The Reliance on Anonymous Sources Remains A Mass Trend in the Media
1. Introduction
“Media Mirror” is a programme of continuing monitoring of the media in the Republic of Macedonia, with the aim to provide a clearer picture of the professional standards and information criteria of the media and the manner in which they cover and interpret the key social processes and events.
A special methodology was devised for the purpose of this monitoring, a first of its kind in the country, by the team comprising of an Editor, Analists (4) and monitors (11). This Report covers the period from September 5 to October 1, 2005.
The monitoring included six daily newspapers and six TV stations that broadcast programmes on national level: „Vest“, „Vecer“, „Vreme“, „Dnevnik“, „Utrinski Vesnik“, „Fakti“, “A1” TV, TV “Kanal 5”, MTV 1, MTV 2, TV “Sitel” and TV “Telma”. The selection of the media included in the monitoring was made on basis of the perceived influence they have, or may have, on the general public in the Republic of Macedonia.
The applied methodology shows whether the media approach to the events is all-encompassing, moderate and balanced; whether the journalists’ articles and reports are supported by clearly and precisely identified and quoted sources; whether they consulted all sides involved in conflict situations; whether they avoid giving arbitrary comments, evaluations, etc.
In addition, the analysis examines the manner in which the information was presented (scope, time-frame, source and location); whether it was illustrated with visual material; the treatment given to various political options and personalities, diverse ethnic and cultural values, through the use of terminology and language; the use of journalistic genres; the differences, if any, that exist between the monitored media when covering the same events and/or phenomena. Simultaneously, the monitoring analyses the eventual positioning of the media towards the government, the opposition, ethnic communities, certain political options or affiliations.
The subjects of analysis of this monitoring were the media approach and treatment of:
1. the international integration issues in the Republic of Macedonia: EU, NATO, the solution of the name-dispute, the Hague Tribunal, terrorism;
2. the region: Macedonian relations with Kosovo, Serbia, Albania, Greece and Bulgaria;
3. internal political affairs and security: decentralization, structural reforms (primarily in the judiciary).
A total of 1,051 published items were covered by this analysis: texts, illustrations, comics and cartoons, stories of the central daily information programmes that cover the topics listed above.
2. Media Treatment of Social and Political Affairs and the Manner of Presentation of the Information
2.1. General Conclusions
● The reporting based on unclear, imprecise or anonymous sources of information is a mass trend in Macedonian journalism. Moreover, it is a rising tendency. The unnamed or sources identified in most general terms are used by the media primarily with the intent to place unconfirmed information from the domestic political scene, but also when informing on events taking place outside Macedonia. Such approach to the use of sources is rarely explained by the media, nor do they list the reasons why the sources remain anonymous.
In journalism, quoting anonymous sources should be a matter of last resort and used only incidentally (for example, in articles of delicate nature), and only if the source itself insists to remain anonymous. The decision to protect the identity of a source, generally speaking, is a wholly legitimate matter. It is customary, on the other hand, to report the reason for such use of sources. The goal is to avoid that the articles sound speculative and to reduce the possibility to manipulate information, public attention and the public opinion in general.
● The majority of the facts in the media are presented and interpreted, with the exception of those facts that, in addition to being interpreted, are evaluated, either positively or negatively. This is usually the case with comments (opinion articles that present editorial positions). It happens that a part of the facts are interpreted as the author sees them, or based on the view of unidentified sources, without taking into account official sources and official information.
● During the analyzed period, there a was a noticeable continuous and generally (characteristic of all media, with the exception of “MTV”) critical position towards the activities of the political leadership, especially in the context of the topics that are subject to this analysis (for example: the announced reshuffle of the Government; the unfavourable recommendations regarding the NATO membership; the attitude towards the economic study prepared by Vladimir Gligorov, economic advisor to the President of the Republic; the communication through the media and the misunderstandings between President Crvenkovski and the Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski; the deteriorating economic situation over the past 14 years; etc.). One of the few exceptions to this general trend was the moderately positive treatment of the idea to award medals to former presidents Kiro Gligorov and Boris Trajkovski, with the note that some media reserved their positive opinion primarily for Gligorov.
● The great majority of the headlines summarize or emphasize the contents of the articles, with the exception of a number of headlines that present evaluations, give suggestions and are misleading in terms of the actual contents of an article. In certain cases, the headlines say more that the actual text of the article.
● The media presented the decision of NATO to omit the discussion of the further expansion of the Alliance at its next Summit, as well as the view of Kurt Walker from the U.S. Administration that the countries of the so-called “Adriatic Group” will not be prepared for membership before 2008, as a huge national loss[1]. The majority of the media have shown disappointment with the U.S.A., while the responsibility was located with the Government, and then with the political elite in general. No media attempted to analyze the general environment in the society and in the state, in the context of the NATO membership. No media engaged in analysis of the media situation, the behavior and responsibility of the media in the creation of that social ambience and environment. Most media emphasized the awareness of the complete incapacitation of the state and gave prominence to the most pessimistic statements by the citizens they polled on the streets[2].
2.1.1 Comparative data on the coverage of social-political affairs
Of the topics covered by this monitoring during the report period, the media paid greatest attention to the EU integrative processes, followed by Macedonian relations with NATO, in the context of the efforts for full membership in the alliance, as well as the developments in the process of decentralization. The least covered topic by the Macedonian media in September 2005, covered by the monitoring and this analysis, was the trials at the Hague Tribunal.
This ranking is supported by the statistics which shows that the developments related to Macedonian European integration processes were covered in 244 articles and stories. The rising intensity of the coverage is due, primarily, to the approaching date when the European Commission (EC) should give its recommendations (avis) on the Macedonian membership in the EU. On the other hand, the events surrounding the Macedonian membership in NATO (the opinion of Kurt Walker), also contributed to the increasing intensity of the published material, in terms of the possible answers by the EC. Judging from the number of published articles, the most interested in this subject was “Utrinski Vesnik” (48 articles), followed by “Vecer” (34), “Dnevnik” (32) and Vreme (31). The least number of materials on the Euro-integrations were published by “Vest” daily (a total of five articles).
