Model Interventions: The Evolution of Media Development Strategies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Macedonia from 2000 to 2007 Hawley Johnson Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2012 © 2012 Hawley Johnson All rights reserved ABSTRACT Model Interventions: The Evolution of Media Development Strategies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Macedonia from 2000 to 2007 Hawley Johnson The United States, in cooperation with European governments and international aid organizations, has sponsored the development of independent media as a major component of both conflict interventions and democratization programs, and more recently as part of nation building efforts. This study explores the evolution and export of those dominant democratic media models and their impact on recipient communities in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia from 2000 to 2007. International donors came to see media development as a silver bullet for democratization efforts to foster freedom of speech, civil society, good governance, as well as an engaged citizenry. Donors and practitioners initially believed that institutions, once established, would function in a specific way, and coupled with assistance to professionalize and commercialize the media sector, would create or at least jump start systems similar to those in the US and Europe. Over the years, policy makers have identified the vital parts of a democratic media system, but what they have failed to fully understand is the dynamic interaction among them. Now, more than fifteen years after the end of the Bosnian war and twelve after the end of the war in Kosovo, numerous assessments by government sponsors and independent evaluators have reported success in achieving fundamental media freedoms in these countries, yet these media sectors have not demonstrated their anticipated transformative power – leaving struggling or dysfunctional organizations in the wake of donor financial retreat. This study argues that media organizations and institutions are trapped between pressures to commercialize and professionalize, which have become conflicting rather than enabling forces when combined with weak economic environments. In each of the countries in this study, a lack of synchronization among reforms, political divisions, and poor economic growth have contributed to a web of interrelated challenges. Despite significant economic reforms, growth and stability have never reached a threshold for systemic change. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1 What is Media Assistance? 8 Chronology of Donor Assistance 16 Field Research and Outline of Chapters 31 Chapter 2: The Role of Economic Development in Media Development 36 Donor Expectations and Operating Assumptions 38 Media Development in Post-Soviet Countries………………………………………………… 45 The Western Media Model ……….57 Economic Development and Values Creation 64 The Dynamics of Economic Development 70 Distortions and Skewed Outcomes 78 Conclusions 92 Chapter 3: Bosnia-Herzegovina 96 Overview of Media Assistance Strategies in Bosnia 100 Ecology: The Media Development Tool Box and a Disabling Enabling Environment 111 Professionalization and Supporting Institutions 112 Regulation and Self-regulation 117 Commercialization and the Media Market 126 Distortions 135 Conclusion 148 Chapter 4: Kosovo 152 Background of the Intervention 155 Establishing the Protectorate 159 Media Development Goals and Strategies 163 Policy Consequences and Distortions 167 International Accountability: Translators and Missed Opportunities 180 Ecology of the Media Sector 184 Conclusion 208 Chapter 5: Macedonia 213 Chronology of Media Assistance in Macedonia 217 Ecology of the Media Sector 239 Commercialization, Professionalization, and Economic Development 251 Policy Distortions 256 Conclusion 259 Epilogue 262 Chapter 6: Conclusion 268 A Comparison of Case Studies 272 From Western Models to International Standards 281 Bibliography 290 i Charts, Graphs, and Illustrations Table 1.1 – Recorded Support for Media in the Balkans, 1996-2006 18 Image 3.1 – “Welcome to BiH” Billboard 147 Image 3.2 – DANI Cover 148 Figure 5.1 – IREX Media Sustainability Index: Macedonia, 2001-2010 216 ii Acknowledgements My first trip to Yugoslavia was as a young student in 1984, on a two week research trip with 15 other students. It was shortly after the Sarajevo Olympics and spirits throughout the country were high; there were no outward signs of things to come. Upon my return, I wrote my first college paper on workers self-management in Yugoslavia – Tito’s economic model meant to bring a form of direct democracy to the workplace along with brotherhood, unity, and prosperity after World War II. It is somehow fitting that my last academic project (I hope!), this dissertation, is also on Yugoslavia – as it again reinvents itself. The first person I must thank is one of my favorite professors, Dr. Melvin Schlein, a man of extraordinary patience and humor who organized that fateful bus tour and research trip. He opened our eyes to life and ideology in the buffer states and behind the Iron Curtain. He (truly) started his career as a rocket scientist but somehow found teaching political science and herding students around Eastern Europe far more entertaining. I must also express deep gratitude to Dr. Floyd Parsons of Franklin College for “connecting the dots” in his Intellectual History class, and Dr. Anita Mallinckrodt, formerly of American University, for introducing me to the study of communications and for her mentoring in the early years. In 1998 I enrolled in Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, compelled in part by the collapse of Yugoslavia. The Harriman Institute became my second home and I am grateful to the Harriman faculty and staff members (past and present) for all of their support; in particular, John Micgiel and Kevin Hallinan, Radmila Gorup, Andrea Bartoli, and the late Ambassador Warren Zimmermann. I also received a number of grants during that iii period that allowed me to further my research and understanding of ex-Yugoslavia and the role of media in conflict situations; they included the Harriman Junior Fellowship, the Meyers Fellowship, the Pepsico Research Fellowship, a Program Assistant Fellowship, the International Conflict Resolution Summer Fellowship, and the SIPA International Fellowship. From 2000 to 2007, I worked at the Center for War, Peace and the News Media at New York University. I am deeply indebted to my colleagues there who gave me an extraordinary opportunity to work in media development. Thanks to Robert Manoff for his confidence and trust in my abilities and for his intellectual leadership on media and conflict, Carol Sternhell and Mitch Stephens for adopting the programs and continuing to fight for them, and Kim Schulman and John Hernandez for navigating NYU bureaucracy. I must also thank our donors, Kendra Davis at the US Department of State, who oversaw the generous grants which funded many of the programs we implemented, and Mike Henning of USAID for his unwavering support of CIN. Anna Di Lellio has been a source of inspiration and wisdom on media development in Kosovo and murky Balkan politics. She has been extremely generous with her time, reading drafts and providing extensive comments which helped me to strengthen weak areas and clarify others. There were many friends and colleagues who shared their knowledge and experiences throughout my Balkan journey. Drew Sullivan and the crew at CIN deserve recognition for their vision and tenacity, Evliana Berani for her encyclopedic knowledge of the Kosovo media world and her unbounded energy in organizing my research trip, Regan McCarthy for her candor and hours of discussion, and all the journalists and local partners too numerous to mention who gave their time and insights to this research. iv The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism has been the intellectual home for this dissertation for many years. Andie Tucher and Evelyn Corchado deserve special thanks for their patience, guidance, and understanding, and for having my back through this lengthy process. Many of my fellow students provided invaluable feedback during my research, and offered book recommendations and plenty of sound advice. Michael Schudson has been the best advisor any graduate student could hope for. I am indebted to him for continuing to believe I would finish despite endless crises, for his careful reading of many drafts, for his constructive feedback, and of course for his own work – which shaped this dissertation. I hope I have done justice to his comments and his years of tracking me down in the wilds of Vermont. Monique Girard and David Stark, who never gave up on me, I cannot thank enough for having seen me through from the beginning at SIPA, to the chaotic middle, to the final stretch. They have been supportive on many levels over the years, keeping me employed as a research assistant, welcoming me into the CODES seminar, and allowing me to partner with their Center on Organizational Innovation for my USAID research grant, which became the basis for this dissertation. Committee members Richard John and Yasmine Ergas have shown great courage and compassion jumping on board to get me through the defense. I would not even have embarked on this project had it not been for the late and truly great James Carey who lured me into it and was a source of constant inspiration, and whose work