We’re Establishing a Media Emergency Fund: We Need You, Too!

Malicious lawsuits brought by powerful individuals and criminals are draining independent media outlets in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a result, journalists and editors are forced to spend far too much time in courtrooms and preparing their legal defences instead of conducting field investigations. At the same time, media outlets cannot fight these battles alone. They are forced to hire lawyers, placing a significant strain on their already limited and uncertain budgets.

This situation is also affecting several members of the Umbrella Association, which brings together 12 independent investigative media outlets: Capital.ba, Zurnal.info, Interview.ba, Impulsportal.net, Spin-portal.info, Tacno.net, Inforadar.ba, eTrafika.net, Gerila.info, Direkt-portal.com and Infoveza.com.

For some of these media outlets, ongoing legal disputes have put their very survival at risk. That is why we have decided to take action and work together to support our colleagues. We have realised that an emergency fund is essential — a fund that would allow us to provide financial assistance to colleagues facing SLAPP lawsuits, as well as other threats to their work, such as a lack of funds for day-to-day operations, illness, costly equipment breakdowns and similar emergencies.

The challenges that SLAPP lawsuits have created for Umbrella’s members have prompted us to establish an emergency fund that will also help them weather future crises, survive and continue their work. These media outlets have behind them years of dedicated work, thousands of investigative stories, hundreds of awards, and countless attacks and pressures. Through their investigations, they have exposed corruption, financial misconduct, social injustice, violations of human and civil rights, and environmental destruction. They have always made their work freely available to the public and courageously endured the pressures they have faced.

Now, we are turning to that same public, whose interests we have represented for years, and asking for support to continue our work. We see this relationship as a partnership in building a better, fairer society.

You can make your donation to the bank account of the Umbrella Association in Sarajevo:

Account number: 3387502261458570

Bank: UniCredit Bank

Payment reference: “donation”

For international transfers, please use our foreign-currency account:

IBAN: BA393387504800056434

SWIFT/BIC: UNCRBA22

Once a month, we will publish reports on Umbrella’s website detailing the funds raised and how they have been spent.

(zurnal.info)