In terms of the Macedonian relations with NATO, the media were mostly interested in the positions of the international actors regarding the preparedness (or the lack thereof) of Macedonia and the countries of the “Adriatic Group” to become members of the Alliance. The biggest number of articles on these topics was published by “Dnevnik” – 40, followed by “Utrinski Vesnik” with 30 articles, and “Kanal 5” TV with 26 reports and stories. The least numbers of material on this topic were noted with TV “Sitel” – only four stories, and in “Vest” daily – five published articles.
Regarding the process of decentralization, “Vreme” published 32 articles, while “Vest” carried only one article.
On the least present topic of trials at the Hague Tribunal, the greatest amount of material was published by “Dnevnik” daily (9) and “Vecer” and “Vreme” with six articles each. On the other hand, MTV 2 – Programme in Albanian, TV Sitel and the “Fakti” daily in Albanian, didn’t publish a single article on this topic.
A detailed statistical overview of each individual media coverage of a given topic is provided in the Table on the intensity of coverage per media for the analyzed period attached to this Report.
2.2. Comment on the Treatment of the Topics by the Media
The Macedonian European integration processes, regardless of whether they refer to events directly related to this topic or events that have indirect relation to the process or some influence on it, are a topic that is treated by the media with special attention. The media reported on the nine additional questions asked by the European Commission, and provided segments of the answer that the Government provided to the EC’s inquiry on the direct agreements concluded by the Government. All media reacted strongly to the statement by Laszlo Kovacs, the European Commission on Customs and Tax Policies, that in order to qualify for trade benefits, Macedonia should use the FYROM reference on its products[3]. During the report period, articles on EU’s estimates on the situation with smuggling of tobacco in the country were also present, together with speculations of alleged EU involvement in the alleged wire-tapping of communications in the countries candidates for membership and the EU reactions on the discovery of abuses of Euro-certificates in Bitola sugar refinery[4]. Most media are not very optimistic about the possibility for sooner favourable solution to the issue of the country’s integration into the EU[5].
The quantity and quality of the reporting on NATO integration follow a downwards trend, compared to the period after the announcement that the further expansion of the Alliance is postponed to 2008. This period was also dominated by coverage that refers mostly to the current events related to the issue of NATO integration. The general picture is almost identical in all published materials – in terms of genres, these were almost exclusively reports and descriptive news, without in-depth view in the political aspects and ideological values of the Alliance. During the period covered by this analysis, several articles were published on the statement by Kurt Walker, on the American scepticism in terms of the preparedness of the candidate countries for full membership, and this topic was emphasized in the reports on the first official activities and meetings of the new American Ambassador to Skopje, Jillian Milovanovic. From time to time, the media publish interviews or opinions by various experts and people that elaborate on this topic in greater detail, but from a view point of the authors themselves, who are not members of the editorial staff. The media also reported on the newly adopted Government strategy, according to which Macedonia will demand that its application for NATO membership is reviewed independently from the other candidate countries (Croatia and Albania) [6].
Regarding the trials in the Hague Tribunal, one prevailing impression is that, in the days that offer no events directly related to the actual proceedings and litigation, some media publish articles dedicated to the four cases of suspected war-crimes that are still with the Tribunal. Most likely, it illustrates the interest of those media in this topic, as well as the attempt to maintain the high level of public attention, but also the competent institutions, on this issue[7]. In terms of concrete events related to this topic, the media reported about the official estimates of the value of property owned by suspects Boskovski and Tarculovski, conducted in Skopje by the representatives of the Hague Tribunal[8].
The dispute between Macedonia and Greece over the name of the country and the subsequent threats that Macedonian entry into the EU might be blocked were covered, directly or indirectly, by a relatively large number of published materials. Many journalists predict that the coming avis on the Macedonian candidacy for EU membership will bring about new dynamism in the negotiations of the name dispute. The reporting on this topic is focused mostly on a) the activities of the state leadership in international relations[9]; b) the activities of Greek political entities regarding this issue and the speculations running in the Greek public opinion, i.e. the Greek media, on the possible new proposals to solve the dispute[10]; c) the international activities of a variety of entities connected to this dispute[11]. A big part of the published materials are speculative in their tone, due to the fact that they carry speculations (taken over from the Greek media, too), while other coverage makes clear distinction between the official versions of the events presented and interpreted by the media. The most quoted source-designations are “the Greek media” and “Greek diplomatic sources” or “we are told by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs…”
Just as the relations with Greece are viewed almost exclusively through the situation surrounding the name dispute, the relations with Serbia and Montenegro (SCG), i.e. Serbia, are covered with the main focus being placed on the dispute between the Serb Orthodox Church and the Macedonian Orthodox Church (SPC and MPC, respectively), created by the attempts to install a Serbian hexarchy in Macedonia through the so-called “POA” (Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric). The majority of the media don’t hesitate to evaluate the situation as “a dispute arising from the new wave of nationalism in Serbia“[12]. The MPC-SPC dispute remains interesting for the media because of the events involving Jovan Vraniskovski, specifically his trial for fraud at the Municipal Court in Veles, but also because of the certain activities in SCG, related to the “Vraniskovski Case”. Over a period of time, the media were equally critical of the SCG and the Government of Macedonia: on that occasion, the motive was the Serbia’s outstanding debts in compensation for the use of Macedonian air-space for civilian aviation flights.
The reporting on the relations with Albania concentrated primarily on four events: a) the adoption of the first official symbol of Pustec Municipality (flag with depiction of a Sun with 16 rays); b) the agreement to establish new border crossing point Djepciste – Trebiste, as well as the affirmative note on the cooperation between Macedonia and Albania in terms of the signing of a memorandum for visa-free border regime between the municipalities of Debar and Peskopea; c) the problems with the Albanian citizens that use the Macedonia as a base for illegal entry into Greece; and d) articles dedicated to the new history text books for elementary and secondary education[13].
The frequency of materials on the relations with Kosovo has decreased significantly during the report period. Nonetheless, the analysis detected a report (published by “Fakti” daily) dedicated to the issue of the loss of the monopoly that “OKTA” oil refinery held in Kosovo, after the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Macedonia and Kosovo[14].
