The mass media in North Macedonia refers to mass media outlets based in North Macedonia. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. The Constitution of North Macedonia guarantees freedom of the press and of expression, yet they are not upheld impartially by the authorities.Freedom House, 2015 report on press freedom in North Macedonia As a country in transition, North Macedonia's media system is under transformation.
Legislative framework The Constitution of North Macedonia guarantees the freedom of expression, freedom of speech, the right to access to information and the establishment of institutions for public information. It also guarantees the freedom of reception and transmission of information, and bans censorship. Finally, the Constitution guarantees to national minorities the right to cultural expression and information in their own languages.Elda Brogi, Alina Dobreva, and Pier Luigi Parcu, "Freedom of Media in the Western Balkans", study for the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, October 2014, EXPO/B/DROI/2013/16
The Law on Broadcasting Activity foresees restrictions to the broadcast of contents aimed at the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, military aggression, or incitement of national, racial, gender or religious hatred and intolerance, as well as programs liable to damage the physical, mental or development of children and youth.
Libel and defamation are decriminalised since 2012's Law on Civil Liability for Defamation and Insult, though fines remain extremely high.
A new law on the media is being drafted, to harmonise it with the EU AVMS directive. Yet, early drafts raised concerns in terms of possible restrictions to media freedoms.European Commission, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2013 Progress Report. Accompanying the Document: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2013-2014
The law on access to information, adopted in 2006, is harmonised with international and EU standards. The Commission for Free Access to Public Information is still not independent as it should and lacks capacities. The law remains not fully implemented, and access to public information is uneven and selectively enforced.
Radio and TV broadcasting during electoral campaign is regulated by the Election Code. Press coverage of election time is only self-regulated; an independent study in 2013 found large imbalances and lack of professional standards, so that "some media news was used to directly manipulate the opinion of the electorate".UNESCO (2013), How Does the Media Construct Their Political Bias? Analysis of Framing – Qualitative Aspects of Media Coverage on 2013 Local Elections Campaign. Skopje: UNESCO Chair in Media, Dialogue and Mutual Understanding, School of Journalism and Public Relations.
The independent regulatory authority is the Broadcasting Council, whose tasks and powers are aligned with Council of Europe recommendations, but which remains strongly influenced by the political parties, the government, and the media industry. Although members of the Council are selected by "authorised nominators" (the Inter-University Conference, the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association of Journalists, and the Parliamentary Committee on Elections and Nominations), the majority of appointees are deemed close to the ruling party, thus bringing partisanship in the regulatory body.
Online content is not specifically regulated, besides the general restrictions against hate speech, and intermediaries (ISP) are not liable for distributed contents.
Status and self-regulation of journalists Journalists in North Macedonia face "low salaries, poor job security and working conditions, and editorial pressure from owners".
Most journalists in North Macedonia have rather low socio-economic status, and their labour and social rights are limited; many work without contracts or signing blank resignation in advance. The average wage in the sector is of €250 per month (national average: €350/m).
There is yet no self-regulatory body for journalists in the country. A Council of Ethics in Media was established in 2010 as tripartite body of journalists, editors, and media owners. The Independent Union of Journalists is a weak body, lacking resources and a strong membership base. Unionisation is often deemed unacceptable by media owners, leading journalists to pursue secret membership. In 2011 more than 20 union members, including its President, were fired.Radio Free Europe (2011), Otkaz Za Sindikalniot Lider Na Novinarite. Radio Free Europe. Pressure on journalists are various and widespread, from marginalisation of critical journalists to reallocation across the media.
The Code of Ethics of the Journalists of North Macedonia is set as the professional guideline; yet, violations of basic standards are widespread, e.g. in the use of judgemental labels, vague references, biased sources, and evaluatory framing. Journalism is still mainly seen as aimed at providing public exposure for political elites, particularly government members. Investigative and analytic journalism is almost absent.
Journalists are protected from being compelled to testify about confidential information or sources by both the Constitution (art. 16) and the 2005 Broadcasting Law.
Bloggers and citizen journalists are not recognised or protected by the legislation of North Macedonia.
Media outlets Commercial media are mainly funded through advertising revenues, coupled with state budget funds for "public campaigns". The government has grown to among the five top advertisers in the country,Broadcasting Council of Macedonia (2013), Analysis of the Broadcasting Market in 2012. Skopje. affecting market competition and editorial independence. Moreover, the ruling party benefits from big discounts on airtime prices from friendly media during electoral periods. The large use of advertisement funding by the ruling party is deemed to increase the media's financial dependence and foster pro-governmental alignment. Public campaigns are aired for free on MRTV.
