continuation of training held in March, during which journalists had an opportunity through practical exercises to learn how to prepare for an interview, how to choose the interview theme, the interviewee, etc.

Training will be held in the framework of the project Providing Technical Assistance to the Public Broadcasting Service of BiH (Standardization of Work in the Production of News and Archiving on Radio and Television), funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium of which Media Plan Institute is a part of.

For more information, please contact Bojana Sutvic.

JOURNALIST BLOG, LEVEL 2:
TRAINING FOR JOURNALISTS OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE,
September 15 - 19

Understanding a new resource – blog – as a supplement to the original medium. How can a blog increase directness between media and readers? How to work on a blog, terminology related to interaction (comments, RSS…). Practical exercises, on-line posts and individual content analysis – these are some of the topics of the second part of training in creating a journalist blog that will be held on September 15 – 19, 2008.

Training will be implemented in the framework of the project Providing Technical Assistance to the Public Broadcasting Service of BiH, funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium of which Media Plan Institute is a part of.

For more information, please contact Bojana Sutvic.

WORKSHOP IN TUZLA:
MEDIA AND CLIMATE CHANGE, September 19 – 21

In a sea of problems burdening the local authorities (constitutional and police reform, violence, poverty, corruption…), sustainable development and climate change caused by the use of inadequate environment protection mechanisms are totally neglected.

MPI, in cooperation with the Heinrich Boll Foundation, will organize a workshop at the Modrac Lake near Tuzla on September 19 – 21 for 15 journalists from Bosnia-Herzegovina on “Media and Climate Change.” Our intention this year again is to use the good practice and methods of work from a similar seminar that we organized last year in Fojnica and to offer participants as much practical know-how as we can, with a tour of endangered locations, under the mentorship of an ecological expert. The result of this year’s workshop will be a radio show.

For information and applications, please contact Davor Marko.

EDUCATIONAL COURSE:
ESSENTIAL CAMERA AND EDITING – September 24 - 28

Media Plan Institute will organize a five-day course in September in camera use and editing. The course is designed for everyone who wants to gain new know-how or advance their present technical know-how.

The course will consist of a short theoretical part and a practical part in which participants divided into groups will work on filming, picture analysis, classification and entry of material and basic editing. DVCAM PRO cameras and Adop Premier Pro editing equipment will be used for this work. In order to ensure efficient learning and to follow individual progress, the course participants will be divided into smaller groups. The maximum number of participants is 15.

For more information on how to apply and course rates, please write to Bojana Sutvic.

MODULE FOR JOURNALISTS:
THE MEDIA AND EUROPEAN UNION, October 6 – 19

An educational module will be organized for 12 journalists from the Western Balkan region on October 6 – 19, 2008. The aim of the module is for journalists to learn about the origin of the idea of a united Europe, the most important facts and dates from the history of EU creation, current processes in the European Union and its stand on the Western Balkans.

Students will first receive information on the current situation in BiH and other countries in the region in terms of approaching the European Union. Maryse Berniau, Ambassador of France to BiH, will give an introductory lecture focusing on French goals during its Union chairmanship and its position on the Western Balkans and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Module participants will use this information to produce a collage-type radio show consisting of a series of items covering this issue from different aspects and through the mentioned themes. These items will be offered to radio stations for free broadcasting.

The module is funded by the Embassies of the Republic of France in BiH and Serbia. The module program will be posted on the Media Plan Institute website in early September. For additional information, please contact Bojana Sutvic.

TV INTERVIEW, LEVEL 2:
TRAINING FOR RTRS JOURNALISTS, October 27 - 31

The second part of training in TV interview designed for journalists working for Radio Television Republika Srpska will be held in Banja Luka on October 27 – 31.

The aim of the training program is to deepen the know-how journalists acquired during the first part, but also to become acquainted with new trends in television journalism. Training will be held in the framework of the project Providing Technical Assistance to the Public Broadcasting Service of BiH (Standardization of Work in the Production of News and Archiving on Radio and Television), funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium of which Media Plan Institute is a part of.

For more information, please write to Bojana Sutvic.

COURSE FOR JOURNALISTS:
VIDEO JOURNALIST, October 25 – November 2

A nine-day course for video journalists will be organized in Media Plan Institute premises on October 25 – November 2. A video journalist combines the work of a journalist, cameraman and editor. Video journalists shoot and prepare their own items and sometimes also edit them. They must have technical, as well as journalistic know-how.

The course is designed for journalists who want to gain additional skills for working in video production, as well as journalists with ambition to work as video journalists. It is also intended for graduates fresh from college who lack journalistic practice and want to enter the professional world. Upon finishing the course, journalists will have mastered the whole process of preparing and presenting a television item.