The Macedonian positions in the official relations with the neighbouring countries also included the relations with Bulgaria: the announced possible Macedonian participation in the construction of “Belene” nuclear power plant. The information on the financial effects of the tourist season in Bulgaria, which included data on visits by Macedonian tourists, was used by the “Vreme” daily to write a report titled “Bulgaria is Built by Macedonian Money” (September 19, 2005, p.4), a conclusion that is not directly listed in the report of the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, but was made by the paper itself (nor of a concrete author, having in mind that no author was signed under this rather exhaustive report). The media used the low-intensity approach in their coverage of the banned protests organized by OMO “Ilinden” organization in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, but, in spite of their evident dissatisfaction, they didn’t take a clear position on the ban. „Dnevnik” daily speculated about the possibility that a political party of the Macedonian Bulgarians may be established[15].
Regarding the complex subject of the “Decentralization Processes”, the media publish materials on a variety of related sub-topics. So, articles were published on the Law on Official Use of Flags, i.e. the position of VMRO-NP and their initiative for changes and amendments of the Law and the initiated procedure at the Constitutional Court. The other articles refer to the reactions of diverse political and social entities on concrete problems of the decentralization. So, the media reported on the problem with termination of contracts of the elementary schools’ directors, but also on the reactions of the Ministry of Science and Education on the illegal actions of the newly-elected Mayors in that regard. In that context, the absurd situations of schools being run by two directors at the same time received a lot of coverage. The media also reported on one “unusual” event: the decision of the Mayor of Skopje, Trifun Kostovski, to start charging for the use of public facilities. The media presented a report that the first bill was sent to the Cabinet of the President of the Republic, for the use of the public park on Kale. The analysis noted articles that present a clear editorial position in the reporting on the use of languages in municipal administration[16].
The media focused their attention to the public debates and expert panel discussions on the proposal to introduce a probation term in office for the judges. With headlines along the lines of: “The Judges Don’t Want the Probation Term”, the majority of the media summarized and emphasized the actual contents of the published articles. The conclusions made on the bases of the general debate (which also included the media, in a sense) were: „there is an impression that the reforms, instead of giving greater independence to the judiciary, will push its status even further backwards” [17].
3. Specifics
In order to determine and study the specific aspects of the coverage of each individual media, the analysis utilized six factors in the treatment of the materials subject thereof (texts/articles, illustrations, cartoons and comic strips): 1. the approach to the analyzed topics (number and intensity of the published materials, their scope, placement on the pages or in the sequence of broadcast stories); 2. genre structure and character of the relevant report or article; 3. the correlation header-headline and text-illustration (lead-report-footage for the electronic media); 4. sources of information; 5. actors; and 6. treatment of facts.
3.1. Television Stations
A1 TV
The priority topic for this station, both in terms of the attention it gets and in terms of the actual editorial position expressed in the frequent comments, is the European integration of the Republic of Macedonia. In terms of the pure number of broadcast reports and stories, the topics of the name dispute with Greece and the Judiciary Reforms lead the way. The media remains rather pessimistic regarding the Macedonia’s chances to start the negotiations with the EU. The majority of reports and stories on the topics covered by this analysis are aired in the first part of the news, but rarely among the top three stories on any given day. The least amount of material broadcast by A1 TV was on the topic of Macedonian relations with the neighbouring countries, with only five reports and stories.
It has become a standard for the central news programmes to be dominated by descriptive stories and reports. However, subtle attempts at evaluation and opinion in a number of reports remain evident, as well as mixing of genres due to the prominent commentary elements (for instance, the reporting on the meetings that Minister Radmila Sekerinska held with EC representatives in Brussels). Opinionated announcements of stories and reports that carry the same type of subtle opinions and evaluations to be aired later in the news programmes are less frequent.
The visual illustrations have descriptive function and combine footage taped at the actual events, still photos or footage of persons whose statements are quoted in the reports, and archived footage. As a general rule, “A1” does not mark the recordings properly, unless it is a statement by a person.
In spite of the great number of reports that clearly identify the sources of information, recorded or their statement quoted ad verbatim, there is a frequent presence of unnamed or general sources that give a speculative tone to the presented information. Occasionally, the named sources are combined with general sources, such as “diplomatic sources say to A1”, “the members of the judicial profession”, and in rare cases the source of an information is not listed at all (“according to the information available to A1…”, “A1 learns…”).
The majority of the protagonists of the events related to the topics covered by this analysis are directly interpreted and quoted, without additional qualifications by the author. Occasionally, there are subtle evaluations for some of the protagonists, but, in general, there is an evident strong critical position of the media regarding the activities of the Macedonian political leadership and the state institutions (no concrete names are given), which is carried by the reports and stories indirectly and dominates the rare indirectly positive evaluation of the said persons and entities.
Parallel to the facts and information received from official sources, “A1” used facts and information presented by unclear sources, which are, generally speaking, of dubious validity. A rather incorrect treatment is noticeable in those cases when the information got from unnamed or unidentified sources are presented independently, or parallel to the official information, with the tendency to give them preference in the manner of presentation. The unofficial information and sources are used to prognosticate and predict the future events, to speculate on established relations, evaluate the statements of the named and identified sources, or to provide direct evaluation of certain issues.
TV “Kanal 5”
This television focused its attention on the topic of Macedonian relations with NATO” on which it published 26 reports and stories, while the least number of articles were dedicated to the trials at the Hague Tribunal.
The news-report dominates all other genres in the reporting on the topics of the decentralization, the Hague Tribunal, the MPC-SPC conflict, NATO and EU integration processes. Commentaries are common on the topics of reforms of the judiciary and the name-dispute with Greece. The report as a genre is used for articles related to the region, more specifically, to the relations between Macedonia and Albania.
The leads are used primarily to summarize or emphasize the contents of an article, although there were cases when the leads used were primarily suggestive by nature.
