Al Jazeera Balkans broadcasts last news show from Sarajevo studio

A number of Al Jazeera Balkans employees said their farewell on social networks to their colleagues and viewers, confirming the end of broadcast.

The Balkan office of this media outlet operated as a part of the Qatari media concern headquartered in Doha, and in addition to the central studio in Sarajevo, the channel also had regional centers in Zagreb, Belgrade, Skopje and Podgorica, correspondents in Pristina, Nis, Banja Luka, as well as Washington, London and Brussels, but it also used the global network of correspondents Al Jazeera Media Network.

Al Jazeera Balkans has been present in Sarajevo since September 2010, through the acquisition of the company "PEP", which bought the local TV station NTV Studio 99 for 2.3 million Bosnian marks, which was the amount of that TV station's debts to the state.

AJB was on air as of November 11, 2011 and its website was launched on the same day.

In 2018, Al Jazeera Balkans launched its own documentary film festival, the Al Jazeera Balkans Documentary Film Festival, which takes place in Sarajevo every September.

The Board of Directors of the BH Journalists' Association and the Helpline for Journalists expressed their regret over the announced shutdown of the regional television station Al Jazeera Balkans (AJB) with headquarters in Sarajevo and programs for the entire region of the former Yugoslavia.

"It is particularly worrying that a media outlet that had completely stable funding and high standards of protection of the rights and professional integrity of its journalists is being shut down," the statement said.

It further reminds that for 14 years, this television station has "reported on the most important topics in the Balkans and the world in a professional manner, opened the media debate on the key challenges of peace and stability in our region, and was a leader in documentary and educational programs intended for the widest audience."

The Board of Directors of BH Journalists believes that by shutting down Al Jazeera Balkans, the entire region will significantly lose media diversity and pluralism, and the audience will be left without a reliable and credible source of information. "It will be an irreparable blow to the media community of the region and a narrowing of the space for diversity of opinion and critical journalism in the public interest," it warned.

The Management Board of BH Journalists also expressed concern over the fate of 209 employees of AJB who learned from other media that the television they work for is shutting down.

"In this context, BH Journalists call on the administration and management of AJB to share with journalists and all other employees information regarding the shutdown of this media, including the reasons for such a drastic decision. Also, the Board of Directors of BH Journalists demands from AJB management that the termination of employment contracts for all employees is carried out in a legal manner and in accordance with the positive regulations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, respectively the Federation of BiH," the statement said.

BH Journalists association expressed their full support to the journalists of AJB, and are available to provide them with any kind of legal, psychological and other assistance. At the same time, the Association's Board of Directors called on the Bosnian journalistic community to demonstrate professional unity and solidarity, individually or collectively, in order to at least somewhat mitigate the consequences of the closure of AJB.