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Al Jazeera Balkans

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Al Jazeera Balkans
CountryBosnia and Herzegovina
Broadcast areaBosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
North Macedonia
Montenegro
Serbia
Slovenia
AffiliatesRadio Studio 99
HeadquartersSarajevo
Trg djece Sarajeva 1
(insideARIA Centar)
Programming
Language(s)Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian[1]
Picture format16:91080i(HDTV)
Ownership
ParentAl Jazeera Media Network
Key peopleTarik Đođić(General Director)

Sanja Fazlagić(Head of News)

Svjetlana Salom(Online editor)
Sister channelsAl Jazeera English
Al Jazeera Arabic
Al Jazeera Documentary Channel
History
Launched11 November 2011;12 years ago(2011-11-11)
ReplacedNTV 99
Links
Websitebalkans.aljazeera.net
Availability
Terrestrial
Analogue(Bosnia)Sarajevoarea UHF 56
Fojnicaarea UHF 36
evotv(Croatia)Channel 105
Streaming media
AJB playerWatch live
Al Jazeera Balkans poster inZagrebin late November 2011.

Al Jazeera Balkans(AJB) is an international news television station headquartered inSarajevo,Bosnia and Herzegovinaaimed at the media markets of the countries that used to be constituent units ofSFR Yugoslavia.It is part of theAl Jazeera Media Network.

The station broadcasts in local variants of the "common language spoken in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro"[1](commonly known asSerbo-Croatian[2]) from 7.30 to 3.30 CET (start and end 30 minutes later on the weekends), with both of live, pre-recorded original, and subtitledAl Jazeera Englishprogramming. The livedirty feedof Al Jazeera English issimulcastthe remainder of hours with simplyGledate AJE(transl. You are watching AJE)text-bugoverlaid at the top-right corner of the screen. Al Jazeera Balkans is a sister channel of theArabiclanguageAl Jazeeraand theEnglishlanguage channel Al Jazeera English. The station broadcasts news analysis and features as well as documentaries, live debates, current affairs, business, technology, and sports news.

History[edit]

Purchase[edit]

On 22 September 2010, after months of speculation,[3]theQatari government-endowedAl Jazeera Media Networkannounced theUS$1.56 million[4]purchase ofNTV 99,a local channel based inSarajevo,Bosnia and Herzegovina.[5]Named Al Jazeera Balkans (AJB), the project was envisioned as "a leader in providing high quality news and current affairs in the region [of former Yugoslavia]" with planned offices throughout the Balkans and bureaus in key locations worldwide.[4]

Preparation[edit]

Soon after the purchase announcement, Al Jazeera made a lease agreement with BBI Real Estate regarding the usage of the 800m2space at the top floors of Sarajevo'sARIA Centar.[6]The station also leased office space in the B2 building located at the top of Balkanska Street in central Belgrade, across the street fromHotel Moskva,converting it into a remote television studio.

In parallel, it set about staffing its planned Balkans operation whose launch was set for January 2011.[7]With theSlobodna Bosnanewsmagazine reporting Al Jazeera Balkans offering minimum monthly salaries in excess of €1,000 as well as 5-year term contracts,[8][9]the run on the station by interested local journalists was sizable.[10]

The network also decided to go after marquee local name(s) for top editorial and/or management positions. It began looking at Croatian state broadcasterHRT's personnel in this regard withAleksandar Stanković,Denis Latin,andGoran Milićbeing mentioned as potential transfer targets. Other established names being bandied about were additionalYutelveterans such as Zekerijah Smajić and Ivica Puljić, as well as former HRT andNova TVpersonality Mirjana Hrga, and Arijana Saračević-Helać fromFederalna televizija.[8]However, Stanković reportedly turned down the news director post, saying he's not interested in a management position at this stage of his career.[11]At one point local Sarajevo outlets even announced Latin as AJB's new general director[12][13]while Milić explicitly denied any negotiations with the network.[14]In the end, the opposite occurred with Milić getting the news director job[15]while Latin eventually decided to stay put at HRT. For the general director position, Al Jazeera hired Tarik Đođić, former general secretary at the Bosnia-Herzegovina Foreign Trade Chamber (VTK).

By the beginning of 2011 it was clear the planned January launch would be postponed as Milić was finishing up at HRT with a rousing sendoff following his finalDnevniknewscast. The veteran broadcaster soon moved to Sarajevo, marking his professional return to the city having previously worked there from 1990 until 1992, first as part ofYuteland later as the Bosnian government's spokesperson in the initial months of theBosnian War.

