Securing the Future of Media Support
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) after a devastating ethnic conflict ended in 1995. Since then, stability has gradually returned, and donors are turning their attention to other regions in need. While BiH media organizations have matured professionally, many are ill equipped for survival as independent businesses. In 2003, USAID stepped in to help Mediacentar Sarajevo, a vital information and training resource for independent journalism, develop a sustainability plan. The goal was to reduce donor dependence and increase commercial sources of income.
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With its six profit centers, new job descriptions and designated reporting relationships, Mediacentar Sarajevo program director Tarik Jusić says the 11-year-old media support organization is more streamlined, efficient, and robust than before: “Now it’s clear who does what.”
Photo Credit: Karen Byrne, Chemonics |
Mediacentar has been mission-focused since its inception in 1995, and its managers have always worked to provide the services they believed the media needed. But they had never really tested the market’s perception of the center’s services or gauged clients’ ability to pay without donor subsidies. USAID business consultants worked with managers to ascertain the demand for services, create a strategic plan for growth, and develop a business plan to execute their vision. A sweeping internal reorganization created three levels of staff, established clear reporting relationships, and spelled out responsibilities in job descriptions. The center hired a business manager and now tracks the performance of six separate profit centers. The center continues to focus on its original mission — training journalists — and also offers public relations training, TV and radio production services, and subscription access to a digital library.
In two years, Mediacentar has reduced donor dependence from 80 percent to 60 percent of its budget. It is now the largest, most diversified media center in the Balkans, and its business plan serves as a model for others. By design, the center continues to attract both commercial and donor funding for specific projects — most recently, a documentary about Bosnian refugees in Montenegro and a project to digitize 150 years of BiH government archives. Future plans include spinning off several “daughter” companies that can partially fund the center, enabling it to stay true to its core mission of supporting independent journalism.
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