
NGO INFOCENTRE NEW MEDIA CENTER MEDIA MIRROR CONTENT ANALYSIS OF MACEDONIAN MEDIA REPORTING ON "A1“ AND “MPM” CASES (November-December 2010) CONTENT ANALYSIS OF MACEDONIAN MEDIA REPORTING ON "A1“ and “MPM” cases (November-December 2010) PREPARED BY: THE NGO INFOCENTRE AND THE NEW MEDIA CENTER INTRODUCTION The NGO Infocentre, under the auspices of its “Media Mirror” Programme, supported by the Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia (FOSIM), implemented a programme for monitoring of media coverage of the “A1” and “MPM” cases. The monitoring programme aimed to observe and analyze the respect for professional journalistic standards in media reporting on the said cases. The monitoring programme was implemented in three stages. The “A1 Case” was subject to monitoring activities in the period November 25-December 2, and again in the period December 24-29, 2010, while the "MPM Case" was followed in the period from December 13 to December 21, 2010. The analyses includes the coverage in eight daily newspapers (“Utrinski vesnik”; “Dnevnik”; “Vest”; “Večer”; “Vreme”; “Nova Makedonija”, “Špic” and “Koha”) and the central news programmes aired on seven TV stations that broadcast nationally and over the satellite (A1 TV; Kanal 5 TV; Sitel TV; Telma TV; MTV 1; Alfa TV; and Alsat M TV). 1. MAIN INDICATORS USED IN THIS ANALYSIS A. PERIODS OF TIME COVERED BY THIS ANALYSIS: Period 1: November 25 - December 2, 2010, the „A1 Case“ MONITORED NEWSPAPERS / PROGRAMMING PACKAGES Number of ARTICLES Analysed media - Print media (number of articles): Dnevnik - 15 Špic - 15 Nova Makedonija – 9 Utrinski vesnik – 13 Vreme - 25 Večer - 14 Vest - 12 2 - Broadcast media (broadcast time - number of articles): A1 TV News, 19:00 - 55 Kanal 5 TV News, 17:00 - 31 MTV1 News, 19:30 - 31 Telma TV News, 18:30 - 18 Sitel TV News, 18:00 - 40 Alfa TV News, 17:30 - 12 Alsat M TV News, 22:30 - 12 Period 2: December 13 - December 21, 2010, the „MPM Case“ Analysed media - Print media (number of articles): Dnevnik - 2 Špic - 1 Nova Makedonija – 1 Utrinski vesnik – 1 Vreme - 7 Vest - 2 Večer - 0 - Broadcast media (broadcast time - number of articles): A1 TV News, 19:00 - 9 Kanal 5 TV News, 17:00 - 0 MTV1 News, 19:30 - 0 Telma TV News, 18:30 - 0 Sitel TV News, 18:00 - 0 Alfa TV News, 17:30 - 0 Alsat M TV News, 22:30 - 0 Period 3: December 24 - December 29, 2010, the „A1 Case“ Analysed media - Print media (number of articles): Dnevnik - 17 Špic - 15 Nova Makedonija – 5 Utrinski vesnik – 11 Vreme - 18 Večer - 7 Vest – 4 3 - Broadcast media (broadcast time - number of articles): A1 TV News, 19:00 - 28 Kanal 5 TV News, 17:00 - 10 MTV1 News, 19:30 - 14 Telma TV News, 18:30 - 10 Sitel TV News, 18:00 - 16 Alfa TV News, 17:30 - 6 Alsat M TV News, 22:30 - 7 2. METHODOLOGY AND FIELD OF ANALYSIS The monitoring analyzed the quality of the contents of the reporting in seven (7) daily newspapers and seven (7) television broadcast services that reported the developments surrounding the so-called “A1 Case” and “MPM Case” during the three monitoring periods: a) November 25 - December 2, 2010; b) December 13 – 21, 2010; and c) December 24-29, 2010. The contents analysis used additional quantitative indicators on the scope, frequency and balance in the broadcasting of the contents on the two topics. The selection of the media included in the monitoring was based on their reach to large audiences on the whole territory of the Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter RM) and, therefore, the greatest effect they have on the creation of public opinion in the country. The analysis covered seven daily newspapers in Macedonian language, while the list of broadcasters included the public broadcasting service MRTV, the five national broacasters with license to broadcast programmes on the whole territory of Macedonia - A1 TV, Sitel TV, Kanal 5 TV, Telma TV and Alsat TV, and Alfa TV which holds license to broadcast terrestrially in Skopje region and can broadcast nationally over the satellite. The Analysis covered 190 articles in the print media1 and 299 TV reports on "A1" and "MPM” cases. The articles published by the print media included a variety of genres, including reports, commentaries, editorials and columns. The contents of the columns by authors who are not part of the editorial offices were viewed separately and were not included in the findings and results of the analysis, and their numbers were included only as part of the quantitative indicators that show the number of articles dedicated to this subjects in the media included in the analyses. 1 In the given circumstances, Vreme and Špic were not published on November 26 and November 27, and returned to the kiosks on November 29, 2010. 