In late March 2011, the station aimed for a late summer / early fall launch in September with news director Milić pontificating on how Al Jazeera Balkans might fit into the Balkans media scene: "There are over 100 television stations in the region [former Yugoslavia] at the moment. We cannot hope to compete with them on the local level, but Al-Jazeera will offer its regional access, an idea which was abandoned in the 90's due to wars and emotions those conflicts triggered".[16]

Over the coming months, Al Jazeera Balkans looked into different broadcast models. For a while it entertained the idea of taking over a local station in each of theformer Yugoslav countriesand turning them into broadcast affiliates. To that end, news appeared about the Qatar Media Corporation making a €25 million bid forTV Avala,Serbian network with nationwide broadcasting license controlled by Serbian tycoonŽeljko Mitrović.[17]The approach was confirmed by TV Avala's general manager Bojana Lekić, receiving significant coverage in the Serbian media, especially after information appeared about the Al Jazeera Balkans job interview process including a question about the status of Kosovo. Reportedly, Al Jazeera Balkans wanted to know explicitly where their perspective journalist employees, particularly those from Serbia, stood on the issue of Kosovo's independence. Asked about this hiring practice, news director Milić said: "I can't recall specifically whether that question was asked, but I believe it had been. Those are the questions we ask because we must know what our journalists think about certain issues. Our starting point is the reality that in this part of the world certain countries recognize Kosovo as an independent state while others do not".[18]

The affiliate broadcast model was ultimately abandoned as AJB opted for individual deals with local cable andIPTVproviders. Additionally, it decided to provide terrestrial coverage in the Sarajevo area as well as satellite transmission and live web streaming on its own site and onYouTube.

Launch[edit]

With €15 million reportedly invested in the project (according to general director Đođić),[19]Al Jazeera Balkans began broadcasting on 11 November 2011, launching their website on the same day. The network's visual appearance is mainly based on that of its English-language counterpart. It broadcasts from theEutelsat W3C satelliteand also offers a live web stream just like itsArabicandEnglishcounterparts do.

Audience and programming[edit]

According to a report from theAssociated Press,"Media experts say they hope the broadcaster will offer objective news to a public that was exposed for two decades to local media heavily influenced by politics."[20]Al Jazeera Balkans has a modern studio in Sarajevo and smaller studios in Belgrade, Zagreb and Skopje. The station plans to have correspondents inPodgorica,Prishtina,Mostar,SplitandBanja Lukawho will report in the local variants of theSerbo-Croatian language.The station has reporters in based inWashington, D.C.,London,Berlin,Vienna,Moscow,IstanbulandJerusalemby utilizing the resources of the current Al Jazeera bureaus around the world. The network serves viewers inBosnia and Herzegovina,Croatia,Kosovo,Macedonia,Montenegro,Serbia,andSlovenia.[21]

Programmes[edit]

Al Jazeera Balkans produces its daily content as well as some weekly content (Al Jazeera BusinessandSportski magazin) in its studios located at theARIA Centar's top floor. Its weekly interview programmes,Oni pobjeđujuandRecite Al Jazeeri,are shot on remote locations.

Reaction and reception[edit]

Bosnia and Herzegovina[edit]

With the September 2010 announcement of Qatar Media Corporation buying NTV 99 with a view of turning it into a Balkans-wide news channel, Boro Kontić, head of theOpen Society-funded journalist training facility Mediacenter in Sarajevo, likened the arrival of the Arab media conglomerate to the atmosphere before the start of theBosnian War,when it was announced that Sarajevo was to become regional headquarters for the European TV channelEuronews:"People aren't afraid of a new war, exactly, but rather political upheaval. People feel they are being monitored, if such a large international media company moves into the local market. But it has the potential to become an objective and independent information channel in the Balkans and it could also help to overcome the petty interests that arose after the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia - be it in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia or Montenegro".[7]In terms of Al Jazeera Balkans viewership prospects, Kontić said: "In the beginning it will probably be interesting for people to watch it, because they may be tired of local television stations -- so-called public stations, but what are in essence politically controlled. So they may be interested to see whether there is a different perspective on the region [from Al-Jazeera]. But we have a saying: a wonder lasts but three days".[22]

Borka Rudić, general secretary of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Journalists Association, found Al Jazeera's decision to come to Bosnia-Herzegovina especially interesting in light of the country not having a strong media market, saying: "Money is not the reason behind the network's decision to settle here. No TV station is completely immune to the desire for political influence. I believe Al Jazeera will affect the public opinion in Bosnia, but I don't fear the strengthening influence of radical Islamic forces. I do not think that the arrival of Al Jazeera immediately increases the influence from the East, or that this was the motive for Al Jazeera to settle in Sarajevo".[7]

Serbia[edit]

The June 2011 revelation of Al Jazeera Balkans asking its job applicants to state their personal position/opinion regarding the international status of Kosovo with the answer potentially determining whether they get hired or not while at the same time making a takeover bid for Serbian nationwide television networkTV Avalacaused a lot of reaction in the country.

