Can a convicted journalist create public opinion: Ivona Talevska removed from the TV screens

The conviction for tax evasion, the probation sentence, and, even more, the guilty plea of the crime committed by journalist Ivona Talevska, have shaken the fellowship. Sitel’s recognizable persona, which for years has created public opinion in favor of the former ruling government, has not been in front of the TV screens for weeks, but the question posed is whether a person convicted of a serious crime can report on public events requiring criminal conviction, to create public opinion about what is good and what is not, and ultimately to be a news and media editor, which should be a corrective of the bad policies and decisions in all aspects of society.

Media workers agree that the verdict is not valid, given that both parties have the right to appeal. But it is clear that Talevska herself pled guilty of the act and repented, while her lawyer asked the court to appreciate the mitigating circumstances and to rule a milder sentence, which ultimately happened. On the other hand, she is employed in a private television, which, however, has a national license granted by a state institution, and at least because of this she has responsibility to the viewers.

Ivona Talevska did not answer our phone calls yesterday, nor did she respond to the messages asking: Does she plan to continue her journalistic career, that is, whether she remains the deputy chief editor of TV Sitel?

We failed to get an official position from the television regarding the Talevska case, but it unofficially comment that she has been removed from the TV screens for a long time and does not participate in the editorial policy of the media at all.

“It was important to us to get her off the screens,” the television claims.

Employees in Sitel say that Talevska comes to work every day, but retreats to her office that she shares with Dragan Pavlovic-Latas, who, however, does not go to work because of health problems in the family. She remains employed in television, but does not participate in the daily duties of the working collegium.

The president of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia, Naser Selmani, says that the question arises as to the interest of the media owner in his ranks to have such a journalist, which in fact shows that media owners are not interested in employing professionals and creating serious content.

“It is obvious that most of the influential media recruit journalists with such dark things. Specifically in this case, it is a private media, but it is interesting how, after such a verdict, the owner has an interest in keeping such a journalist at work when there are many real professionals who are out of work and on the market. All this shows how much the media business is really a media business, and how much the media serves the bosses as an instrument for protecting their business, “Selmani told us.
The Media Ethics Council says it does not evaluate journalists and media workers, but rather the result of their work, that is, whether they take into account the Codex of Journalists and ethical standards in the reporting.

“Article 16 of the Code indicates that the journalist will preserve the reputation and dignity of their profession. It is also indisputable that the public and the citizens are the ones who judge and evaluate how journalists and the media have completed their professional obligations and what their credibility is,” the Media Ethics Council stressed.

From the Macedonian Journalists Association (MAN), which was considered a counterpart of AJM during the rule of the former government, and in which Talevska was the chairman of the executive board, nobody wanted to comment on the explanation that the association is no longer active, and that the functions have ceased to be valid.

The Codex of Journalists mainly describes the “rules of the game”, but in Article 5 it is stated that journalists are obliged to obey the laws of the state.

Ivona Talevska was sentenced to two years in prison for the ‘Tifani’ case, which she will not do if she does not commit another crime in the next four years. She was charged with evading taxes in the amount of over 50,000 euros, which, according to the verdict, will need to be returned to the budget of the Republic of Macedonia. Judge Sofia Lalicic said that the probation was determined due to the exemplary behavior of the defendant, and the fact that she had no previous convictions. The verdict triggered an avalanche of public reactions. “To the court, today was Forgiveness day “, was one of the comments on Twitter, and in another it was suggested that Macedonia should become “Republic of Probation Macedonia” because there are no reforms.

Goran Adamovski