The use of sources (identified/unidentified) varies from one subject to another. “Kanal 5
TV analyzes, for example, whether Macedonia will be among the first states that will officially recognize the independence of Kosovo. In its research and investigation, it uses imprecise and unidentified sources, such as: this information is confirmed by government sources…, Ahmeti’s partners in the Government…, the Macedonian Government estimates…, high ranking government officials. In another example, “Kanal 5” quotes imprecise sources (representatives of the Customs Office leadership, who wished to remain anonymous, said to “Kanal 5”…; sources in the lower echelons of Customs Office employees), according to which “… the ‘Ta Nea’ articles are correct about the well established scheme designed to cover-up the illegal imports and export of cigarettes in Macedonia.”
No intentional promotion or negative presentation of protagonists covered by the journalists or other actors in the stories was registered. The station mostly just presents the facts, occasionally it presents and interprets the facts, and in a number of articles, the events and developments are first interpreted and evaluated, and only afterwards the facts are presented.
A summary of the manner of reporting of the events during the period covered by this analysis shall lead us to a conclusion that there is no clear-line of either support or criticism of the Government policies. The overall impression is that all information and events that may provoke the interest of the final consumers of the information are presented and covered without a prior calculated intention to cause a specific effect.
“MTV 1”
“MTV 1” places the main focus of its reporting on the Macedonian integration in the EU (15 articles) and NATO (8 articles). The name dispute with Greece and the Dispute between SPC and MPC over the so-called POA were covered by one article each.
The articles on issues of integration processes were the longest (in terms of time dedicated to them) and were commonly aired among the top five stories. The coverage was dominated by pure genres, in majority of cases pure reports. The journalists’ restricted themselves on simple presentation of the matters, without additional evaluations, opinions, suggestions or predictions. The leads correspond fully to the contents they announce, occasionally even “too weak” to keep the attention of the viewers.
In the presentation of the information clearly and precisely noted sources are used, which means that in majority of cases, MTV 1 uses official sources of information. The problem with that approach, however, is that the political opposition and its side of the story were almost invisible in the treatment of the topics covered by this analysis. The primacy was given to the current Government (above all the Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski) and the international representatives. There was a very noticeable presence of increased optimism regarding the country’s European integration and the increased frequency of statements and interviews (with major minutes and prominence among the top five news stories in the central news programmes) given by the Prime Minister.
The articles in “MTV 1” news follow a structure in which the journalist first paraphrases the actors and protagonists of a given event, usually followed immediately by a broadcast of the complete statement. This analysis has neither registered instances of positive or negative evaluation, nor was there a tendency to change the appearance of the facts, although we may emphasize, once again, that the “good” activities of the current government in terms of the European integration processes and the accession to NATO are possibly too frequent.
“MTV 2” (Programme in Albanian Language)
Over the period covered by this analysis, the dominant topic in “MTV 2” news programmes were the relations with the EU (14 articles), including quality reports from journalist reporting directly from Brussels. The EU is followed by the topic of relations with NATO, covered in 9 articles. As a whole, however, the offer on all topics is rather slim (even in terms of the decentralization processes, which was considered very attractive until recently), especially on the topics of “MPC-SPC relations”, or the “name-dispute with Greece”, on which no articles were broadcast.
During the report period, the most dominant form of reporting was the pure information genres, news and reports, as well as statements, all of them carrying almost no comment at all.
The leads usually correspond with the actual contents of the article they announce. The same is true of the visual segment in terms of the footage used in the news and reports. The articles that report on international events often use archive footage or still shots of people, cities, etc.
During the report period, the journalists of the “MTV 2” programme in Albanian language mostly presented the views and opinions of domestic or foreign representatives and international institutions, properly identified in the majority of cases.
In terms of treatment of protagonists, there were no visible preferential or neglecting approaches. On the other hand, the total amount of broadcast articles that were the subject of this analysis were not enough, in terms of quantity, to conduct a proper observation of any specific position held by the editorial office regarding the topics and actors.
There were no registered attempts at intentional manipulation of the facts. Whether the general public, having in mind the restricted scope of subjects on offer, gets enough facts about the social and political problems and affairs is a another question.
TV “Sitel”
TV “Sitel” paid the greatest attention in its central news programmes to the European integration processes (11 articles). It was always difficult to determine the exact genre of a given article and, in addition to the presentation of information, the analyses registered attempts by some journalists to evaluate, opinionize and make predictions regarding concrete developments and actors. The monitoring didn’t register a single report or article on the topic of “Trials at the Hague Tribunal”.
The leads to the stories often, but not always and not with all the reporters, corresponded to the actual contents of the articles. There were instances of reports that didn’t make it clear what was the exact source of the information, or the reporters used language and terminology that led to the conclusion that attempts at speculation were made.
We should note that, during the report period, TV “Sitel” took care to provide equal space and coverage to the government and the opposition, although the analysis of several broadcast comments gives ample evidence of the political inclinations of the media (for ex., “It is quite clear what the Europeans expect from the next elections. They expect a change in government and only then the negotiations will proceed”; central news programme on September 27, 2005).
The protagonists of the events are usually quoted ad verbatim and their statements are broadcast fully, although in some cases we find out what was said from the journalist. In terms of the treatment of facts, there is a visible tendency (very direct and open) to present opinions before the facts are presented, or the facts are even omitted, which is a practice used here and there, depending on the journalist that anchors the news.
TV “Telma”
The topic of “Problems presented by the decentralization” dominates the reporting both in terms of quantity (28 articles) and in terms of quality of coverage. NATO (17 articles), EU (11) and the name-dispute (9) fall into the second group of slightly less covered, but nonetheless interesting topics. The reporting on these topics includes the most important events and development and the most important statements.
In addition to the news and reports as the most used reporting genres, longer reports, statements and interviews are broadcast.
In majority of cases, the leads to the actual stories simply summarize the contents, although some leads present editorial opinions and evaluations. Most of the articles use original footage recorded at the events, but if need arises, archive footage is used.
To a great extent, the bulk of information is received from named and identified sources, but anonymous diplomatic sources are used when reporting on more delicate matters related to a significant topic.
The overall impression is that TV “Telma” presents double-checked facts provided by proven sources for all the topics that are subject to this analysis. Sometimes, it happens for an obvious situation or fact to be commented on in the leads, but very moderately.
3.2. Daily Newspapers
“Vest”
The paper published five articles on the topic of Euro-integrations and five on the relations with NATO. There were no articles on the topics of the name dispute and Macedonian relations with the countries in the region.
