Media Intervention and Transformation of the Journalism Model in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Transformation of a journalistic model in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a long-term challenge both for international organizations engaged in media reform and for local media professionals who strive to establish a model according to developed democratic countries. Although enormous efforts have been made to establish a model that embraces the values of impartial, correct and fair reporting, patriotic journalism - based primarily on the principle “us against them” - remains as the norm for reporting on a great number of social events. It is believed that patriotic journalism is the essential journalistic model when reporting about controversial social events where opposite perspectives of ethno-political elites occur. This claim is supported by the results of analysis of reporting about the trial of Radovan Karadžić, the former president of Republika Srpska before the International Tribunal for War Crimes. The reasons for the survival of this model are found in non-reformed political spheres that generate social divisions