INDEX

2003 Eurasia and Europe in Media Independent Sustainable of Development SUSTAINABILITY MEDIA

Media Sustainability Index 2003 IREX www.irex.org www.irex.org/msi/ Fax: (202) 628-8189 E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (202) 628-8188 Washington, DC 20037 Copyright © 2004 IREX by 2121 K Street, Suite 700 NW, 2121 Media Sustainability Index 2003 “The constitution gives what journalists need for a free media, but journalists don’t fight enough, don’t demand information on the basis of the Constitution,” said a panelist. Macedonia 55 MACEDONIA - - - Nova Nova theTurkish-language andEvro Azija Technicak, a Flaka, The combined daily circulation daily circulation combined The Businessman Veap Ajro, whose Businessman Ajro, Veap Vešer, Vešer, . Vest. Allplans profess revitalize to their Birlik. and and

Flaka. the Albanian-language thus ending lengthy a court battle and allowing

However, for Macedonia’s media community, 2003 was anything was 2003 community, media Macedonia’s for However, Then, in October the 2003, Macedonian courts declared as and magazines, number a of together with printing and distri , , Dnevnik,Utrinski respectivepapers. InMacedonian addition, of group a businessmen, Ramkovski owner Velija and former DnevnikTV ledby A1’s editor brother Viat Airo brotherViat is the deputy director Agency the of government’s Information, for on took bution facilities, bution the the Plus at tender of Idea to end year. out put were marketing a bought DDB, company, bought company, large Turkish calconsolidation. The September 2002 national elections to brought coalition a power dominated government the by Social Democratic Branko ledby Macedonia for Crvenkovski, (SDSM), Union and the Integration the Democraticfor Albanian (DUI), Union party formed the by leadership the of former Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA)and Ali ledby Ahmeti. Despiteminornumber a of incidents, thecoalition has and held the Framework Agreement that theended conflictis being 2001 implemented. of slowly media the altered that place taken have changes Significant stable. but Germanmedia the July, In media. print the in notably most landscape, a bought (WAZ) Zeitung Allgemeine Westdeutsche conglomerate newspa maindailythree Macedonian-language the stakein controlling Birlik, Introduction Macedonia, or 2003 was an important year stability of and politi

pers: percent 80 about comprising copies, 130,000 about is papers three the of figures circulation that note to important is it However, market. the of reported between differences substantial are there as unreliable, are fear generated transaction The copies. actual,sold and totals print-run WAZ. by marketing, in and editorially both dominance, of invalidthe 2002 botched privatization the of state publishing house Makedonija, Nova thetry to government again sell to it. As result, a its main titles, Makedonija,Vešer, F Objective Scoring Indicator Scoring The averages of all the indicators are averaged to obtain a single, Each indicator is scored using the following system: overall score for each objective. Objective scores are averaged to provide 0 = Country does not meet indicator; government or social forces may actively an overall score for the country. IREX interprets the overall scores as follows: oppose its implementation 3 and above: Sustainable and free independent media 1 = Country minimally meets aspects of the indicator; forces may not actively oppose its implementation, but business environment may not support it 2–3: Independent media approaching sustainability and government or profession do not fully and actively support change 1–2: Significant progress remains to be made; 2 = Country has begun to meet many aspects of the indicator, but progress may society or government is not fully supportive be too recent to judge or still dependent on current government or political forces 0–1: Country meets few indicators; government and society actively oppose change 3 = Country meets most aspects of the indicator; implementation of the indica- tor has occurred over several years and/or through changes in government, indicating likely sustainability 4 = Country meets the aspects of the indicator; implementation has remained intact over multiple changes in government, economic fluctuations, changes in public opinion, and/or changing social conventions