Pro-governmental media are deemed to hold a dominant position in the market. Telma TV, Sloboden Pecat, 24 Vesti and Fokus are deemed as having a balanced or critical coverage.
The market features a high number of media, with a shrinking advertising revenue, and a fragmentation due to technological development and digitalisation. Most advertising revenue goes to the television industry, particularly the national terrestrial channels. Media ownership is often opaque due to the use of proxies. Foreign investments in the Macedonian media are limited to Serbian companies one of which is a monopolist in newspapers' printing and distribution, with ties to high-level security officials.
News agencies The public news agency is the Media Information Agency (MIA), established in 1992 and working in Macedonian, English and Albanian. Private news agencies include the Macedonian Information Centre (MIC, est. 1992), Makfax (1993), and online-based Net Press (2007).
Print media
The oldest newspaper in the country is Nova Makedonija, founded in 1944. Its first edition is from 29 October 1944. The unsuccessful privatisation of Nova Makedonija in 1994-96 led to the disappearance of all its print outlets from the market, and the later entry of WAZ as the main foreign investor, with a resulting strong concentration in the print media sector (90% in 2003). WAZ withdrew in 2012, selling its publications to local investors.
Other well known daily newspaper are Utrinski Vesnik (est. 1999), Dnevnik (1996),Večer (1963), Vest, Makedonski Sport , FAKTI (1998 in Albanian) and Koha (in Albanian). Weeklies include Republika, financial Kapital, Fokus, women's Tea Moderna and Makedonsko Sonce (est. 1994).
Hidden ownership of the print media remains a concern, and hinders media pluralism and independence, since actual owners are deemed to be affiliated to political interests.
Publishing NIP Nova Makedonija
Radio broadcasting
The public radio broadcaster Macedonian Radio Television operates over multiple stations, including three national channels, a satellite channel and a non-profit regional channel. It broadcasts 86.5 hours of programmes daily on its national and satellite channels. The First channel, Radio Skopje, broadcasts a continuous 24-hour programme and mainly functions as a talk radio. The Second channel, Radio 2, broadcasts a continuous 24-hour programme, focused on popular music and entertainment. The Third channel broadcasts programmes in all the languages of the national minorities in North Macedonia, including Albanian (since 1948); Turkish (since 1945) 5 hours; Vlach (since 1991); Romany (since 1991); Serbian (since 2003) and Bosnian (since 2003) all 30 minutes each per day. The satellite channel, Radio Macedonia, commenced in July 2003, and broadcasts a 24-hour continual programme, which is a selection of programmes from Macedonian Radio and its original programme "Radio Macedonia" with a duration of 6 hours and 30 minutes. Kanal 103 provides FM broadcasting only for the region of Skopje with the mission of promoting avantgarde music and culture. Macedonian Radio also broadcasts its programme over the Internet.
Three privately owned radio stations broadcast nationally in North Macedonia. They are Antenna 5 FM (founded in 1994 as a contemporary hits radio station and soon part of the MTV Radio Network), Kanal 77 (based in Štip), and Metropolis radio. There are about 70 local commercial radio stations (2012), including Radio Bravo, City FM 97.9 and Alfa Radio."Communications: Macedonia", World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 28 January 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014. There used to be counted up to 410,000 Radio receivers in use in 2008.
Television broadcasting Television was first introduced in 1964 in Yugoslav Macedonia; it remains the most popular news medium. The public broadcaster is the Macedonian Radio Television (MKRTV), founded in 1993. TEKO TV (1989) from Štip is the first private television channel in the country. Other popular private channels are: Sitel, Kanal 5, Telma, Alfa TV, and Alsat-M. Most private media are tied to political or business interests and state media tend to support the government. Public broadcast networks face stiff competition from commercial stations, which dominate the ratings. A European Union sponsored report says that with scores of TV and radio networks, the market is overcrowded and many local broadcasters are struggling to survive financially."Macedonia profile: Media", BBC News, 22 August 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
The process of transformation of MRTV in a public service broadcaster is not yet completed; it entailed the 1997 Law on Broadcasting Activities and the 2005 Broadcast Law. Editorial independence of MRTV is guaranteed by law but de facto lacking due to lack of independent funding and lack of independence of MRTV managerial bodies. MRTV executive directors in the last ten years remained close to the party in power. The network is funded by a license fee as well as by public budget contributions and advertising revenues (limited to 10% of airtime). Budgetary needs, and the practice of ad hoc state budgetary funding, has created a "culture of dependence" in MRTV.