Media Financing as a Mechanism of Media Capture in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia

Abstract

This article examines public media financing as a mechanism of media capture in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis of academic and policy sources, it compares two models: BiH’s decentralised system of direct subsidies, grants, procurement and public-sector advertising, and Serbia’s project-based financing system introduced through the 2014 reforms. Despite their different institutional designs, both enable political influence through opaque or discretionary allocation, governance arrangements and weak safeguards for editorial independence. The findings show that formal reforms alone do not prevent capture when regulatory, ownership and political structures continue to reinforce media dependence on political actors and public funding.