For more information on how to apply and course rates, please write to Bojana Sutvic.

MODULE FOR JOURNALISTS:
GENDER AND MEDIA, November 10 – 23

Raising awareness of gender issues and promoting equality of the sexes is an important social principle and value. The media have an essential role in public profiling, and thus in promotion of new gender values.

Twelve participants of the module Gender and Media will be offered the most relevant know-how by experts in gender and use of gender sensitive language in media, as well as those who contribute through different forms of activities to eliminating discrimination against the female sex or sexual minorities. During the module a program will be produced offering an overview of gender issues in BiH, which will be broadcast on several radio stations in BiH.

For more information on how to apply and requirements, please write to Davor Marko.

In 2008 a total of 168 journalists from Bosnia-Herzegovina and the rest of the Western Balkan region will pass through Media Plan Institute’s education programs, which are diverse in program and format. Three education internships for students, two specialized modules for young journalists, a series of training programs for employees of the Public Broadcasting Service of BiH, short seminars on different themes and for different target groups, are all part of this year’s offer which gives young journalists a chance for advancement. In 2008 our researchers initiated or participated in six media research projects. The head of education projects is Bojana Sutvic and Davor Marko is in charge of research.

01 TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES OF FTV, RTRS AND BHT THE SECRETS OF JOURNALIST BLOGS

Training in creating a journalist blog for employees of the Public Broadcasting Service of BiH was held in Sarajevo on May 26 – 30, 2008. The program was attended by nine journalists from RTRS, FTV, Radio Federation and BH Radio 1.

Journalists had an opportunity to learn about the increasingly popular phenomenon of blogs and to advance their previous technical know-how related generally to the internet and to use of advanced computer technologies. The second part of training was devoted to creating a blog from a journalistic angle.

Training was held in the framework of the project Providing Technical Assistance to the Public Broadcasting Service of BiH (Standardization of Work in the Production of News and Archiving on Radio and Television), funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium of which Media Plan Institute is a part of.

02 INTERNSHIP FOR JOURNALISM STUDENTS:
MEDIA AND GLOBAL WARMING

Practical training in press for journalism students from the region on Media and Global Warming was held at Media Plan Institute on May 13 – 24.

Faruk Boric, Editor-in-Chief of Oslobodjenje, spoke to students about the characteristics and operation of a daily newspaper. After that, students were acquainted with the phenomenon of global warming, state environment protection policies defined by the Kyoto Agreement, as well as so-called little activities that citizens themselves can do toward saving the ozone layer. In the production stage of the internship, participants covered this issue in several newspaper stories, making sure they are informational, interesting and also professionally correct. The final product of internship is a website created by students, which is available at this address.

Internship participants were journalism students from several cities in BiH, Serbia and Croatia. Implementation of training was supported by the Regional Council of Auvergne, France, and Sarajevo’s Municipality Centar.

03 RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS:
ARE THERE PRO-EUROPEAN VOTERS IN BIH?

Media Plan Institute in cooperation with Germany’s Heinrich Böll Foundation carried out complex public opinion research in Bosnia-Herzegovina in March and April 2008 with the aim of exploring citizens’ views on the present political situation and offer on the BiH political landscape and integrating in its analysis the ideas, suggestions and views in the context of pro-European activities of incumbent and potential BiH political subjects.

The analysis will be published in late August, on the eve of local elections, and its purpose will be to influence local protagonists with the aim of boosting the quality of their offerings and correcting matters that potential voters consider insufficiently acceptable for Bosnia-Herzegovina’s European future.

04 TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES OF FTV, RTRS AND BHT:
THE SECRETS OF TV INTERVIEWS

Two cycles of training in TV interview for employees of the Public Service of BiH were held in Sarajevo on March 17 – 21 and in Banja Luka on April 14 – 18. Training encompassed eight FTV journalists, nine RTRS journalists and three BHT journalists. The lecturer was Zoran Udovicic, long-time journalist, media expert and analyst.

The aim of the two five-day sessions was to teach journalists how to prepare and carry out different forms of interviews in order to get the maximum out of the interviewees and to get answers to desired questions.

Training was held in the framework of the project Providing Technical Assistance to the Public Broadcasting Service of BiH (Standardization of Work in the Production of News and Archiving on Radio and Television), funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium of which Media Plan Institute is a part of.

05 TRAINING FOR ROMA JOURNALISTS: BASIC INFORMATION WRITING

The third cycle of training in “Basic Information Writing,” attended by members of the Roma population from different parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina who are active in Roma non-government associations, was completed in Sarajevo.