“Vest” treated the topics that are subject to this analysis only superficially. The information was presented by using pure genres.
The headlines were mostly inappropriate, not only in terms of their compatibility with the contents of the respective articles, but also in terms of the language and writing style (for example, “28 People in Three Shifts were Unloaded to take part in the Political Dialogue in Brussels; Rada Pays 8 Journalists to Raise her Ratings”, September 27, 2005).
Although this is not a general rule, there have been some examples of use of unclear sources. There is no evident effort to promote a single political option. However, it is evident that the Government is the “main target” of the criticism.
The statements of the protagonists are equally quoted and paraphrased (especially in the headlines), and the actors are the target of the paper’s sarcasm, as evident in the “nicknames” and the very informal manner of addressing them by their first nemes, used in the coverage dedicated to various political and public figures (Rada – Radmila Sekerinska, Bucko – Vladimir Buckovski, Ilinka – Ilinka Mitreva, Brother Ljube – Ljube Boskovski).
The evaluation of facts, especially in negative connotation, is the most visible in the Saturday’s regular columns “Sakam da kazam” (I want to say) and “Eftini Prikazni” (Dime Stories).
Having in mind the conclusions listed above, it is obvious that “Vest” is strongly inclined to the tabloid type of reporting (yellow press), which is definitely a calculated move by the editorial office, aimed at attracting larger readership.
“Vecer”
Macedonian relationship with the EU is the topic that got the greatest attention by “Vecer” daily, both in terms of the number of articles published (34) and in terms of the quality of the published articles (diverse genre structure, visually prominent positions). The least number of articles were dedicated to the trials at the Hague Tribunal (six articles). The only thing that is missing, or is there in extremely rare cases, is a more comprehensive analysis, which is due to the fact that the paper simply doesn’t work a lot with that genre and prefers the shorter information genres. The most articles on the topics that are subject to this analysis are published in the first several pages of the paper, in the sections “News of the day” and “Politics”.
The coverage is dominated by news and short reports, mostly descriptive in character. The evaluations and suggestions on the events and involved entities are present in editorial comments on a small part of the analyzed topics, or in descriptive articles with incorporated comments.
Some topics were accompanied by “Vecer” with descriptive headlines and photographs (NATO), while some topics (EU) were notable for the presence of suggestive and speculative headlines. There were articles illustrated with photographs (or advertisements) that invoke negative associations (“EU Searches the Garbage, too!” September 9, 2005, p.2). It is important, however, to note the special attention given to the visual illustration of the presented information, the presence of photographs that offer sufficient information in their own right (“Inquisition a la“Kurir””; September 27, 2005, p.3). The new concept of the newspaper gives prominence to the front-page – several headlines and photographs, plus a lead for the featured article. On the topics that were subject to this analysis, only one article was given the front-page feature treatment during the report period.
“Vecer’s” coverage is dominated by articles based on the statements of clearly identified sources. However, the domination of this type of articles does not diminish or eliminate the presence and the influence of speculative articles based on unconfirmed information coming from unclear sources or articles that present information originating from unclear sources accompanied with the denials coming from clearly identified sources.
The descriptive articles are dominated by the correct treatment of protagonists of the events. The quoted or reinterpreted statements are presented without additional comments. The evaluations and comments of the protagonists and actors are evident in the editorial comments. A small portion of the articles carry the authors’ opinions or indirect, incorrect, occasionally slighting opinions presented in the illustrative elements of the article.
“Vecer” presents the facts correctly, through presentations of concrete events and statements. The new concept of the paper gives special prominence to the main messages of the contents of an article, extracted in a visually striking feature which is a characteristic of a great number of articles. However, this is not to exclude the presence of articles in which the facts have no relevant confirmation for their validity and are constructs based on other facts.
“Vreme”
The events related to the European Union, judging from the dedicated attention and the amount of published material, were treated as the main topic by “Vreme” (31), although in terms of sheer numbers of the published articles, the decentralization leads the way with 32 articles. These topics were covered in a great number of articles, with great variety of genres (dominated by reports, but EU was a subject of one dedicated editorial comment and an exhaustive interview with Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski).
The coverage is dominated by descriptive reports, without direct comments, opinions or suggestions provided by the authors. Direct judgement and opinions are present in the editorial comments. Certain articles are, basically, descriptive in character, but the complete construction of the information, the evaluations and predictions, presented by the author or the identified or unidentified sources, resemble a commentary in spite of the fact that there is not explicitly expressed intention on behalf of the author to comment on the events.
The “Vreme” headlines generally have a descriptive function, to summarize the contents or to emphasize its lead message. However, on a number of topics, there is a notable presence of headlines that, although containing no direct qualifications of the entities, are constructed in such a way so as to express indirect opinions and suggestions about the contents of the article they refer to; or headlines that carry direct opinion and judgment of the events/actors. The photographs are usually descriptive, and rarely are photographs used with the intention to present an opinion of a given subject in an indirect manner. Only a small fraction of the articles on the topics covered by this analysis were announced on the front-pages of the newspaper.
The paper’s sources are usually clearly named, quoted ad verbatim or presented in indirect speech. There is a tendency to use generally denoted sources on certain topics (“councillors”, “the population”, “the local authorities”) with the aim to present the summarized message of a group of sources, without intention to carry over conflicting information. On some topics (the EU), occasionally a great variety of speculative sources is used (“diplomatic representatives”, “Brussels unofficially announces”, “we learn that”, “government sources”, “OSCE experts”, “Brussels diplomats”, “government representatives”), sometimes used as the only source of information, and sometimes combined with official, named and quoted sources. Occasionally, there is an evident presence of articles completely based on speculative sources, or articles that offer no information on their sources.
The actors are treated correctly and presented or interpreted without additional evaluation of their statements or activities. Some topics are covered with a completely correct and neutral approach to the events and actors (MPC). One exception to this rule are the editorial comments in which the authors present direct, clear opinions and suggestions about the activities of a part of the Macedonian state leadership, or the reports that present the indirect opinion through the accompanying elements (photographs, captions, headlines).
