Regional Newspaper Goes National
In 2003, daily Nezavisne Novine was an up-and-coming independent regional paper seeking to expand circulation from its home base in the Republika Srpska to the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Our original idea was for national coverage and distribution, because Bosnia and Herzegovina is one country,” said Željko Kopanja, the newspaper’s director and co-founder.
Two obstacles barred the way: distribution difficulties and public perception. Distribution was monopolized by a handful of companies that set their own price and sometimes favored rival papers from neighboring countries. As for public perception, the paper was undermined by stereotypes. Many readers in the Republika Srpska chose large metropolitan Serbian papers over Nezavisne Novine, the “local” option. Meanwhile, readers in other parts of the country dismissed Nezavisne Novine as a paper for Serbs.
Things changed when the daily began earning a healthy income from a printing press purchased with funding provided in part by USAID. The new press enabled the paper to cut costs by printing its own editions, and to utilize excess capacity for other jobs. With a new source of revenue, Nezavisne Novine could afford to start its own distribution network. By 2006, the paper was being sold at 35 company-owned kiosks, plus another 450 sales points run by other distributors. Today, Nezavisne Novine even distributes Serbian rival papers, which are slowly losing market share because they devote too little space to Republika Srpska news.
Printing 15,000 copies daily and 21,000 on Fridays, Nezavisne Novine has become the country’s second-largest daily and enjoys national circulation — 67 percent in the Republika Srpska and 33 percent in the rest of Bosnia. It has won national acclaim as well. Two hard-hitting investigative series on the oil and timber industries, supported by USAID grants in 2004 and 2005, earned the respect of readers nationwide.
Editorial decision making is collaborative across entity lines. Each day begins with a story conference between editors in the main Banja Luka office and the Sarajevo bureau. Together, they decide the day’s lineup and set the paper’s 90 staff in the two locations to work. Reporters and editors work in topic teams — another USAID innovation to encourage expertise. More than 30 stringers across the country chime in to make Nezavisne Novine the first regional paper in Bosnia and Herzegovina to succeed in going national.
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Three hours before deadline, a reporter checks in with a source. Reporters work in topic teams, an idea introduced by USAID to improve depth of coverage and encourage expertise.
Photo Credit: Chemonics/USAID Media |
A technician adjusts colors on daily Nezavisne Novine. Circulation has grown, and the paper needs two print runs to produce 15,000 copies daily.
Photo Credit: Chemonics/USAID Media |
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