Kosovo and Hague divided the media on ethnic basis!

on Mar 29, 06 • by

The differences between the positions held by Macedonian state leadership and certain foreign political actors, regarding the timing of the completion of the demarcation of the border between Macedonia and Kosovo, were visible also in the differing views the media held on this issue. Such differences were particularly evident between the media in Macedonian and the media in Albanian language. While the majority of media publishing or broadcasting in Macedonian language summarized their positions and emphasized them in headlines such as: "Demarcation Before the Status of Kosovo", in the Albanian language media totally opposite headlines were seen: “Demarcation After the Status of Kosovo"...
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Media Mirror - February 2006

 

During the period covered by this analysis the media paid special attention to three particular topics: Macedonian relations with Kosovo; the EU initiative to create a free trade zone in the Balkans; and, Macedonian relations with the Hague Tribunal. Regarding Macedonian relations with Kosovo, the common denominator of the coverage of all media was the large amount of commentary and analysis of the future status and internal structure in Kosovo. The issue of the possible existence of territorial pretences between Macedonia and Kosovo was rarely discussed.

The differences between the positions held by Macedonian state leadership and certain foreign political actors, regarding the timing of the completion of the demarcation of the border between Macedonia and Kosovo, were visible also in the differing views the media held on this issue.  Such differences were particularly evident between the media in Macedonian and the media in Albanian language. While the majority of media publishing or broadcasting in Macedonian language summarized their positions and emphasized them in headlines such as: “Demarcation Before the Status of Kosovo”, in the Albanian language media totally opposite headlines were seen: “Demarcation After the Status of Kosovo”.

 

Regarding the Macedonian cases at the Hague Tribunal, the media viewed the events and developments in the context of the coming Parliamentary Elections and usually described them as “political pre-election trade and negotiations for post-electoral coalitions”. There were evident differences in the presented views and the manner of reporting of this topic between the media publishing and broadcasting in Macedonian and Albanian languages. The coverage in the Macedonian language media was dominated by the preference for the return of the cases that would be processed by the Macedonian Judiciary, while the Albanian language media presented the dominant view that the amnesty covers all persons involved in the 2001 conflict.  

 

During the period covered by this analysis, a prominent, although not justified, presence of the owners of the media, actively involved in politics, was detected.  This was especially the case with “A1” TV and the prominent positive coverage of Velija Ramkovski, the station’s owner and President of the Party for Economic Renewal, and “TV Sitel”, through the occasional affirmative coverage dedicated to the leader of the Socialist Party of Macedonia, Ljubisav Ivanov – Dzingo.

 

These are few of the general conclusions of the 6th issue of the “Media Mirror”, monitoring of Macedonian media, that covers February 2006. “Media Mirror” intents to present a clear picture of the professional standards and information criteria of the media, and the manner in which they cover and interpret the key social and political processes and events.

Read the full Report…(PDF version)

Media Mirror, February 2006 – PDF version (316KB)

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