The majority of published articles presents and interprets the facts without any pretence of giving them other opinion than the originally intended. Certain facts which the paper considers important to exist or be changed are augmented by being constantly reiterated in a number of articles (for example, the wrong information on Macedonia, its name and national identity of Macedonians given by the famous encyclopaedia and computer software). A small number of the analyzed articles are speculative in their tone, due to the fact that they are based on information not grounded in reality, and were denied by official sources.
“Dnevnik”
The topic of Macedonian relations with NATO, in terms of the number of published articles (40) dominated the period covered by this report, while the least covered, with only 5 articles, was the process of decentralization.
The articles on various topic matters have a diverse genre structure (the genre structure and the character of the published material vary from one topic to the other). For instance, the topic of regional relations, with notable exceptions, was usually covered with informative articles, and the reporting was motivated by current events. The topic of relations between SPC and MPC is dominated by reports, although the presence of texts that are, simultaneously, both reports and comments (“Something is hiding behind Jovan” – September 29, 2005), while the reporting on the name dispute exhibits a mixing of genres (report and comment, “The Government nears a compromise on the name?” – September 12, 2005). The trials of Boskovski and Tarculovski are presented in articles that have the general outline of reports, but include elements of a featured report story (they provide even the viewpoints of Tarculovski’s wife). The topic of the European Union is mostly covered with reports, although articles were registered combining several genres – analysis and comment.
The situation is similar in terms of the relations header-headline-lead and text-illustration, so that in the articles on the regional relations, the headline and the header summarize the main topic, while the attached features are not illustrated. In reporting on the dispute between the SPC and MPC, the headline of the article is used to fulfil two functions: a) the title gives emphasis to the covered topic, and b) headlines used with intention to suggest an idea or discovery (“Something is hiding behind Jovan” - September 29, 2005; “Archbishop Stephan: Somebody tries to impose Jovan on the EU” – September 22, 2005). In the reporting on the name dispute with Greece, in several cases the titles of the articles carried messages that misled the readers about the main topic matter (“The Government Discusses the Name” – September 28, 2005).
“Dnevnik” refers to unclear sources in its presentation of the very positive opinion of the reforms implemented in the Army of the Republic of Macedonia. Unclear and unidentified sources were used in the coverage of the Greece-Macedonia dispute.
With several notable exceptions, the actors and protagonists of events were presented without intentional negative or positive judgement or opinion.
Some articles on the topic of the dispute between SPC and MPC, in addition to their descriptive character, hold suggestive connotations, and the facts are presented and interpreted with evaluation (“The Tetovo blueprint”, September 30, 2005).
The newspaper reports on the activities and the reactions of the political party VMRO-DPMNE, but it does it with lot of restraint and with the purpose to inform. “Dnevnik” is critical towards the Government’s policies regarding the dispute with Greece. Relatively neutral, even mildly supportive, is the paper’s position on the Government’s policy and actions regarding the EU and NATO integrations.
“Utrinski Vesnik”
“Utrinski Vesnik” daily places special emphasis on the topics of Macedonian integrations into the EU and NATO, with 48 and 30 articles, respectively. The articles published on these two topics received front-page treatment and were placed on prominent spots in the paper. The significance of these topics for the daily is evident in the great number of editorial comments written by its journalists. The least covered was the topic of the trials at the Hague Tribunal.
In the majority of cases, the published materials were of informative character. Only rarely we register mixing of genres, usually in texts starting as reports and ending in a commentary. One such mixture of genre emphasizes the contents of the article through the use of two headers and two leads (headers: “Former Prime Minister of Albania confirms that Georgievski made an offer in 2001” and “New witnesses for the events in Macedonia in 2001 – Ilir Meta confirmed that division of Macedonia was offered”; and the leads: “Meta claims that an offer was made to divide Macedonia in two”, “Ilir Meta confirms the offer to divide Macedonia”; Saturday, September 24, 2005).
In the reporting on the topic of regional relations, the headers, headlines and leads summarized the actual contents of the respective articles. The photographs are realistic and mostly depict the protagonists of the events. The coverage was motivated by current affairs, which are presented in a predominantly descriptive manner. In the coverage of the topic of relations with the EU, the paper tended to use portraits of those actors and protagonists that should receive positive and preferential treatment. Such portrait photographs are disproportionately large compared to the actual size of the article. Such is the example, for instance, with the photographs of Prime Minister Buckovski, European Commissioner Javier Solana, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and, slightly less frequently, Minister Mitreva and President Crvenkovski.
A tendency was registered on several occasion to present the information only from a single point of view: only the domestic (Albanian politicians) and foreign politicians – officials of the Republic of Albania – were consulted when reporting on the proposal made by Ljubco Georgievski to exchange territory with Albania in 2001, although the paper presented Georgievski’s position the very next day.
The positions of the Greek side in the coverage of the name-dispute are received from imprecise and unidentified sources, while the sources on the Macedonian side are properly identified and positively evaluated. The articles on the other topics are based on clear and precise sources, withad verbatim quoted and/or paraphrased statements. In general, the facts in the reports on current affairs are descriptive. In mixed-genre coverage (comments and reports) and in the editorial comments, suggestions, evaluations and predictions are noted.
The U.S. and Great Britain are presented as promoters and supporters of the Macedonian cause. The VMRO-DPMNE as a collective, and Ljubco Georgievski as an individual mostly get the negative treatment. Especially prominent is the tendency to promote Government policies, as well as the positive reporting on the activities and policies pursued by President Crvenkovski. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilinka Mitreva gets, simultaneously, mild criticism and support.
“Fakti”
During the period covered by this analysis, the paper was most interested, at least in terms of quantity of the coverage, in the decentralization (15) and relations with NATO (14), although the coverage exhibits no special approach in terms of the quality of reporting or treatment. Therefore, no issue related to these two topics deserved to get the top-story treatment. This refers also to the less covered topics. During the report period, “Fakti” didn’t publish a single article on the topic of the trials at the Hague Tribunal.
Reports, news, as well as statements and interviews are the most common forms of coverage. There was a striking absence of editorial comments during the analyzed period, and the coverage in general is devoid of any attempts to editorialize or comment. Nonetheless, the cooperation between Macedonia and Albania, especially the Memorandum on Visa Free Travel Regime signed between the Municipalities of Debar and Peskopeja, got the affirmative treatment.
