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Al Jazeera Balkans (AJB) has ended its news broadcasts and will permanently shut down by the end of July, the Qatari-based media network confirmed Saturday, marking the end of a 14-year presence in the region.
Bosnia and Herzegovina-based channel’s final news bulletin aired Saturday, July 12. Previously recorded programming will continue to be broadcast until the signal is fully switched off later this month.
“This was the last news program for Al Jazeera Balkans. Thank you for nearly fourteen years of your trust,” anchor Dalija Hasanbegovic-Konakovic told viewers during the midday news broadcast..
An official explanation from Al Jazeera Media Network has not yet been released, but multiple sources cited "financial reasons" for the decision, while reports in Bosnian media suggest deeper internal issues.
Sarajevo-based outlet Dnevni Avaz reported that the network’s headquarters in Doha sent an audit team to Sarajevo last month to investigate longstanding rumors of mismanagement at Al Jazeera Balkans.
According to the report, auditors were unable to resolve accumulated problems and opted to shut down the channel after meeting with local executives, including Managing Director Tarik Dodic and senior official Edhem Foco. Both reportedly displayed defiant behavior during the process.
The report further alleged financial misconduct involving AJB's production funds and a company called "Foto Art", owned by Gordan Memija—a close associate of Bosnia’s Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic. Memija has reportedly been under investigation as part of the "Black Tie" operation targeting the "Tito and Dino" drug cartel led by Edin Gacanin.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Konakovic reportedly attempted to interfere in the audit by sending a letter to Qatar’s prime minister but failed to influence the outcome.
The closure will result in the loss of approximately 200 jobs and removes a rare regional broadcaster known for investigative journalism and cross-border reporting.
Al Jazeera Balkans launched on Nov. 11, 2011, with its main studio in Sarajevo and a regional network of correspondents in Belgrade, Zagreb, Skopje, Podgorica, Ljubljana, and Pristina. It was the first major regional news network established after the wars of the 1990s and the breakup of Yugoslavia.
AJB gained recognition for original documentary content and investigative journalism. It also organized the international documentary film festival AJB DOC, which brought global filmmakers to Sarajevo.
Press associations across the Balkans expressed deep concern over the shutdown.
"The closure is a democratic loss in societies where media pluralism is weak or non-existent," said the Croatian Journalists' Association and the national journalists' union in a joint statement, warning of an “erosion of space for freedom and truth.”
Bosnia’s BH Novinari press association said, "Viewers will be deprived of a credible source of information."
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