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Die Medien in Mazedonien

Vladimir Zlatarsky, Dirk Förger

KAS Auslandsinformationen, issue 7-8 (2009), pp. 62-80

"On World Press Freedom Day, about 200 journalists met in the Macedonian capital of Skopje in May 2009 to protest against unfair trials of journalists and pillory political pressure and the level of press freedom in general. To be sure, Macedonia’s constitution guarantees freedom of opinion and th ... e press. Moreover, laws such as the electronic media act of 2005 and the radio act do allow a certain latitude for journalists. Yet problems remain: many media depend on the state, wages are low, journalist training is defective, and outrages against reporters are still happening. Macedonia’s secession from ex-Yugoslavia in 1991 did not bring domestic unity. One enduring problem is the tension between the Macedonian majority and the Albanian minority. The armed conflict between the army and Albanian separatists was resolved only by the Ochrid agreement (OFA). Today, the country is a parliamentary democracy endeavouring to join the EU and NATO. Yet the Atlantic Alliance did not issue an invitation to the 2008 Bucharest summit, probably because of the ethnic tension and persistent corruption in the country and the unresolved dispute with Greece over the name Macedonia. Headed by Nikola Gruevski, the coalition of civil and Albanian forces that currently governs the country continues to steer a course towards Europe, but it is confronted by great challenges: high unemployment, an extensive shadow economy, murky relations between politics and the economy, and the uneasy coexistence of ethnic groups. All this is echoed by the media of the country. The total number of Macedonian print media can only be estimated; it is said that there are around 750. The most powerful newspaper group is the one owned by the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) which acquired three products called ”Dnevnik”, ”Utrinski vestnik” and ”Vest” in May 2003. Founded in 1996, Dnevnik boasts the highest circulation. The paper itself states that it is printing 55,000 copies a day, having broken the monopoly of the former ’state paper’ ”Nova Makedonija”. Good style and up-to-date coverage brought new readers. With a circulation of 30,000, ”Vest” belongs to the yellow-press category. Printed in 8,000 copies, ”Utrinski vestnik” mainly offers analyses and comments. Even privatization could not prevent the fall of ”Nova Makedonija”, the mouthpiece of the communists before independence. These days, it is barely hanging on with a circulation of 3,000. The eponymous company also owns ”Vecer” (circulation 3,000) and the Turkish-language ”Birlik”. Established in Sofia in 2004, the immensely popular ”Vreme” has meanwhile reached a circulation of 10,000, appearing also on Sundays under the name of ”Nedelno vreme”. ”Fakti”, the leading paper published in the Albanian language, appears also in the Kosovo. At the same time, two Kosovan-language papers are being published in Macedonia, ”Koha Ditore” and ”Lajme”. About 60 weeklies are being printed in Macedonia, of which many appear at irregular intervals and face great financial problems. However, all the country’s print media stand in need of financial transparency. The considerable pressure exerted by the state on the media, mostly through paid advertisements, adversely affects the choice and quality of information. Moreover, the special advantages enjoyed by established houses make it even more difficult for new independent papers to enter the market. In 1997, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) was established to monitor radio and television channels, protect pluralism and the freedom of opinion, and safeguard the independence of all media. Although CEM members are nominated by renowned institutions, they are all appointed by parliament in the end, a procedure which Freedom House regards as problematic. Currently, there are six media institutes that hold broadcasting licences: MTV, a public-service channel, A1 TV, Alsat-M, Kanal 5, Sitel, and Telma. A1 TV, the market leader that was launched in 1993 as Macedonia’s first private channel, attracted 23.7 percent of the viewing public in 2007. Next in line at 12.3 percent is Sitel, which has been mainly airing entertainment programmes since 1993. Kanal 5 has a market share of 7.6 percent, while Telma has 3.9. Launched in 2006, Alsat-M airs programmes in the Albanian language, swiftly winning over 86 percent of the country’s Albanian population. At 52, the number of TV stations is high for a small country like Macedonia, although the funding question remains moot in many cases. At a total of 62, radio stations are also fairly numerous, although only four of them hold a national licence. Because of the growing importance of television and, to an even greater extent, the internet, the number of listeners has been declining in recent years. On a regional and local scale, however, radio stations, two of which are transmitting Albanian-language programmes, still retain their importance. Among the country’s news agencies, Makfax has established itself as a reputable source. Founded in 1992, the agency also reports in Albanian and English. Makedonski Informativen Centar, another private agency, was established in 2007. Founded in 1992 on the initiative of parliament, Makedonska Informativna Agencia also offers trilingual service. Portal Total supplies business news every day. Finally, the internet has become a major source of information thanks to the online editions of various papers and journals. The charges made in May of this year appear justified. In the view of Freedom House, the media in Macedonia are only ’partially free’. Outrages are still being committed on journalists for whose protection associations have been founded, although these are ethnically divided and hardly cooperate at all. Thus, the Association of Journalists exists side by side with the Association of Albanian Journalists. The associations will have their work cut out to protect their own members from physical or legal persecution and lay abuses before the public: in May 2006, for example, a court in Kumanova sentenced Mr Bozinovski, an investigative journalist, to three months’ imprisonment for libel and defamation after he had written an article exposing the links between politics, business, and journalism. Although Mr Bozinovski’s article was written three years ago, and the libel clause on which the proceedings were based had been struck from the code days before the sentence, the court obviously wanted to finish the case under the ’old law’. The prisoner owes his premature release only to the pressure exerted by the EU and Amnesty International. Reports about attacks on Albanian journalists are piling up as well: in September 2007, for example, a reporter of the Albanian-language Alsat-M television channel had his camera forcibly torn from him when he filmed policemen who had aroused the rage of villagers by stopping the car of an MP who was involved in a parliamentary scandal. When he refused to hand over his camera, the journalist was knocked down by policemen. The electronic media act adopted in 2005 was intended to protect pluralism from cartels. Thus, the owner of one electronic medium is not prohibited from acquiring an interest in another. What he may not do, however, is acquire an interest in a company which owns a print medium or is active in advertizing, telecommunications, or the film industry. Once again, however, there is a gap between theory and practice, all the more so as many Macedonian TV channels belong to influential enterprises which, in turn, are closely related to political parties." (Executive summary). more