56 MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2003 www.irex.org/msi/ Sašo Damovski, launched a new Macedonian-language Protections A panelist said, daily, Vreme, in early 2004. Moreover, at least three for free speech were groups are attempting to raise funds to launch another not considered as “The draft law deals privately owned Albanian daily. Despite the fears of strong as necessary, with procedures in a a monopoly on the market by WAZ, the print market reflecting the fact appears vibrant, although it will take at least a year to that the broadcast way that citizens can assess the long-term viability of the new print media law had not been exercise the right to enterprises. passed, the draft- In the broadcast sector, the greatest change has ing of a Law on seek information, but taken place at state-run MRTV. Gordana Stošic was Access to Informa- it does not tell the state appointed executive director by the new government, tion undertaken by and she has launched an ambitious program of reform, Transparency Inter- what its obligations including job cuts. The government also accepted a new national-Macedonia draft law on broadcasting that was drawn up by the was unfinished, and are in providing that Media Development Centre (MDC), a nonprofit orga- self-censorship and information.” nization that focuses on national media legislation, and interference made assurances that it will pass the legislation largely in editorial inde- unchanged in 2004. This would result in major positive pendence continued to be prevalent. changes for the media industry, including real indepen- In sum, media reform in Macedonia is progressing. dence for MRTV, clear independence for a strengthened The MSI reflects steady improvement, and the local insti- regulatory Broadcasting Council, and a greater likeli- tutions and infrastructure responsible for implement- hood that a copyright law and other regulatory controls ing and supporting this development remain strong. will be implemented. However, panelists warned that regression is still very These changes have been reflected in this year’s possible. Powerful radical groups exist with little inter- Media Sustainability Index (MSI), which records signifi- est in a politically united and stable Macedonia or in the cant improvements. According to the panel, institutions independent media that would be fundamental to this. supporting the independent media made the greatest Funding for media associations and supporting institu- progress toward sustainability. The panel acknowledged tions remains volatile, and the industry is too weak to the achievements of groups such as the MDC and its sustain them alone. MSI participants said continued work on the broadcast law as well as the Association strong assistance from the international community is of Private Electronic Media of Macedonia (APEMM), essential for at least two, and possibly more, years to pre- which has 110 members out of a possible 127 companies vent backsliding that could all too easily occur. and effectively lobbies for the industry. The Macedo- nian Institute for the Media (MIM) successfully ran long-term training programs in preparation for the Objective 1: Free Speech 2004 launch of a one-year journalism diploma course in Macedonia Objective Score: 2.20/4.00 partnership with IREX. There was also marked improvement in the manage- Article 16 of the Macedonian Constitution protects free- ment capacity of media businesses. The panel noted the dom of speech. A 1997 law on broadcasting law exists— changes in print media ownership, the increasing profes- and although weak, it is not without protections. The sionalism of the broadcast media, the reforms at MRTV, and criminal code is rigorous. However, enforcement of the the widespread use of market-research material. laws and implementation of existing regulations remains There was a mixed evaluation of the plurality of a serious problem. Panelists warn that even if parliament news sources, considered rather diverse for Macedonian- passes an effective broadcast law in 2004, putting it into language media but not for Albanian-language print practice will be difficult because of inefficient bureaucra- media and the national private Albanian-language broad- cies and a weak judicial system. caster. The professionalism of journalism practice was Despite Article 16, journalists complain that there seen as improving, due to a general rise in standards and is no effective access to information. Old socialist tradi the MIM’s increasingly successful trainings. tions and a corrupt, inefficient civil service make it very

