Analyses of media democratisation and transition in postsocialist Europe in the 1990s and 2000s have often been written from a normative perspective focused on the liberalisation of media systems. Many authors have discussed whether the adaptation of media systems in third-wave democracies to the ideal of liberal democracy has been successful. The dominant expectation was that postsocialist media systems, including public service media (PSM), would change by imitating Western models. The tendency of countries or institutions to lag behind in the transformation process was often explained by the atavistic inclinations of the political elites who wanted to retain their powerful hold on the media system and resisted change. However, the current state of media systems in Central and Southeastern Europe demonstrates that developments were not linear. Rather, some countries which seemed to advance faster have experienced democratic backsliding, like Hungary and Poland, while others in the Western Balkans embarked on transition much later or never truly embraced the “Western model” of PSM. Moreover, as emphasised by the book’s editors, the legitimacy of public service media has also lost ground in the “old democracies” as a result of technological change and neoliberal pressures (18).

So, how can the such divergent transformations of former state media into public service media in the Western Balkans be explained? The book Up in the Air? The Future of Public Service Media in the Western Balkans edited by Tarik Jusić, Manuel Puppis, Laia Castro Herrero and Davor Marko, presents a much-needed analysis of the development of public service media in a region until recently mostly neglected in comparative media research. The term “Western Balkans” comprises those countries aspiring to EU accession—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia—while Croatia, which became an EU member in 2013, is also dealt with here. The goal of the book is to provide an overview of PSM in the region and a comparative analysis of their similarities and differences. Bringing additional value to the descriptive analysis, the book considers “contextual factors which help in explaining the current status and performance of public service broadcasting”, namely, the political structures of these countries, the actors involved in policymaking, the role of the EU, and the structure of the media markets (8).

The book is organised into two parts; the first provides an analysis of the state of PSM in the countries of the Western Balkans, while the second offers a comparative perspective. The contributors from the countries under study demonstrate their in-depth knowledge and provide exhaustive descriptions of relevant PSM. The further chapters dedicated to case studies all follow a similar structure, analysing legal and policy frameworks, media markets, the organisational structure of PSM, funding models, political and social issues, and the challenges of digitalisation.

The case studies reveal that the Western Balkans region is in many ways specific: the countries analysed here passed through a recent, difficult process of state-building; they are mostly postconflict and multi-ethnic societies, and small states with small media markets. Some are even contested states, like Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. In these countries, mimetic policy change has been quite literal, as legal frameworks and institution-building were created almost exclusively by external actors. As Nidžara Ahmetašević and Tea Hadžiristić explain, in Bosnia and Herzegovina the PSM were modeled with the help of BBC consultants and under the auspices of the Office of the High Representative, while “local media experts were hardly consulted in the process” (52). This resulted in the PSM becoming “Potemkin institutions” that only on the surface seem to satisfy external actors and donors (49). Similarly, as Naser Miftari explains in his chapter, in Kosovo the public service broadcaster was promoted by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as a completely new entity, although infrastructure from the socialist period existed.

Furthermore, many of these societies are postconflict societies. For this reason, the transformation process started later in comparison to most of the Central and East European countries where it was triggered by the fall of the Berlin Wall, and occurred in the 2000s rather than in the 1990s. During the wars that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia, it was impossible to build democratic media institutions, especially as the media had a role in disseminating propaganda. As Davor Marko explains, this was particularly evident in Serbia where state media were an important propaganda tool of Slobodan Milošević’s authoritarian regime. The headquarters of the Serbian state broadcaster in Belgrade was bombed by NATO during the Kosovo war in 1999, and only after the collapse of the Milošević regime could transformation begin. PSM started operating in Serbia only in 2006.

The nature of multi-ethnic societies has influenced PSM, most notably in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in North Macedonia, Kosovo and in the multi-ethnic province of Vojvodina in northern Serbia. Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia have ethnically divided media systems, which rather than promoting pluralism and social cohesion have added to fragmentation and political polarisation. Although the public broadcasting company of North Macedonia caters to ethnically and linguistically different groups, it has lost a great share of its audience to commercial competitors due to its political bias (122). In Bosnia and Herzegovina, ethnic divisions impede the implementation of innovative media policies (50).

As all the countries included in the analysis are small media systems, PSM struggle to compete with commercial broadcasters for audience shares, and have difficulties in collecting license fees and achieving financial stability. This financial instability goes hand in hand with political interference in PSM. Montenegro started the transformation of state television to PSM in the 2000s, but, as Nataša Ružić argues, there has been more continuity than reform. Current PSM resemble state media, as they are funded directly by the state and exhibit a strong pro-government bias. Croatia poses an exception to a certain extent, as local initiative has been stronger in policymaking and there has been more organisational and financial stability along with an innovative approach to digitalisation. However, this has not necessarily been a remedy against political influence, with which Croatian PSM also struggle.

In the second part of the book, the authors present country case studies, providing a comparative analysis of PSM transformation. Several also tackle possible future developments. Peter Bajomi-Lazar states that the project to install public service media has largely failed in third-wave democracies (151), claiming that PSM institutions in the Western Balkans serve political elites who use public resources for private means without serving the public (164). Ultimately, he sees two possible paths of development and arrives at a rather grim conclusion. One lies in improving legislation and allowing for more funding and time for political culture to democratise, and the other, which he advocates, is to close PSM institutions in the Western Balkans altogether.

Zrinjka Peruško compares the Yugoslav successor states and the factors which have contributed to their divergent development. She criticises mimetic media reforms which tried to “translate” policies to various institutional settings without their “domestication”, resulting in their poor implementation. Furthermore, she criticises the attempts to erase or not acknowledge previous socialist media, which, rather than being only mouthpieces of authoritarian government, upheld certain values now ascribed to PSM: “the idea of universal service concerning education, information and entertainment of people through radio and television broadcasting was present as well” (177).

Gregory Ferrell Lowe criticises the donor system and international aid which aimed at transplanting Western media system models without acknowledging the political culture in the countries at stake, and the project-based nature of such aid. As Lowe concludes, when financial support ends, “the system typically reverts to path-dependent patterns” (202). Michal Glowacki analyses the organisational structure of PSM in the Western Balkans and their ability to adapt and change according to the demands of digital, data-driven media environments, and from a broadcast to the network model, despite many barriers. Marko Milosavljević and Melita Poler Kovačič evaluate the effects of increased pressure from commercial competitors on the quality and diversity of PSM programmes. Today, PSM in the Western Balkans have increased their share of entertainment and low-quality programmes such as soap operas and reality shows, undermining their mission to broadcast in the public interest.

One of the most important transformations of PSM in the Western Balkans after the transition from state to public broadcaster has been the digital switchover, described by Sally Broughton Micova. The process has been mainly driven by external actors, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the EU, while the countries have had varying success in digital transition and seen different benefits from the process. The digital switchover and its implications for future policies regarding the position of PSM in the digital market is discussed by Kenneth Murphy. In the final chapter, Barbara Thomas reviews and compares insights from the book’s previous chapters and proposes regulations and instruments to safeguard PSM in the Western Balkans.

Apart from presenting a much-needed analysis of the state of public service media in the region, the book offers rich data about media systems. Another positive aspect is its critical approach towards mimetic policy change and focus on the sociopolitical contexts in which PSM operate. In the second part of the book, several authors come to insightful conclusions through comparison, while other chapters feel overly descriptive. However, this is a valuable book which will be very useful for scholars studying media systems and conducting comparative media research.