Slobodan Reljić, former editor-in-chief at theNINmagazine conveyed that he's not particularly shocked at the way Al Jazeera Balkans picks its staff because contemporary global media outlets have given up on objective journalism. He further added, "they are going to hire a squad of young and good-looking 'warriors' for the station owner's 'cause'. Goran Milić is the right man for the job with loads of experience to execute that task in the 'most professional' manner because none of his personal beliefs will ever enter into it. He's been hired to do a job, and he's going to deliver the 'real' television. Al Jazeera is known for having learned their tricks from Western role models, fromthe BBC,which does it extremely 'professionally', after all ".[23]

Olivera Kovačević,RTStelevision host, touched on the issue of potential Al Jazeera Balkans journalists from Serbia having to disregard their own country'sconstitutionif the station's hiring criterion is to treat Kosovo as an independent state: "The very act of asking that question during a job interview – thereby interrogating an applicant on his/her political orientation – is in breach of that person's human rights. I accept that every media outlet has an editorial policy, but no one can demand of me to ignore my country's laws and constitution that say Kosovo is part of Serbia. It's going to be a tough call for the broadcasting regulators in Serbia whether to allow an outlet with such policy to own a station that broadcasts nationally in Serbia".[23]

The oppositionSerbian Radical Party(SRS) called on the Serbian Broadcasting Agency (RRA) not to allow the Al Jazeera Balkans' purchase of TV Avala due to the "anti-Serb campaign led by the Al Jazeera director for the Balkans, Goran Milić". Speaking at party's press conference, SRS presidency collegium memberVjerica Radetastated: "Milić has never ceased with his anti-Serb campaign, but the most scandalous of all is that the requirement to get a job at this station is accepting Kosovo as an independent state".[24]

International[edit]

The Spectator'sFraser Nelsonviews Al Jazeera's arrival to the Balkans through the lens of the ongoing global "information war" and theWestern media's current standing in that showdown. Discussing the situation in various spots around the globe, he contends that "the BBChas come under fierce competition from Al Jazeera ", which the British haven't responded to adequately, bringing up the Balkans as an example where" theBBC World Serviceclosed down its 21-man Serbian radio operation, while Al Jazeera Balkans set about hiring 150 people in Sarajevo headed by the veteran Croatian journalist Goran Milić ". He goes on to praise this formula of having" local television champions "rather than" foistingAnderson Cooperon the world ".[25]

Tim Judahwrote a piece on the launch of Al Jazeera Balkans inThe Economist,going through the various ethnic, religious, political, and linguistic specifics in the former Yugoslavia before wondering "whether people from one part of the Balkans are still interested in the others" outside of "enjoying each other's reality shows". Right after mentioning that "news broadcasts from Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Belgrade and Zagreb are all utterly different", Judah claims Al Jazeera Balkans faces the problem of "many Serbs and Croats assuming it is" Muslim "television". He concludes by saying that Al Jazeera's Arabic service played a key role in theArab Springand wonders "what sort of influence Qatar may want, or gain, in the Balkans".[19]

Writing in his blog onThe Weekly Standardweb site,Stephen Schwartzsees Al Jazeera Balkans (AJB) as "the revival of a" Yugoslav "television network", bringing up AJB news director Goran Milić's past affiliation withYutel,"a network that attempted to rescue Yugoslavia during its collapse, from 1990 to 1992". Schwartz concludes that "in entering the Balkans, Al Jazeera has opted for an attempted revival of a long-shattered Yugoslav cultural unity, combined with a gambit for greaterIslamistinfluence ", but also warns that" its decision comes at a bad time for the region, with Wahhabi radicals agitating across Balkan borders, and the neo-fundamentalist Turkish regime ofRecep Tayyip Erdoganbidding for revived prestige in the formerOttomanprovinces in Europe ". As for the network's financial prospects, Schwartz expresses doubts" that evocation of the long-gone, artificial nationality of the former Yugoslavia will make Al Jazeera’s investment in the Balkans profitable "though offers a possibility of" corrupt politicians dominating the ex-Yugoslav successor states finding it lucrative to have connections to Gulf petrobillionaires ".[26]