In majority of cases the titles correspond to the text of the given article, while visual illustration is absent from a great number of articles. In some instances, the headlines say more than the actual contents of the articles.
The reporting on the topics that are subject to this analysis mostly uses named and identified sources. However, not all aspects of a given issue are covered and the coverage is restricted to a single source, and in a number of cases the articles are compiled in a way that makes it difficult to identify the sources of information. Also, there were cases when one issue of the newspaper would present one side of a story, while the next issue would present the other side of the same story.
The Fakti treats all actors and protagonists equally. The paper presents facts that, for the better part, are not commented.
[1] One exception is the coverage provided by “MTV”, which demonstrate both the inert approach adopted by the journalists, but also attempts to minimize the negative effects of the events, especially if they could have negative effect on the government. MTV (with its two editorial offices, in Macedonian and Albanian language), unlike all the other monitored media, gives and impression of an ambition to create a positive feeling in its viewers on issues that the other media treat with increased skepticism and pessimism.
[2] The main target of the cynical criticism about the shock of the news from Brussels shifts back and forth between “us” – the public (media) and “them” – the politicians.„Vreme“, for instance, in its editorial comment, has simplified that approach to the core, commenting somewhat ironically: “…What will we do now? This triple strike on the feeble Macedonian state is unfair… Do they know, in Brussels and in Washington, that NATO and EU are the only light we have to lead us out of the fog we are in, and if the citizens lose them as referent points, they will lose orientation completely?”
[3] Regarding the customs code, the reporting covered the manner in which the request to change the code arrived (an inquiry in the European Parliament by a Greek MP), with suggestions that the fact that the Macedonian side was informed about the inquiry too late was a result of the lack of interest by Macedonian representatives in Strasbourg(“MP inquiries, most likely, are not all that interesting for our representatives in Strasbourg”).
[4] The report dedicated to the review of the situation of tobacco and cigarette smuggling in the region and in Macedonia was published in the “Vecer Spec” section of “Vecer” daily, in an articles titled “EU Checks the Garbage, too!” (September 29, 2005, p.2). One characteristic of this article is the fact that this was the only article on EU that had a front-page lead. What is incorrect, what evokes wrong associations, even insulting for the subject of those associations, is the illustration of the front-page lead – the headline “EU Check the Garbage, too!” was accompanied by a photograph of a sheep roaming a waste dump. Often, the media positions are not clearly presented; namely, the politicians and the state leadership is often criticized for their frequent travels abroad, usually called “road trips” or “excursions”, and on the other hand, the media suggest that in the period prior to the presentation of the EC opinion on the Macedonian EU questionnaire, “they should be in Brussels all the time”. Besides, the media often imply that “…our politicians should, and they don’t want, or don’t know how, flatter EU”. It is not clear whether they refer to lobbying efforts, a legitimate activity of the governments in international relations, which remains largely unknown by our public, it is rarely analyzed, and when mentioned – it is viewed from a negative point of view.
[5] The impression is that the media follow the lead of VMRO-DPMNE, when the party announced the negative recommendation on NATO membership, and compete in who will publish more pessimistic prognosis. As an illustration for the views and prognosis that dominated the media in Macedonia, here is a quote from a comment aired in a TV “A1” report: “The demands for reforms are always bad news for the Skopje authorities. That is the very reason why, as A1 reported recently, the European Commission will not come out with a date to start the negotiations in December.”
[6] The reporting on this topic, just like the EU, is dominated by the pessimism, as illustrated in the following example: „Among other things, in the next two years the public needs to be informed about the progress in terms of our entry into NATO on more regular basis, to avoid that it faces yet another disappointment”.
[7] The criticism is mostly directed against the Chief Prosecutor of The Hague Tribunal, Carla Del Ponte and the Public Prosecutor Aleksandar Prcevski. The Chief Prosecutor del Ponte’s main fault is the fact that “she forgot, or knowingly ignores the four cases from the 2001 crisis, for which the Hague Tribunal have not bring up any charges”,while the Public Prosecutor of Macedonia is accused of not pushing it hard enough: “Prcevski Doesn’t Pressure the Hague on the four cases”. The criticism, however, is not directed only against the two of them, but also towards the Minister of Justice Meri Mladenovska – Gjorgievska. “Telma” TV, for instance, commented: “Although the Minister of Justice Meri Mladenovska – Gjorgievska and the State Public Prosecutor Aleksandar Prcevski say that our judiciary is interested to take over the four cases, they now say that the other institution is truly competent”.
[8] Some media used undefined sources, such as “lawyers say” to publish speculations that the visit of the evaluation team was augmented with a group of investigators who have the goal to bring new charges against other people for involvement in the “Ljuboten Case”. Although such speculations were promptly denied by Dragan Godzo, the lawyer of one of the Hague Suspects, they were used by “Vecer” daily to construct the header “Carla del Ponte’s Emissaries in an incognito visit to the country”.
[9] For a brief period of time, the media treated the name-dispute with Greece as an internal political affair. This was caused by the VMRO-DPMNE proposal for a declaration that will state that the Constitutional name will not be changed, which the Parliament didn’t take into consideration. “Telma” TV, for example, ran three reports on the parliamentary debate and presented the most striking differences in the positions of the Government and the opposition (September 5), and on the next day (September 6), it presented the mutual accusations between the two biggest parties, SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE. The media, in general, dedicated daily coverage to the activities of President Crvenkovski and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilinka Mitreva, starting with general announcement of their travel agenda and ending with commentaries about the effects of their visit to New York. Some media criticized their behaviour related to international relations activities. For instance, the information presented by “A1 TV” which claim that President Crvenkovski created a diplomatic scandal when he refused to participate in the breakfast organized by Kofi Annan, the UN General Secretary. “Vecer” rounded up its coverage with a commentary carrying suggestive title “Diplomatic Excursion” (“The travel of the President of the Republic and the head of he diplomacy to New York will cost a lot, while the effects, judging from the rather “thin” agenda, will be few and far apart”). The author, while not disputing the importance of the presence at the UN General Assembly, nonetheless believes that the sending of a delegation of 16 members, with little important contacts there, looks more as an “excursion” (“There is no doubt that Macedonia should be present at the UN General Assembly to reiterate there that it does contribute to the fight against terrorism and to the development of democracy in the world. However, the sending of a delegation of 16 which has several meaningless meetings there, leads to the conclusion that, for all practical matter, this was merely an “excursion”).