MACEDONIA 57 Legal and social norms protect and promote media advocates One panelist described free speech and access to public information because of the apparent intent to Macedonia as ■ Legal/social protections of free speech exist allow for imposi- “a closed state for and are enforced. tion of jail terms in information” and ■ Licensing of broadcast media is fair, competitive, cases of defamation, and apolitical. libel, and slander. said this has increased The Association of ■ Market entry and tax structure for media are fair Journalists of Mace- with the new and comparable to other industries. donia (AJM) inter- government because ■ Crimes against journalists or media outlets are vened and appeared prosecuted vigorously, but occurrences of such to persuade the gov- “they have appointed crimes are rare. ernment to refine its spokespersons in order ■ State or public media do not receive preferential reforms and meet legal treatment, and law guarantees editorial Council of Europe to give statements independence. recommendations that contain no ■ Libel is a civil law issue; public officials are held by keeping defa- to higher standards, and the offended party mation, libel, and information.” must prove falsity and malice. slander under the civil code, eliminating the possibility of imprisonment. ■ Public information is easily accessible; right of access to information is equally enforced for all The licensing regime for the broadcasting indus- SPEECH INDICATORS SPEECH FREE media and journalists. try remains under the control of the government. The Broadcast Council merely recommends to the govern- ■ Media outlets have unrestricted access to infor- ment who should get a concession. However, the new mation; this is equally enforced for all media and journalists. broadcast law sent to the government for review and approval contains definite reforms that increase the ■ Entry into the journalism profession is free, and independence of the Broadcast Council and its ability to government imposes no licensing, restrictions, function as an effective regulatory body. or special rights for journalists. During 2003, there was debate about the 10 percent broadcast fee, paid by the public via their electricity bill, which is allotted to “private” broadcasters for what is purported to be public-interest programming. This pro- difficult for working journalists to obtain government cess involves the Broadcast Council’s recommending to information. One panelist described Macedonia as “a the government which private broadcasters’ projects have closed state for information” and said this has increased merit and how much should be paid for them. In prac- with the new government because “they have appointed tice, however, the government strongly influences which spokespersons in order to give statements that contain stations get the biggest slices of the pie. Some small local no information.” Panelists also put responsibility on the broadcasters virtually live off their shares of the broad- media: “The constitution gives what journalists need for cast fees. The whole system is viewed as open to corrup- a free media, but journalists don’t fight enough, don’t tion and is a useful tool for manipulation of the media demand information on the basis of the Constitution,” by governments and political parties, especially in local said one panelist. communities. Most of Macedonia’s 127 broadcasters are Drafting of an access to information law has been lobbying hard to keep the 10 percent and are furious that taken on by Transparency International-Macedonia, but the broadcast law submitted to the government contains not completed. A panelist said, “The draft law deals with no such fund. International media-support organiza- procedures in a way that citizens can exercise the right tions are advocating removal of the fund, but it remains to seek information, but it does not tell the state what its to be seen if the government has the courage to give up obligations are in providing that information.” such a useful political tool. The government began amending Macedonia’s For the print media, the privatization of the state criminal legislation, causing concern for independent publishing house has dramatically

58 MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2003 www.irex.org/msi/ reduced the government’s traditional influence. The But they shared “Journalists in broadcaster MRTV remains state owned, but it is in the the opinion that throes of major reform. The initiative, led by Executive owners, manag- Macedonia are afraid Director Gordana Stošic, appointed by the parliament ers, and editors of politicians, afraid and effectively the government’s choice, has produced still exert far too real change with staff and budget cuts and an attempt to much influence over for the financial set up a single news-gathering service for the multilan- editorial content. existence of their guage broadcaster. The new broadcast law also includes Most journalism removing government control over management and was viewed as being media, and afraid to editorial appointments and creating an independent, too political, with lose their jobs,” said truly public, broadcaster. not enough issue- Notwithstanding the described limitations, the based reporting. a panel member. legislative environment for the media remains reasonably The media also were good, with potential to improve significantly in 2004. criticized for not setting their own agenda in terms of The media can and do directly criticize the government. news coverage. Journalists are largely free to do their work without fear Opinions differed on the subject of journalists’ of retribution. The business environment is not slanted pay, with some saying journalists are reasonably well against the private media by unfair taxes. There are no paid in a country where salaries are generally low. An significant restrictions on the use of the Internet. The average journalist’s salary in the regions is about E175 rebroadcast of foreign news programming is widespread. per month and in about E300 monthly. The There are no restrictions on entry into the field of jour- national average monthly wage is about E200, by com- nalism. And the government is involved in what seem to parison. Albanian and Roma journalists usually are paid be genuine efforts to reform media legislation and better less, although it should be noted that the owners and implement existing legislation. managers of these media houses are Albanian and Roma. MRTV, the state broadcaster, also pays generally less than Objective 2: Professional Journalism Macedonia Objective Score: 2.24/4.00 Journalism meets professional standards of Panel members had divergent opinions about whether quality reporting by Macedonian media is fair, objective, and based on good sources. Some took the position that ■ Reporting is fair, objective, and well sourced. the media cover all main events, especially political ■ Journalists follow recognized and accepted issues, and that there is open criticism of the govern- ethical standards. ment. Others argued that the quality of coverage is poor, ■ due to a lack of motivation caused mainly by low wages Journalists and editors do not practice self-censorship. and weak editors and leadership. They also argued that INDICATORS stereotypes exist, especially regarding ethnic issues and ■ Journalists cover key events and issues. relationships, and pointed out the differences in how ■ Pay levels for journalists and other media different language groups report the same events. As a professionals are sufficiently high to discourage result, they contended, there is no fair or objective jour- corruption. nalism. Said a panelist: “Do we always have both sides? I ■ agree, generally yes. But if a Macedonian writes about a Entertainment programming does not eclipse news and information programming. subject connected to Albanians, he writes about it nega- tively. If he uses an Albanian source, he misrepresents ■ Technical facilities and equipment for gathering, it. But it is even worse with Albanian journalists. They producing, and distributing news are modern write without asking for a statement from the Macedo- and efficient. nian source.” ■ Quality niche reporting and programming The group said cases of outright corruption, exists (investigative, economics/business, local, such as “prewritten” and “prepaid” articles, were rare. JOURNALISM PROFESSIONAL political).

