Analysis DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDIA IN MACEDONIA ACCORDING TO UNESCO INDICATORS The UNESCO Media Development Indicators are available on http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0016/001631/163102e.pdf January 2012, Skopje Analysis DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDIA IN MACEDONIA ACCORDING TO UNESCO INDICATORS Publisher: Macedonian Institute for Media Jurij Gagarin, 17-1/1 1000 Skopje Republic of Macedonia For the publisher: Biljana Petkovska, Director of MIM Editors: Vesna Nikodinoska, МА, and Vesna Shopar, Ph.D Group of authors: Vesna Nikodinoska, MA Snezana Trpevska, MA Petrit Sarachini Biljana Petkovska Zaneta Trajkoska, MA Slagjana Dimiskova, MA Tamara Causidis Naser Selmani Design: Jane Stefanov Macedonian study is funded by the UNESCO regional participation project “Monitoring media development”. The comparative evaluation of the “Implementation of UNESCO Media Development Indicators in South Eastern Europe” (2011) is led by the Centre for Media and Communication Research, Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb. This national study is the first step of the comparative project that also includes the Media Centre of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade. 2 < Analysis DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDIA IN MACEDONIA ACCORDING TO UNESCO INDICATORS > INTRODUCTION The Republic of Macedonia has a multi-party parliamentary democracy established in the year of 1991, after gaining independence following the collapse of former SFR Yugoslavia. The political system is divided into legislative, executive and judiciary power. The Constitution is the highest legislation in the country. The Parliament is the central and most important institution of the state authority and according to the Constitution, it is a representative body of the citizens and the legislative power of the Republic is vested in it. The President is elected in general and direct elections, for a term of five years. The executive power of the Republic of Macedonia is divided between the Government and the President of the Republic. The Government is elected by the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia by a majority vote of the total number of Members of Parliament, and for its work it is accountable to the Assembly. The present Government is led by the coalition of the right-wing party VMRO-DPMNE of the Macedonians and the left-wing party – Democratic Union for Integration representing the Macedonian Albanians, both of the parties having a parliamentary majority. This is the third term of the Government of VMRO-DPMNE, after early Parliamentary elections were twice organized in 2008 and 2011. One of the characteristics of Macedonia is that it is established as a state of the Macedonian people, as well as of the citizens that live in its borders and are part of Albanian, Turkish, Vlach, Serbian, Roma, Bosniak people and others. The commitment to foster the multi-ethnic character of the state is reflected in all spheres of the society and the state, on local and central level. According to the State Statistical Office’ data, 2.057.284 citizens were living in Macedonia in 2011, on the total territory of 25.713 km2. The nominal gross domestic product per capita for 2010 amounted to 3.360 Euros (according to the State Statistical Office), and according to the World Development Indicators, Macedonia is a country with upper middle income, that is to say, it belongs to the group of middle developed countries. According to the Human Development Index, the country holds the 78th place, and is among the countries with high level of human development. Macedonia is the 38th member of the Council of Europe and part of the World Trade Organization since 2003. Macedonia ratified the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in 1997. Regarding the approximation to the European Union, the country signed the Stabi- lization and Association Agreement in 2004, whereas beginning from 2005 it has the candidate status for EU membership. The Progress Reports of the European Commission, from 2006 to 2011, note down, among other things, both the problems and achievements in the field of freedom of expression, as well as in the field concerning the media and information society. The pluralization and democratization of the media landscape in Macedonia commenced after the state gained its independence in 1991. Until then, all the broadcasters and printed media, print houses and other production companies were in state ownership. The changes first entered the broadcasting field, whereby many private television stations and radio stations were opened (more than 300), most of which operated illegally. The number of broadcasters was reduced after the adoption of the first Law on Broadcasting Activity in 1997. In the year of 1991, the first private radio station began broadcast- ing programme, and in 1993 the first private television station was opened (it was A1 TV, which ceased broadcasting in 2011). By opening private broadcasters, the monopoly of the Public Service Broadcaster 3 MRT was challenged. The pluralization in the field of printed media, on the other hand, happened by publishing the private daily newspaper Dnevnik on the market in the year of 1996, which was competi- tion for the state News Publishing Agency (NIP) “Nova Makedonija”. (The first independent newspaper in Macedonia was the daily Republika, which appeared on the market in 1991, but died out after 218 published editions) At the beginning of the year of 2000, the fall of this largest news publishing house began, after which the process of privatization followed. Both the domestic and the foreign expert public have noted for years the problems of the media landscape in Macedonia, pointing out the political and economic influence over the media (which fur- ther reflected on the editorial policy of media and the practice of self-censorship by journalists), the political, financial and economic dependence of the Public Service Broadcaster and of the Broadcasting Council, inconsistent application of the media legislation, state advertising and campaigns as a source of income for some media, unlimited fines for defamation and insult, etc. There were numerous prob- lems and they piled up throughout the last 20 years because the institutions, but on the other hand media workers themselves as well, handled them inefficiently. The first Law on Broadcasting Activity was adopted in 1997, thereby laying down the legal basis for regulatory intervention in the broadcasting field. However, the key competences were not fully given to the new regulator – the Broadcasting Council, which during the first two years of the implementation of the Law, faced its own limitations and inefficiency, which, even then, resulted in a call for changing the regulation. The new Law on Broadcasting Activity adopted in November 2005 was almost entirely aligned with the Television without Frontiers Directive and with the Council of Europe standards in the broadcasting field. There were several key changes in the Law that laid down the institutional frame- work for achieving full decision making capacity of the newly appointed members of the regulatory authority: the Broadcasting Council decides on allocating, revoking or renewing broadcasting licenses, it has powers to adopt by-laws and to conduct supervision over the implementation of the Law, the by-laws and the specific requirements in the broadcasting license, it has powers to impose sanctions (although with some limitations), powers to handle complaints etc. In 2011, a step further was made in promoting the situation in the media landscape in Macedonia. Namely, several initiatives were undertaken which united the majority of media workers. The Asso- ciation of Journalists of Macedonia started talks with the Government on the key issues in the media sphere, grouped under the following categories: consistent respect for the laws in the media sphere, transparency in the allocation of budget funds for public and government campaigns, strengthening the Public Service Broadcaster MRT, decriminalization of the acts of defamation and insult, as well as improvement of professional standards in journalism. Furthermore, MIM and the Association of Jour- nalists of Macedonia, supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands gathered at the same table approximately forty eminent media professionals - editors, journalists, experts, academic professors - who prepared an Action Plan containing all the problematic areas of the media landscape. The idea is for this plan to serve as a basis/ platform upon which all further policies and steps directed towards improvement of the media landscape in Macedonia shall be built and implemented. In addition, the Ministry of Transport and Communications was the one which drew one of the ideas to regulate the media landscape, proposing a draft to adopt a new law on media, which apart from traditional broadcasting, audio and audiovisual media services and issuance of electronic Internet pub- 4 < Analysis DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDIA IN MACEDONIA ACCORDING TO UNESCO INDICATORS > lications, comprised as well a proposal to regulate the press issuance and the distribution of press, and it additionally penetrated the editorial aspects of the functioning of all media, including the electronic publications. The idea for such a new law on media divided the media community, and in the course of December 2011 and January 2012, there was an ongoing public discussion regarding the draft proposed by the Ministry and on the issue which direction the further harmonization