In three workshops held from January to March, participants were acquainted with basic news elements, techniques of writing agency news, as well as differences in writing information for media and press releases. The training was practical and based on writing exercises and collective analysis and editing by the lecturers/trainers. The last training cycle ended with the publishing of a leaflet called “Romano Drom” (The Way of the Roma). The brochure, a part of Roma associations’ activities, was written by participants and edited by the journalist lecturers.

The trainers were Radenko Udovicic, Media Plan Institute Program Director, Zlatko Vukmirovic, Head of BiH Parliamentary Assembly Information Sector, and Faruk Boric, Editor-in-Chief of Oslobodjenje.

The fifteen participants who completed the training program will be engaged as associates in the work of the Roma Information Center (RIC), which is supposed to be an umbrella information and education agency for distribution of information to media and different audiences in BiH. The launching of a periodical magazine called “Crno-Bijeli Svijet” (Black and White World), covering Roma issues in BiH, is also planned.
The training program, supported by World Vision and carried out in collaboration with RIC, was implemented by Media Plan Institute.

06 INTERSHIP FOR JORUNALISTS:
MEDIA AND CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

Two-week practical training in TV journalism designed for students from Bosnia-Herzegovina and the region was completed today at Media Plan Institute with the screening of TV items made by students during the internship program and awarding of certificates. Thirteen journalism students from BiH, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia completed the internship. It was organized in collaboration with universities in Mostar, Skopje, Belgrade, Dubrovnik and Sarajevo and funding for its implementation was provided by the Regional Council of Auvergne, France.

During the first six work days, students had an opportunity to learn about new trends in television, as well as the legislative framework and practical challenges in protection of children's rights, with emphasis on media obligations concerning these issues. Thanks to the practical training they received, students were able to do more than 90 percent of the items on their own, with small assistance from a professional TV editor. The internship lecturers were prominent professionals in the areas of journalism, law, multimedia, television editing, etc., who have a lot of experience in conveying know-how to students and young journalists as most of them had collaborated as lecturers with the Media Plan High College of Journalism over a period of nine years.

More about other interships will be published soon on our web site.

07 RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS: IMPACT OF EU’S AV DIRECTIVE ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

In late 2007 the European Parliament adopted a new document – Audiovisual Media Services Directive – which, along with ensuring a single European legislative framework for audiovisual media, is supposed to establish balance between respect for consumers and more freedom for European companies.
A number of media experts, signatories to the Budapest Declaration, on the eve of the Directive’s adoption expressed fear of its negative impact and possible censorship of freedom of expression on the internet as a new medium. Sarajevo’s Media Plan Institute participated in a regional project implemented by the SEENMP network and produced a report on freedom of expression in internet contents and implementation of provisions of the Audiovisual Directive in media legislation in BiH.
You can read the full analysis in English on our website.  

A brief research summery was published in the DTT Forum Bulletin, Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH, February 2008. You can see it by clicking here.

Media Plan Institute’s department for public relations and consulting services, Media Plan PR & Consulting, was created in early June as a result of successful initial cooperation between MPI and the leading Austrian PR agency Hochegger. The head of the department is Adnan Burazerovic.

The first contact between MPI and Hochegger was made in early March 2008 through Hochegger’s office in Belgrade (HOCHEGGER SRB). Since then our special department Media Plan PR & Consulting has served joint clients in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Paul Hochegger, the agency’s founder and co-owner, and Severin Heinisch, our Austrian partner’s Executive Director, visited Sarajevo in April and agreed on the principles of future cooperation. The first project was organizing a press conference for Raiffeisen Investment in Sarajevo on April 22, which was attended by the most important broadcast, print and web media from BiH and news agencies from our country.

A month later, in May, one of the world’s biggest air carriers, Germany’s Lufthansa, organized a lunch for media on the 10th anniversary of its operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Of course, Media Plan PR & Consulting, with the support of HOCHEGGER SRB, performed the job to the client’s satisfaction. In addition to the above clients with Hochegger, we are also implementing activities for a large shopping market chain from France, INTEREX, covering the needs of their BiH branch.

Along with PR activities (primarily crisis PR), the department also carries out the following activities:

Press clipping, the oldest and most developed PC agency, with more than 10 years of experience and dozens of commercial clients (Media Plan Institute works on the BiH market independently for well-known clients, including: TOYOTA BiH, Unicredit Group, Microsoft, BAYER, Directorate for European Integration, etc...). Clients are served on a daily basis and there are ten people working in our department who are trained in press clipping, web clipping and electronic clipping. Clients are also offered media content analysis using an advanced methodology with a number of options depending on clients’ wishes. This kind of analysis helps clients with public relations and in determining marketing priorities.