MACEDONIA 59 the private sector. The panel did not find a direct connec- Objective 3: Plurality of News Sources tion between the low wage and corruption. The panel agreed that self-censorship existed, Macedonia Objective Score: 2.27/4.00 mostly because outlets fear losing revenue. The media are afraid to report negatively about companies due to At the end of 2003, there were 127 private broadcasters, concern about losing advertising, and the same can hold three national state television channels, three national true for reporting about government institutions that state radio stations, and 29 state-owned local broadcast- might advertise in, or have influence over, the media. As ers. There were 10 private daily newspapers, although a result, most media are loyal to a “circle” of business and the newly privatized dailies Vešer, Nova Makedonija, and political interests. “Journalists in Macedonia are afraid Flaka were barely functional and the big three, Dnevnik, of politicians, afraid for the financial existence of their Utrinski Vesnik, and Vest, were all owned by WAZ. There media, and afraid to lose their jobs,” said a panelist. “As were about 60 magazines, of which about 10 weeklies much as the government is not transparent, neither are had serious weekly news and current-affairs content. As journalists. The public knows that the media is politi- a result, plurality does exist—augmented by widespread cally influenced, and economically dependent.” and growing access to the Internet. There are no serious Entertainment programming does not dominate or barriers to access printed or broadcasted material apart eclipse news programming. One of the most highly rated from the general poverty of the population. There are programs in Macedonia remains A1 TV’s evening news show. no significant restrictions on international media and The state of technical equipment in Macedonia information sources. remains mixed. Some broadcasters, notably Channel Plurality is weaker in the nonmajority-language 5 TV in Skopje, TV Tera in Bitola, and radio station media. Although MRTV3 now broadcasts nine hours , have excellent facilities. Albanian broadcasters a day in the and contains minor- are generally less advanced and less well equipped, but ity programming in Turkish, Roma, Serbian, Vlach, have made progress through donor funding and private and Bosnian, there is still no private national Albanian investment. For example, TV Era in Skopje invested broadcaster. Fakti remains the only significant private in modern facilities partly through a small grant from daily newspaper published in the Albanian language. the International Media Fund, a donor group of several international organizations. Overall, the quality of tech- nical equipment is not a serious barrier to the dissemina- Multiple news sources provide citizens with tion or collection of information in Macedonia. reliable and objective news Very little niche broadcasting exists due to the ■ A plurality of affordable public and private news high costs of investigative and in-depth television report- sources (e.g., print, broadcast, Internet) exists. ing. However, Sitel TV won a nomination for its investi- gative reporting on human trafficking as part of a project ■ Citizens’ access to domestic or international administered by the MIM. The International Monetary media is not restricted.

Fund supports an issue-based journalism project, which INDICATORS ■ State or public media reflect the views of the

is a monthly series of reports from a core group of local entire political spectrum, are nonpartisan, and broadcasters. Search for Common Ground funds a simi- serve the public interest. lar project called “Caravans” that produces local stories ■ Independent news agencies gather and distrib- from around Macedonia. The print media generally do a ute news for print and broadcast media. better job of niche reporting, and although the quality is ■ not outstanding, the results do add to public awareness Independent broadcast media produce their own news programs. of key issues. Some of this material results from donor- sponsored activity, such as reports in Lobi and ■ Transparency of media ownership allows magazines on topics including homosexuality, corrup- consumers to judge objectivity of news; tion in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), human media ownership is not concentrated in a few conglomerates. trafficking, and the plight of Roma people. ■ A broad spectrum of social interests are reflected and represented in the media, includ-

PLURALITY OF NEWS SOURCES NEWS OF PLURALITY ing minority-language information sources.