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Approach - Models - Impact: Strategic Support of Roma Media Initiatives

Marie Struthers

In: Media on the Move: Migrants and Minorities and the Media. 4th Symposium Forum Medien Und Entwicklung (FoME)

Christoph Dietz, Petra Stammen (eds.)

Aachen: Catholic Media Council (CAMECO) (2009), pp. 57-64

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Global Information Society Watch 2009: Focus on Access to Online Information and Knowledge – Advancing Human Rights and Democracy

Alan Finlay (ed.)

Association for Progressive Communications (APC); Hivos (2009), 231 pp.

"GISWatch has three interrelated goals: surveying the state of the field of information and communications technology (ICT) policy at local and global levels; encouraging critical debate; strengthening networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society. Each year the report focuses on ... more

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Local Violence, Global Media: Feminist Analyses of Gendered Representations

Lisa M. Cuklanz, Sujata Moorti (eds.)

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2009), viii, 276 pp.

"While there exists a wide range of material covering violence against women, very little scholarly attention has been paid to international media treatments of gendered violence. This volume addresses the gap by providing a broad overview of contemporary representations of gendered violence, enabli ... more

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Media Sustainability Index 2009: Development of Sustainable Independent Media in Europe and Eurasia

Leon Morse (ed.)

Washington, DC: IREX (2009), xix, 285 pp.

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Medienhilfe als Instrument militärischer Organisationen

Friederike von Franqué

In: Sicherheit und Medien

Thomas Jäger, Henrike Viehrig (eds.)

Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften (2009), pp. 111-123

"Medieninterventionen militärischer Organisationen werden fast ausschließlich bemerkt, wenn es sich um restriktive Informationspolitik oder Zerstörung von Radio- und Fernsehsendern handelt. Dabei ist die kommunikative Tätigkeit von militärischen Organisationen weitaus breiter angelegt: Sie umfa ... more

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Media, Democracy and Freedom: The Post-Communist Experience

Marta Dyczok (ed.)

Bern et al.: Peter Lang (2009), 246 pp.

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Demokratieförderung durch Journalistenausbildung in Südosteuropa

Bonn: Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (2009), 216 pp.

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Sword and Shield: Self-Regulation and International Media: A Report

Bill Ristow

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2009), 33 pp.

"1. The media development community should work within individual media houses to create in-house, publicly reported complaint systems rather than relying solely on outside press councils to do the job. 2. Funding groups should encourage media criticism, in forms such as local journalism reviews. 3. ... more

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Internationalizing Internet Studies: Beyond Anglophone Paradigms

Gerard Goggin, Mark McLelland (eds.)

New York; London: Routledge (2009), vii, 343 pp.

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Television Studies After TV: Understanding Television in the Post-Broadcast Era

Graeme Turner, Jinna Tay (eds.)

Abingdon: Routledge (2009), x, 214 pp.

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Communication for Development: A Glimpse at UNDP's Practice

Elizabeth McCall

Oslo: United Nations; UNDP Oslo Governance Centre (2009), 54 pp.

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Medien, Migration, Identität: Migranten und ihre Mediennutzung. Drei Projektberichte aus der Urbanregion Stuttgart

Oliver Zöllner (ed.)

Stuttgart: Hochschule der Medien (2009), 105 pp.

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The Media in South-East Europe: A Comparative Media Law and Policy Study

Beate Martin, Alexander Scheuer, Christian Bron (eds.)

Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2009), 159 pp.

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Media Preferences and Perceptions: A Survey Among Students, Ethnic Minorities and Politicians in Slovenia

Brankica Petkovic, Marko Prpic, Neva Nahtigal, Sandra B. Hrvatin

Ljubljana: Peace Institute (2009), 182 pp.

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Journalismuswelten: Ein Vergleich von Journalismuskulturen in 17 Ländern

Thomas Hanitzsch, Josef Seethaler

Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft, volume 57, issue 4 (2009), pp. 464-483

"Der vorliegende Aufsatz berichtet erste deskriptive Befunde aus einer multinationalen Studie zum Vergleich von Journalismuskulturen. Im Rahmen des Projekts wurden insgesamt 1700 Journalisten in 17 Ländern zu ihren professionellen Orientierungen befragt. Im Vordergrund standen Fragen nach dem Verst ... more

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Exploring the Role of Civil Society in the Formulation and Adoption of Access to Information Laws: The Cases of Bulgaria, India, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom

Andrew Puddephatt

Washington, DC: World Bank; World Bank Institute (2009), vii, 45 pp.

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Building Commitment to Reform Through Strategic Communication: The Five Key Decisions
Key Guides

Cecilia Cabañero-Verzosa, Helen Garcia

Washington, DC: World Bank (2009), xiii, 133 pp.

"The Five Communication Management Decision Tool helps reformers and their teams develop a framework for their communication strategies. This decision tool helps managers see change initiatives through the eyes of those who will be affected by the reforms. When the decision tool is used in the early ... more

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A Long Way Home: Representations of the Western Balkans in Political and Media Discourses

Tanja Petrovic (ed.)

Ljubljana: Peace Institute (2009), 93 pp.

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Digging Deeper: A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans
Key Guides

Sheila S. Coronel

Sarajevo: Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) (2009), 273 pp.

"This handbook offers an insight into a set of investigative practices that will make your first steps into this exciting and demanding discipline, easier. You will find the elements that we consider to be the most important aspects of investigative journalistic work, along with numerous examples an ... more

Building Commitment to Reform Through Strategic Communication: The Five Key Decisions Key Guides

Digging Deeper: A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans Key Guides

Building Commitment to Reform Through Strategic Communication: The Five Key Decisions
Key Guides

Digging Deeper: A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans
Key Guides