Media in Bosnia, 19
improvements in the credibility of their independent media outlets (the difference between 1998
and 2002 also was statistically significant; p < .05). In terms of politically-motivated media
outlets, the mean credibility score dropped significantly from 12.58 in 1998 to 11.84 in 2002 (F =
8.43; p < .01; data on the credibility of all politically-motivated media outlets in Sarajevo were
not gathered in 2000), indicating a significant decline in the perceived credibility in politically-
motivated media outlets in Sarajevo from 1998 to 2002.
Discussion
The data show the trend of Bosnian perceptions about media from 1998 - 2002. By
examining media realism, importance of various outlets, and credibility we can gain a picture of
the evolving media transition in Bosnia.
Media Realism
One way to understand how the public views the media is through the perceived
realism measure. The perceived realism measure in this study was intended to show public
perception of the media as disseminating realistic news and information. Traditionally, the
perceived realism measurement is used as a filter to group subjects in an experiment into
different realism viewer categories. However, the interest in this study was to understand the
“reality” lens through which Bosnians consume media messages in general. Perceived reality
was measured in this study on a 25-point summed scale (five questions each with five-point
Likert options). Perceived realism is a paradoxical situation. Too much realism ends in
audiences who believe everything in the media and too little realism ends in audience members
who cannot trust the media as an information resource.
Table 1 reports that the perceived realism means ranged from a low of 11.68 (Banja Luka
in 1998) to a high of 13.90 (Sarajevo in 2000). Banja Lukan’s perceptions of the realism of their
Convention