60 MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2003 www.irex.org/msi/ Despite ongo- A panelist argued that All agreed that there is no media concentration ing reforms in the in the broadcast sector and that, in fact, with some 150 state media, the “according to all world broadcasters, the situation more approximated chaos. panel was skeptical standards, if 80 to about how it reflects views across the 90 percent of total Objective 4: Business Management political spectrum. circulation is in the Macedonia Objective Score: 2.33/4.00 This is indicative of the government’s hands of one company, There is a rather large number of both print and broad- ability to appoint that is a monopoly.” cast media relative to Macedonia’s population. At the the managerial and same time, the Macedonian economy is weak. While editorial leader- the market has become more sophisticated, better uses ship at MRTV. There was little faith in the government’s market research, and generally functions in a more claims that it will keep to the provisions for an indepen- professional manner every year, there remain many dent broadcaster contained within the new broadcast law. weaknesses. Some of the larger media are profitable—A1 The panel raised the issue of “ethnic representa- TV, TV Sitel, Utrinski Vesnik, and Dnevnik, in particu- tion” at the state broadcaster. Attitudes varied, but some lar. Most of the small publications and broadcasters saw a trend toward improvement, blaming existing struggle to survive; they depend on their business and weaknesses on a lack of technical equipment and money. political affiliations, as well as donations and support Others, however, viewed the increase in Albanian-lan- from government subsidies, such as the 10 percent of the guage programming as insufficient because its quality broadcast fee. is too poor to satisfy the needs of the community. The The plight of the Roma media is particularly bad. group agreed, though, that the Roma were most discrim- A panelist said TV Shutel “is self-financing through its inated against, with just half an hour of programming share of the 10 percent of the broadcast fee, support from three times a week at an inconvenient time of day. international donors, and a small amount of revenue The panel felt there was a lack of sources of earned from greetings programs. But as for advertise- news agency information with only one weak pri- vate agency, , which is poorly organized and supports only a few part-time “stringers.” The panel Independent media are well-managed agreed that the large government-run news agency businesses, allowing editorial independence MIA was quite good, although critics suggested it is ■ Media outlets and supporting firms operate as too close to the government. efficient, professional, and profit-generating All agreed that transparency of media ownership businesses. existed, and that the public was aware of who owned ■ what as well as the basic political affiliations of each Media receive revenue from a multitude of sources. media. There was concern, though, that the public out- ■ Advertising agencies and related industries

side the capital, Skopje, was less aware of the media’s bias INDICATORS and affiliations. support an advertising market. Concentration of ownership sparked a heated ■ Advertising revenue as a percentage of total debate, focusing on whether WAZ’s entry into the market revenue is in line with accepted standards at had created a monopoly. One panelist argued that commercial outlets. “according to all world standards, if 80 to 90 percent of ■ Independent media do not receive government total circulation is in the hands of one company, that is subsidies. a monopoly.” Another said his company had managed “to do what Dnevnik, Utrinski Vesnik, and Vest couldn’t: ■ Market research is used to formulate strategic plans, enhance advertising revenue, and tailor create a joint distribution and printing house. The papers products to the needs and interests of each have their own editorial policy; WAZ has only 51 audiences. percent of the management, and that is not a monopoly.” BUSINESS MANAGEMENT BUSINESS ■ Broadcast ratings and circulation figures are reliably and independently produced.

