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Case Study
Media center maintains mission while ensuring financial independence
A Future for Independent Journalism
Photo: Chemonics/ Karen Byrne
Program director Tarik Jusic said Mediacentar Sarajevo is more streamlined, efficient, and robust than before after implementing advice from USAID business consultants to become more market-driven.
“Now it’s clear who does what,” said Mediacentar Sarajevo’s program director Tarik Jusic of an internal reorganization to give the organization a more clearly defined structure.
Challenge
International donors generously supported the independent media in Bosnia and Herzegovina after a devastating ethnic conflict ended in 1995. While media organizations there have matured professionally, many are ill-equipped to survive as independent businesses. USAID stepped in to help Mediacentar Sarajevo, a vital information and training resource for independent journalism established in 1995, to develop a sustainability plan. The goal was to reduce donor dependence and increase commercial sources of income.
Initiative
Since its inception, Mediacentar’s managers worked to provide the services they believed the media needed. But they had not 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 of training journalists, while also offering public relations training, TV and radio production services, and subscription access to a digital library.
Results
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 government archives. Future plans include spinning off several affiliated companies that can partially fund the center, enabling it to stay true to its core mission of supporting independent journalism.
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