SARAJEVO'S CHILDREN PLAY IN FRONT OF OSLOBODJENJE BUILDING, 1999-10-11 (photo)

FOR RELEASE WITH STORY BC-MEDIA-BOSNIA - Bosnian children play soccer in front of the war-torn building which houses Bosnian independent daily Oslobodjenje. Oslobodjenje, a symbol around the world of Sarajevo's dogged struggle to survive during the 1992-1995 Serb siege, is finding it hard to cope in peacetime. Oslobodjenje (Liberation) has been hit by an ethnically fragmented newspaper market in post-war Bosnia and by plunging living standards of its faithful middle class readers in the impoverished Balkan country. The newspaper, which has lost its pre-war position as the Balkan republic's largest daily, has been forced to reduce staff and slash costs to return to profitability. Picture taken 8OCT99. DS/JDP