SRNA RECEIVES SCIENTIFIC VALIDATION IN POLITEIA JOURNAL

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, APRIL 7 /SRNA/ - The fact that the News Agency of Republika Srpska - SRNA has been a backbone of the media system in Republika Srpska for 34 years has also received scientific validation in a paper published in the scientific journal Politeia.

In this academic paper, published in issue 26 of the journal, it was established through a factual analysis that SRNA has been a cornerstone of the information system of Republika Srpska since its founding on April 7, 1992, in Pale. During the civil war in BiH, for most local media outlets in Republika Srpska, and thus for the population in those areas, SRNA was the only source of information due to the inability of major republican-level media to cover the entire territory because of technical difficulties. In addition to its primary informational role, SRNA often served as a carrier of diplomatic, cultural, and other socially significant activities. The professionalism of the national news agency in Republika Srpska is also evidenced by the fact that even during the period of general sanctions against Srpska, no media outlet - from America to Japan and from Scandinavia to Australia - terminated its contract, and they continued to receive SRNA's news service and broadcast its reports, including explicitly anti-Serb media, particularly in the West. In certain periods, SRNA was more frequently cited in Western media than all other media from the former Yugoslavia combined. SRNA has endured for a full 34 years, and its role has not diminished today. On the contrary, by enriching its service through diversification and successfully adapting to new working conditions, SRNA continues to operate successfully even in the context of aggressive media commercialization. The journal Politeia is published by the Institute for Political Studies in Belgrade and the Faculty of Political Sciences in Banja Luka. Politeia is categorized as an M51 journal, meaning it is a nationally significant journal of top importance. Publication requires papers to pass a double blind peer-review process, which was also the case for the scientific paper on the News Agency of Republika Srpska SRNA. The authors of the paper are Master of Journalism Miroslav Jokić, a longtime journalist and editor at SRNA, and Professor Dr. Vuk Vučetić, a former journalist with the agency. Both authors now work at the Department of Journalism and Public Relations at the Faculty of Philosophy in Pale, with which SRNA has maintained continuous and successful cooperation since the establishment of the department. Today, the News Agency of Republika Srpska - SRNA is marking its patron saint day, the Annunciation, as well as 34 years of operation. SRNA was founded by a decision of the National Assembly of the then Serb Republic of BiH on the Annunciation in 1992 in Pale as the Serb News Agency - SRNA.