4 3. ANALYSIS OF ARTICLES AND TV REPORTS 3.1 The analysis covers three (3) time periods of coverage of two (2) events that dominated the media reporting - the "A1 Case” and the “MPM Case”. The shere numbers of published contents - 299 TV reports and 190 articles in the print media - far exceeded the coverage of all other topics during the three periods of time covered by this analysis. 3.2 After the events of November 25, 2010, and the inspection by the tax authorities, the Public Revenue Office and the financial police2 in six of the total of 26 companies with offices in the building on “Pero Nakov” Street3 that houses A1 TV, "Vreme", "Špic" and "Koha e re" dailies and the "Misirkov“ Printing Company, there was intensive media coverage of the developments4 and effort to promote intensive public debate on the events, which received great attention in the media and caused quite a stir in the general public. In the first week alone5, a total of 302 information items were distributed (65.9% of them, i.e. 199 TV reports, interviews and analyses in the covered TV programmes, and 34.1%, i.e. 103 articles in the print media, reports, editorial comments, interviews, etc.). Quantitative indicators demonstrate that A1 TV and "Vreme” daily led the coverage in the first week after the initial event, with 55 and 25 items, respectively. They are followed by Sitel TV with 40, MTV1 with 31, Kanal 5 TV with 31 among broadcasters, and „Špic" and „Dnevnik“ with 15 articles each, and „Večer“ with 14 articles among daily newspapers. These figures demonstrate, among other things, the very specific nature of the subject matter in which the three analyzed media - A1 TV, "Vreme” and “Špic” appear not only as transmitters of information, but are involved in the reported events themselves. In that context, the media were removed from the customary position of neutral reporters of information, and their auto-referential coverage does impact the quantity of presented information and units of contents, so that the bulk of their space is dedicated to this topic. In a situation of enhanced production of contents on a give topic, a certain communications coupling is created with the other media that have different approach to the events and also produce increased volume of contents on the topic, attempting to maintain their position of public opinion makers. As a result, the process of positioning develops into a process of juxtpositioning that further gains a dimention off strong media confrontation. The two poles offer quite different information and perceptions about the reported events and the public is under the impression that the media are engaged in intensive “campaigning” and “counter- campaigning” to impose their respective views and positions. 2 In addition to the UJP and the financial police, the six companies located on „Pero Nakov“ street were also subject of controls by the Inspectorate of Labour (Telma, November 26, 2010). 3 Some reports later noted that the actual postal address of the building is Pero Nakov 60. 4 The inspection was extended to cover three other entities. „The orders of the Investigative Judge from Basic Court Skopje 1 – Skopje, cover not just the offices of the involved companies, but also the auxiliary facilities. These orders refer to other legal entities, not to A1 Television“, Ivo Kotevski, Assistant to the Minister of Interior for Public Relations, Sitel, December 1, 2010. 5 The period November 25 – December 2, 2010. 5 А1 55 Sitel 40 Кanal 5 31 МTV1 31 Table 1: Television services with largest number of aired television reports on the “A1 case” in the news programmes, November 25 – December 2, 2010 Vreme 25 Dnevnik 15 Špic 15 Večer 14 Utrinski vesnik 13 Vest 12 Nova Makedonija 9 Table 2: Total number of published articles on the “A1 case in the daily newspapers, November 25 – December 2, 2010 16 14 12 10 A1 8 Sitel 6 Kanal 5 4 MTV1 2 0 26,11 27,11 28,11 29,11 30,11 Table 3: Number of reports on the “A1 case” in the television broadcasters with largest numbers of reports in the period November 26-30, 2010 6 60 50 40 A1 30 Sitel Kanal5 20 MTV1 10 0 25,11 26,11 27,11 28,11 29,11 30,11 Table 4: Length of reports (in minutes) aired in the period November 26-30, 20106 by the television broadcasters with largest number of reports on the “A1 case” 14 12 Dnevnik 10 Nova Makedonija 8 Utrinski vesnik 6 Večer Vreme 4 Špic 2 Vest 0 27,11 29,11 30,11 Table 5: Number of published articles on the “A1 case” in the period November 27-30, 20107 3.2 The coverage of the "A1 case“ had another peak after the events of December 23, 2010 and the arrest and detention of a number of suspectes in the so-called „Pero Nakov Street case“, including the owner and the director of A1 TV.
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