Self-censorship, intimidation, threats and low wages - these are some of the issues journalists are  facing in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Lack of transparency of media ownership, questionable government funding of media, political control of public broadcasters, as well as the inability to establish a sustainable model of subscription fee collection, are some of the issues highlighted in this year’s Bosnia and Herzegovina Media Sustainability Index (MSI).

Journalists are often susceptible to intimidation and threats, due to unstable political and economic climate: they can’t always attend government events, their wages are low and self-censorship is on the rise.

At the same time, in the environment of a poor advertising market and abundance of media, many of whom do not respect professional standards, Bosnia and Herzegovina produces twice as many journalism graduates than is necessary.

This report has been prepared by Mediacenter Sarajevo, in cooperation with International and Research Exchage (IREX). 

IREX's Media Sustainability Index (MSI) provides in-depth analyses of the conditions for independent media in 80 countries across the world. By "sustainability" IREX refers to the ability of media to play its vital role as the "fourth estate".

How sustainable is a media sector in the context of providing the public with useful, timely, and objective information? How well does it serve as a facilitator of public discussion? To measure this, the MSI assesses five "objectives" that shape a media system: freedom of speech, professional journalism, plurality of news, business management, and supporting institutions.

On this scale, each of the countries surveyed can score from 0 to 4. On this year's Index, Bosnia and Herzegovina has scored 1.97.

Complete report "Bosnia and Herzegovina Media Sustainability Index (MSI)" is available here.