MACEDONIA 61 A panelist said ments, no. Most Distribution is not a significant barrier in access- don’t use us.” ing news and information. A variety of distribution newspapers “face The arrival of firms exist, with no visible government interference. financial crisis if they WAZ to the print Vreme, the new Macedonian daily, has easily set up its media industry sug- own distribution network using booths, shops, and street don’t have big backers, gests there is poten- vendors. A range of printing presses exist, and access to as revenue from tial profit in the presses outside Macedonia is very feasible. market and that the Broadcast ratings are increasingly reliable and advertising is too media conglomer- are generally viewed with considerable trust. IREX, low and the price ate is likely to bring in partnership with the APEMM, has funded a major more effective busi- project providing ratings to the broadcast media. of newspapers is ness management. Broadcasters and advertisers are increasingly using With the consolida- ratings as the basis for programming choices and for set too low.” tion of printing and placing ads. However, serious advertising campaigns distribution under remain a political choice, based on the affiliation of a WAZ, further efficiencies are expected. International particular broadcaster and publisher. donations and subsidies to the media have decreased as the country has stabilized, but some outlets still secure a significant part of their funding through the donor Objective 5: Supporting Institutions community. However, panel members expressed concern Macedonia Objective Score: 2.55/4.00 about the relatively weak advertising market. A panelist said newspapers “face financial crisis if they don’t have The panel gave its highest score to this objective, recog- big backers, as revenue from advertising is too low and nizing the remarkable development of media associa- the price of newspapers is set too low.” tions and institutions. The MIM carries out extensive State subsidies still exist, but there is a trend and coordinated training and was widely complimented, toward their reduction and removal. In 2003, the gov- especially for effectively catering to the needs of smaller ernment provided MKD 43 million (roughly $800,000) media houses and minority media such as the Roma. from the state budget to the private printed press. Much The MDC focuses on legal reform and is responsible like the 10 percent of the broadcast tax that goes to pri- for bringing the new broadcast law before the govern- vate broadcasters, this money is generally accepted as a ment. The APEMM is recognized as an effective lobby means by which the government may strongly influence for its members. However, the Association of Journalists editorial policy. However, the government has promised of Macedonia (AJM) and the Association of Publishers this subsidy will cease, and no provisions for it are being and News Agencies of Macedonia (APNAM) were both made in the 2004 budget. criticized for being too weak. The panel acknowledged The panel agreed that although the overall ad that the AJM offered real protection to journalists but market is weak, the advertising agencies work well in felt it should more actively press for legal reform. The Macedonia, with nearly all ad placements going through AJM was also criticized because its secretary general, them. The panel asserted that the available market Saša Colakovski, left the association to become a govern- research is reliable, except for data concerning the size ment spokesman in late 2002. This move damaged the of the advertising market. Best estimates compiled from reputation of the association, which is still struggling to several sources place the total ad market for Macedo- overcome the negative effects. nia at E15 million to E20 million per year. Some in the A four-year journalism degree is offered at the industry believe total ad revenue could top E50 million University of Saint Cyril and Metodius in Skopje, and a per year, but this figure likely includes the estimated communications degree is being developed at the South value of unpaid ads and ads given through barter deals. East European University in Tetovo, which offers some Despite the confidence expressed by panel members, journalism courses. The degree program in Skopje was local advertising generally is not placed through agencies, criticized for providing no effective practical teaching, and local broadcasters struggle to sell time in an industry being closed to innovations, and unable to carry out nec- that is too centrally focused. Circulation figures, too, are essary reforms. Panelists also reported that no Albanian still not entirely reliable. students have attended the course recently, despite the

62 MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 2003 www.irex.org/msi/ Supporting institutions function in the Panel Participants professional interests of independent media Melita Cokrevska, USAID ■ Trade associations represent the interests of private media owners and provide member Aco Kabranov, journalist and editor of news and infor- services. mation programs, Channel 5 TV ■ Professional associations work to protect Sašo Ordanoski, editor-in-chief, Forum journalists’ rights. INDICATORS ■ NGOs support free speech and independent Erol Rizalv, editor-in-chief, Utrinski Vesnik media. Naser Selmani, journalist, Vest ■ Quality journalism degree programs that provide substantial practical experience exist. Eleonora Serafimovska, psychologist and assistant, ■ Short-term training and in-service training Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research programs allow journalists to upgrade skills or (ISPJR) acquire new skills.

■ Sources of newsprint and printing facilities are Muharem Sulejman, editor, TV Shutel private, apolitical, and unrestricted. Ljupco Žikov, manager and editor-in-chief, Kapital ■ Channels of media distribution (kiosks, trans- mitters, Internet) are private, apolitical, and SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS SUPPORTING unrestricted. Moderator

Vesna Šopar, Ph.D., Institute for Sociological, Political, and Juridical Research (ISPJR) general consensus that the Albanian-language media desperately need well-trained journalists. The commu- Observers nications studies course in Tetovo was complimented for being modern, but it is too new to be evaluated for the Sheena Thomson, spokesperson, Office of the Special quality of its graduates. Representative of the European Union in Skopje

Mike de Villiers, resident advisor, IREX/Macedonia

MACEDONIA 63