Journalists’ organizations align criteria for online media

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), the Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) and the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia (CMEM)  have aligned minimum criteria contributing to protecting and promoting professional journalism in online media.

AJM, SSNM and CMEM believe that online media should abide by the principles of journalism, including transparent ownership, publicly published impressum (team of reporters), contact and address of the outlet, approval and observance of the Code of Journalists and to be registered as a legal entity in Macedonia.

The three organizations urged the government and public institutions to respect these criteria when issuing accreditation to journalists from online media.

“We call on advertisers to be socially responsible and to refrain from posting ads on online media that fail to meet these criteria,” reads a statement of these organization.

If the government and advertisers do not respect these criteria, they will directly contribute to strengthening the dissemination of disinformation in media and their use for propaganda.

“This could be used as an alibi for adopting a restrictive legal regulation of online media that can restrict freedom of expression online,” adds the statement.