Along with the above primary services, other services are also offered, from planning and organizing conferences and events, corporate communication, brand and product communication, integrated communication, as well as public work/lobbying.

Media Plan audio and video production is equipped for production of TV reportages and documentary films. AV includes a technical sector offering the following services: rent of simultaneous interpretation equipment BRAHLER, video and audio recording, rent of a conference system and sound system, copying VHS, DVCAM and Mini DV video recordings to DVD format and transferring recordings from standard audio tapes to CD. The head of the department is Darko Udovicic.

Media Plan has computer cutting equipment Final Cut Pro and two computer editing machines Adobe Premier 6.5, five cameras DVCAM PRO, one camera HDV and two audio computer editing machines Cool Edit Pro.

Media Plan’s AV production is completing two TV shows in July which will be broadcast on BHTV in mid-July. The shows are produced with the support of the Heinrich Boll Foundation.

By the end of the year Media Plan’s AV production plans to produce two shows dealing with problems of the Roma population.

08 TV SHOW: “ENERGETIC”

The show “Energetic,” produced by MPI, is another result of our cooperation with the Heinrich Boll Foundation. The show talks about development of the energy sector in BiH, but it also confronts viewers with problems the sector’s development may cause in disturbing the ecological balance. The author of the show is Elma Kazagic. The show will be broadcast on BHT1 and several local TV stations in BiH.

09 TV SHOW: CONTRADICTIONS OF EU INTEGRATION

European integration in divided society like the one in BiH brings a number of contradictions regarding rights, economy, even media. The Heinrich Boll Foundation has continuously organized roundtables, research projects and debates on the issue. In late June a roundtable was organized in Sarajevo to publicly discuss these contradictions and one of its results is a TV show produced by Media Plan. The show, whose author is Samira Krehic, speaks about different aspects of European integration in Bosnia-Herzegovina, illustrated by numerous examples from everyday life in BiH.

10 TV SHOW: “CRVENO I BIJELO” ON SEGREGATION

The television show “Dvije skole pod dva krova: Crveno i bijelo” (Two Schools under Two Roofs: Red and White), authored by Elma Kazagic and produced by Media Plan Institute, was broadcast on May 29 on BHTV1 and is soon to be broadcast also on NTV Hayat. The show deals with the issue of segregation in elementary and high schools in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina on examples of current problems in Capljina and Stolac. Production of the program, which encountered positive public reactions, along with the author, also involved Darko Udovicic, camera and executive producer, and Ekrem Mulahasanovic, editing, as well as our partner organization, the German foundation Heinrich Boll.

11 SUPPORT TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE: ORGANIZATION OF SEMINARS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

This year the Council of Europe is organizing a series of seminars on the European Convention on Human Rights. The seminars are designed for lawyers, prosecutors, public attorneys, etc., and they cover the issues of respect of human rights of different categories of the population and implementation of standards of the European Convention.

Media Plan is a logistical and organizational partner to the Council of Europe on the project.

Our employees, project coordinators, heads of departments and analysts in the first half of 2008 attended and actively participated in numerous meetings, seminars and conferences throughout the region. Below is an overview of the most important ones, which were implemented and organized by our partner organizations:

12 MPI IN TIRANA: DAYS OF AUDIOVISUAL COOPERATION

On July 7 – 9 Tirana hosted a regular annual meeting on regional audiovisual cooperation, organized by the Regional Office of Audiovisual Cooperation of the Republic of France. Along with representatives of French embassies in the region, the meeting was attended by representatives of French media organizations active in the region: Radio France International, ARTe, Canal France International, Le Courrier des Balkans, CSA, as well as representatives of regional partners: Marubi Academy for Multimedia from Tirana, HRT and Media Plan Institute.

Media Plan Institute representative Bojana Sutvic presented the project of its new journalism school which was transformed into the High College of Journalism in line with the Bologna process and informed participants about other important activities implemented in the field of journalist education.

13 BiH AND EU: CONTRADICTIONS IN THE PROCESS OF EU INTEGRATION

“The Process of EU Integration and the Role of the BiH Public” is an article written by Radenko Udovicic, MPI Program Director, which was included in a scientific publication entitled “Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Contradictions of the Process of EU Integration” whose publication was supported by the Heinrich Boll Foundation.

On this occasion a roundtable on this theme was held in Sarajevo on June 24, discussing the European integration policy on BiH in relation to reform requirements and attitude to requirements, in order to answer the question of how much the requirements laid down by the European Union contribute to the reform process. As a foundation for discussion, the publication containing articles by experts from BiH and Germany was written and published.

