Europe - Central Asia
North Macedonia
-
Index 2023
38/ 180
Score : 74.35
Political indicator
36
72.33
Economic indicator
53
54.95
Legislative indicator
10
84.99
Social indicator
50
78.20
Security indicator
64
81.27
Index 2022
57/ 180
Score : 68.44
Political indicator
56
66.16
Economic indicator
83
43.71
Legislative indicator
28
81.29
Social indicator
74
73.17
Security indicator
53
77.85

Although journalists do not work in a hostile environment, widespread misinformation and lack of professionalism contribute to society's declining trust in the media, which exposes independent outlets to threats and attacks. Furthermore, government officials tend to have poor and demeaning attitudes towards journalists.

Media landscape

Although television is the dominant source of information, online media play an important role. Yet, a distinction must be made between professional online newsrooms that employ professional journalists and publish original content, and individual portals that plagiarise and copy-paste such content. There is also a big gap between usage and trust: the most watched TV stations have a low reliability index.

Political context

The overall environment remains favourable to press freedom and allows for critical reporting, although transparency of institutions is rather poor. Due to strong political polarisation, the media can be subjected to pressure by the authorities, politicians and businessmen. The two largest parties (in power and in opposition) have created parallel media systems over which they exert their political and economic influence.  The public broadcaster lacks editorial and financial independence.

Legal framework

While the constitution guarantees freedom of speech and bans censorship, the country is lagging behind in terms of harmonising media legislation with the standards of the European Union, which it intends to join. Judicial abuse of the Law on Civil Responsibility for Defamation incites self-censorship in the media. Lawsuits are used as a tool for intimidation and pressure on independent media. A bill to re-authorise the government to advertise in private media has raised concerns about possible influence peddling.

Economic context

Although certain types of media concentration are prohibited by law, the editorial staff of some of the major TV channels are exposed to economic pressures from their owners. State funding is limited and non-transparent, and independent media rely heavily on donors. Project-based foreign grants contribute to mere survival, but not to further development. There is influence peddling between marketing agencies and certain media outlets.

Sociocultural context

Although there are no clear constraints in the social and cultural environment that affect free journalism, social networks and the digital sphere generally favour the spread of disinformation and cyberthreats. Combined with low professional standards, they contribute to the decline of public trust in the media and pave the way for attacks on journalists based on gender, ethnic or religious criteria.

Safety

Journalists are regularly the targets of verbal attacks. Under the pretext of protecting state secrets and personal data, they may be exposed to legal pressure and abusive prosecution (gag proceedings or SLAPPs). However, the courts tend to uphold freedom of the press and protect journalists. In the capital city, a special prosecutor was appointed to handle cases of attacks against journalists, and the opening of similar offices across the country is under consideration.