How’s the situation with the media in North Macedonia?
There are numerous problems that media outlets in North Macedonia are facing, while one of the main things that need to be addressed is regulation of online media. These were the assessments made during a conference held in Skopje focusing on the problems that media is facing.
Minister for Communication and Transparency, Robert Popovski said that the state would help in creating the necessary conditions for the media to work free of any external influence and that the media should undergo a self-regulating process.
“Public opinion needs to restore confidence on the media and the way the system works. Self-regulation is very important. This process will enable people to make the difference between real news and fake news”, Popovski said.
The chair of the Board of Directors of the North Macedonian Media Ethics Council, Katerina Sinadinovska said that shortage of professional journalists is one of the main problems that media outlets are facing. According to her, media is also facing financial problems, while stressing that there are many news portals funded by different political formations and business groups.
“There’s a shortage of content due to shortages of funds. This makes it hard for media outlets to hire investigative journalists”, Sinadovska said.
Dutch ambassador Walter Plomp said that the problems that media faces need to be addressed by way of a well defined legislation.
The latest EU progress report states that there’s a clear political polarization in North Macedonia and this is reflected on online media.
/ibna/