[10] The anti-Macedonian propaganda on the web, according to some media, was stimulated, among other things, by the strong Greek influence.
[11] Regarding the international activities related to the name dispute, a report was published on the Resolution on Macedonia being adopted by the Senate of the State of Michigan, U.S. In terms of the Resolution 59 of the Senate of Michigan, “Vreme” daily, in addition to the report on its adoption, carried a brief interview with Senator Laura Toy, who initiated the Resolution, on the motives and the effects of this Resolution.
[12] Such evaluations are, for the better part, paraphrases of the conclusions of Jacques Rupnik, professor of political sciences at the Sorbonne University. Although “Sitel” TV doesn’t lag behind the other media in terms of the treatment of this topic (it doesn’t ignore it), it nonetheless refrains from taking similar positions. “Vreme” daily, on the other hand, published a report titled “Vraniskovski could become an obstacle on the road to the EU”, suggesting possible problems regarding European integrations. On the other hand, the problems of the MPC were brought into connection to another issue: the internal turmoil in the Islamic Religious Community. Some media published the Report of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights which notes the protective position of the state regarding MPC in the case of Vraniskovski (“…the state doesn’t hide its benevolence towards MPC, and has raised the church’s interests to the level of state affairs…”) and the passivity of the state towards the violence in the Islamic Community (“the state, on the other hand, remained passive on the issue of violence in IVZ and other smaller religious communities”). „А1“ TV has its own view: „Just as Croatia has its Gotovina Case, Greece now lobbies, through Serbia, that Macedonia and the Government of Prime Minister Buckovski get their own black stain through the Vraniskovski case, just like the Sanader Government did”. (September 29, 2005,report No. 6). There is noticeable tendency with “Dnevnik” daily to dedicate prominent space to religious affairs in which MPC is the main actor, presented with less text and more illustration. There is a slight inclination for positive promotion of the actors in these affairs: President Crvenkovski and the MPC. „Dnevnik” compares the “…obstruction of justice in the case of ‘Brioni’ motel” and the behaviour of Vraniskovski’s followers in the Municipal Court in Veles. According to “Dnevnik”, they “…simply used the mechanism previously used, for instance, the citizens of Celopek in their attempt to obstruct the justice; this in spite of the fact that Vraniskovski himself is presented in slightly different light: “their ‘archbishop’ is not united with the Lord, but with suspicious and criminal actions, for which there is ample evidence in all parishes Jovan has entered.” “Utrinski Vesnik”, in an editorial comment, presents facts related to the alleged “involvement of the Greek Church in the attempts to install a parallel church in Macedonia”. This editorial was motivated by the text published by Mikhail Tritu, Professor at the School of Theology of the “Aristoteles” University in Thessalonica, on the web site of “Sveta Gora” (Mt. Athos).
[13] In its report titled “There are no parts of Albania that formerly belonged to Macedonia”,“Vreme” daily compares the date listed in the history school-books for seventh grade published this year and the text-books published in 1996.
[14] The article is relatively impartial in its presentation of the newly created situation, resulting with the start of the new 10% customs fee on oil products, although it uses solely Kosovo based sources (UNMIK officials, the Customs Office officials, other oil companies’ employees), which remain unnamed. Most likely, this article was reprinted from a Kosovo media (the original publication was not noted) and worked over a bit. In one part of the report, Macedonia is referred to as ‘this country’, which is not the general trend, or at least not consistent, if it is a case of a compilation of several other articles. Otherwise, TV SITEL remains the most regular and outspoken critic of Macedonia official policies towards Kosovo. So, the most common evaluations presented in the central news programmes are along the following line: „Over the last several years, the Government of Macedonia acts against its best interests and to play for Kosovo, doing it a favour on the road of the province’s independence, creating tensions with the other neighbours, and with Serbia and Greece above all. The Macedonians in Albania, since there no more Macedonians living in Kosovo being ethnically cleansed, live in sub-standard conditions, even by Balkan standards…”(“Sitel” TV, September 20, 2005). „Kanal 5” TV analyzed the possibility of Macedonia being among the first countries to recognize the independence of Kosovo. The lead to the feature report said: “Macedonia, after Albania, will be the first state to officially recognize the independence”.
[15] In an article totally speculative in tone and nature, based on vague sources, “Dnevnik” reports that a political party of Bulgarians in Macedonia is in the process of being established, with full support by official Sofia. „Dnevnik” writes: „…the plan to establish a political party was assisted and initiated by official Bulgarian governmental structures… “Dnevnik” learns that one of the activists, who demanded that he remained anonymous, carries membership applications with him at all times, worked in SDSM party security for the 2002 Parliamentary Elections. After the elections, he was offered a job and a salary of 200 EUR, which he refused”.
[16] One such article with elements of clearly presented editorial position, mostly presented in the header and headline of the article, was published by “Fakti” daily – “The Law on the Use of Languages will Decide the Integration of Macedonia” (header), i.e. “Albanian as the Second Official Language – Foreigners Demand” (Headline). The article, published on September 10, carries the main message extracted from the statements of one DUI Member of Parliament, but also carries statements by a representative of the Ministry of Justice. “Dnevnik” daily also presented its evaluations and positions: „…the local authorities understand the decentralization exclusively as a process to gain greater power and bigger budgets, while the Ministry of Education understands it as an opportunity to transfer all the problems to the Municipalities, without prior preparation for that task“.
[17] “Vecer” daily, in a commentary that could be considered as representative of the official editorial position, placed a hard-line conclusion: „It was proven, once again, that the ancient proverb “The lie walks on short legs” carries a lot of truth in it. Sooner or later, the truth will have to come out, which actually happened. The public know it now – the judiciary is dependent on the politics. It is not that they didn’t know it before, it’s just the fact that we now have an official recognition of that fact.”
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