Shawn Powers, assistant professor at theGeorgia State University,claims the Al Jazeera network openly seeks to tap into Muslim-majority countries and markets it believes are hungry for a news agenda that is better tailored to their interests and is eager to tug the geopolitical center of gravity away from Europe—and closer to theArab World:"I think the decision about the Balkans, Turkey, and East Africa actually has to do with potential market shares, the fact that they think they can generate some revenue in these markets down the road. And of course there is also the strategic importance of each of these markets in the broader agenda ofpolitical Islam,and of turning countries toward the Middle East as opposed to away from the Middle East ".[22]

Film festival[edit]

In 2018, Al Jazeera Balkans launched its documentary film festival theAl Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival.Its first edition was held from 21 to 25 September 2018. The festival was established by Al Jazeera Balkans in cooperation with the Al Jazeera Media Network and the Doha-based Al Jazeera Media Institute. Al Jazeera Balkans is currently the biggest buyer of television format documentaries in the former Yugoslavia and annually acquires rights for most of the regional documentary films that are screened during the Sarajevo Film Festival. AJB DOC directly lent its concept from theAl Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival,which was founded in 2005 by Jordanian film director and writer, Abbas Arnaout.

See also[edit]

Competitors

References[edit]

  1. ^abAl Jazeera launches Balkans channel.Aljazeera, 12 November 2011.
  2. ^Al Jazeera launches Balkans television channel.BBC, 11 November 2011.
  3. ^"Al Džazira u Sarajevu pokreće balkanski TV projekat".Blic.26 May 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  4. ^abHawkes, Rebecca (19 September 2010)."Al Jazeera to launch regional Balkan TV".Rapid TV News.Archivedfrom the original on 23 September 2010.Retrieved20 April2021.
  5. ^BBC News Europe, 11 November 2011 -Al Jazeera launches Balkans television channel
  6. ^"Sjedište Al Jazeere Balkans u BBI Centru".sarajevo-x. 7 October 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  7. ^abc"Al Jazeera makes its Balkan debut".Deutsche Welle.22 September 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  8. ^ab"Minimalna novinarska plata u Al Jazeeri Balkans 2.000 KM".sarajevo-x. 14 October 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  9. ^"Više stotina prijava na konkurs za rad na" Al Džazira Balkans "".Blic.14 October 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  10. ^"Navala na Al Džaziru Balkans".B92.14 October 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  11. ^"Al Jazeera ponudila posao Aleksandru Stankoviću".sarajevo-x. 3 November 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  12. ^"Denis Latin generalni direktor Al Jazeere Balkans".sarajevo-x. 15 October 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  13. ^"Denis Latin novi direktor Al Džazire Balkan".Blic.16 October 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  14. ^"Latin direktor Al Džazire Balkan?".Blic.15 October 2010.Retrieved19 January2014.
  15. ^"Balkanska Al Džazira spremna za start".Politika.20 January 2011.Retrieved19 January2014.
  16. ^"Al-Jazeera to start broadcasting in Balkans in fall".B92.29 March 2011.Retrieved19 January2014.
  17. ^"Al Džazira kupuje srpsku TV Avala?".B92.16 June 2011.Retrieved19 January2014.
  18. ^"Al Džazira preko Avale stiže u Srbiju?".Frankfurtske Vesti. 16 June 2011.Retrieved19 January2014.
  19. ^ab"News in the ex-Yugoslavia: Broadcasting to the Balkans".The Economist.12 November 2011.Retrieved13 November2011.
  20. ^The Washington Examiner 11 November 2011, Aida Cerkez -Al Jazeera launches Balkan broadcast[permanent dead link]
  21. ^Rapid TVNews -Al Jazeera Balkans to launch 11 November
  22. ^abSadiković, Mirna; Sindelar, Daisy (26 November 2011)."With Launches in Balkans and Beyond, Al-Jazeera Building New Spheres of Influence".RFE/RL.Retrieved19 January2014.
  23. ^abBojić, B.; Nedeljković, V. (17 June 2011)."Skandal zbog pitanja o Kosovu: Al Džazira krši Ustav Srbije".Press.Retrieved19 January2014.
  24. ^"SRS: Ne dozvoliti rad" Al džaziri "".RTS.16 June 2011.Retrieved20 January2014.
  25. ^Nelson, Fraser (20 October 2011)."Al Jazeera scores another victory in the information war".The Spectator.Retrieved19 January2014.
  26. ^Schwartz, Stephen (15 November 2011)."Al Jazeera Enters the Balkans".The Weekly Standard.Retrieved19 January2014.

External links[edit]

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