The International Press Congress (IPI) wrapped up its Congress in Belgrade, organized by the Belgrade Media Center, on June 17. Journalists, editors and media managers discussed burning media issues in the course of four days at the Sava Centar.

Around 300 media employees from 60 countries attended the Congress. From Bosnia-Herzegovina, representatives of the news agency ONASA, newspaper DANI, Press Council and Media Plan Institute were present.

IPI is the oldest international organization for promotion of press freedom, which brings together leading editors and journalists throughout the world. Next year the Congress will be held in Helsinki.

15 VISITS TO PARIS AND LYON: IDEAS FOR NEW PROJECTS

In a visit organized by Media Plan Institute and the Media Initiatives association, a delegation of Sarajevo's Centar Municipality, along with representatives of these two organizations, stayed in France on June 14-19.

During the five-day trip, official visits were made to the City of Paris, where we met with the deputy mayor in charge of international relations and francophony; Third Arrondissement of the City of Lyon, where the Mayor received us; Teachers League, the biggest organization in France on education; ADC – EP, the organization that manages and implements the internationally recognized event Celebration of Music; and High School of Journalism in Paris.

The aim of the visit to France was to learn about experiences of French local communities in cooperation with the non-government sector, activities in the areas of education, culture and inter-religious dialogue, as well as projects promoting sustainable development.

16 SEMINAR IN NOVI SAD: MEDIA AND MINORITIES

On June 13-14 Novi Sad hosted a conference on Media and Minorities which brought together a number of representatives of national minority media from Serbia, Croatia and BiH, as well as institutions and organizations dealing with minority issues.

One of the conference lecturers was Radenko Udovicic, Program Director of Media Plan Institute, an organization working for many years on the issue of national minorities and minorities in media contents. His analysis of how national minorities in BiH are informed, entitled “How Much Money, That Many Minorities,” will soon be published together with the Serbian and Croatian reports in a collection of works and posted on the websites of Media Plan Institute and Novi Sad Journalism School, which organized the conference.

17 WORKING VISIT TO LILLE BECOMING ACQUAINTED WITH MULTIMEDIA

Representatives of Media Plan Institute and Media Initiatives visited the High College of Journalism in Lille on June 4 – 8, 2008. As the Lille school has been a partner of the Media Plan High College of Journalism since its founding, its expert and professional assistance is very important for Media Plan during the transformation of its High College in line with European criteria.

One of the main reasons for the visit was to become acquainted with the curriculum of the High College of Journalism of Lille, in which multimedia has a big presence. In the future curriculum of the Media Plan High College of Journalism, multimedia will hold an important place because journalists will not be prepared to work in just one medium; instead we will try to create polyvalent journalists who can work equally well in press, on radio, on television, as well as internet.

18 SEENPM CONFERENCE IN SKOPJE: NINE SUCCESFULL REGIONAL PROJECTS IN 2007

In the previous year the South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (www.seenpm.org) successfully implemented nine regional media research, advocacy, and training projects’ – emphasized executive director, Sándor Orbán in his annual report to the Network members at the SEENMP General Assembly meeting. He added that projects tackled public service broadcasting in the digital age, prime time television news monitoring, labor relations in media, the new EU regulation on audiovisual media services, media self-regulation, clientelism in media, the preparation of the media sector for EU accession, and reporting on alternative energy sources. ‘As an outcome, SEENPM published ten research documents and over 500 media professionals participated in the conferences, workshops, and roundtable discussions organized by Network’, said Orbán. The General Assembly approved the application for membership of two organizations, the Kosovo Media Institute (KMI) and the Investigative Journalism Center (IJC) from Croatia. The recently registered Media Centre Caglavica (Kosovo) was introduced to the SEENPM members by director Budimir Nicic who expressed the interest of his organization in joining the Network and the General Assembly would discuss the membership of the Centre at its next meeting.

In mid-May, MPI representative Davor Marko visited Sofia, Bulgaria, where together with a representative of the partner Novi Sad Journalism School he was a guest of the regional office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Program Director Dr. Dirk Foerger. During the two-day working visit, they discussed new project opportunities and joint application for EU funds on themes covering diversity, inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue, and media professionalization.

20 “MEDIA THURSDAY” IN ZAGREB PRESENTATION OF ANALYSIS OF AV DIRECTIVE

In the panel discussion “Media Thursday” held on February 21 at the Croatian Journalists Society in Zagreb, our analyst Davor Marko presented the results of analysis of the audiovisual sector in BiH, while the situation in Croatia was presented by Julije Katancevic.

The theme of the panel was the new EU audiovisual directive, with which guests were acquainted through results of research carried out in South East European countries, with particular emphasis on Croatia and BiH.