Macedonia in the digital age – between the rights and responsibilities while communicating on Internet - Reports

An overview of the legal framework, the implementation and the role of the self-regulatory mechanisms in the sphere of online media and communications in Macedonia

Index of Censorship - Mapping media freedom - Monitoring tool

Journalists and media workers are confronting relentless pressure simply for doing their job. Mapping Media Freedom identifies threats, violations and limitations faced by members of the press throughout European Union member states, candidates for entry and neighbouring countries

Council of Europe - Platform: protection of journalism and safety of journalists - Monitoring tool

In 2015, the Council of Europe established the Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists to facilitate the compilation, processing and dissemination of information on serious concerns about media freedom and safety of journalists in Council of Europe member States

RESOURCE CENTRE | About - Article

What?

The Resource Centre on Media Freedom in Europe is an open and ever growing platform providing access to curated contents related to media freedom and pluralism in Europe. Items range from reports to academic sources, from legal tools to practical instruments such as trainings and manuals, as well as opportunities for media professionals and young journalists.

Who?

The platform was developed by Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) as part of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF). Launched in 2000, OBCT is a think tank focused on South East Europe which supports transnational issues that are crucial for European democracy: one of them is exactly media freedom, and for this reason it has contributed to ECPMF activities since the very start in 2015.

Curated by OBCT, the Resource Centre on Media Freedom in Europe is now a platform that is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a mechanism co-funded by the European Commission which tracks, monitors and responds to threats to journalists and violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and candidate countries.

How?

Thanks to a real-time research by its curators, the Resource Centre collects and catalogues existing contents and provides different options to access them: by country and by topic. A tools section shows the existing tools for monitoring media freedom, the support centres, stakeholders and training opportunities available, legal resources and datasets.

The first goal of the platform is to make any source easily searchable for different target groups: journalists, policy-makers, scholars, as well as ordinary citizens interested in these crucial issues. The Resource Centre also functions as a networking tool, encouraging the exchange of knowledge among a broad range of actors committed to support media freedom all over Europe. This is done particularly through the crowdsourcing platform, where users can upload and share their own contents. The platform aims to encourage the participation and mutual knowledge of the media community.

Where?

OBCT is based in Italy (Trento), but the Resource Centre has its mind set on Europe (in the broad sense of the term): it was born to be a transnational endeavour to tackle the European dimension of media freedom issues.

When?

The Resource Centre is a young project: it was launched in December 2015. Nevertheless, with over two thousand resources already uploaded, we can say it is a fast-growing kid.

Why?   

The creation of an online Resource Centre on media freedom stems from the consideration that despite the growing pressure on European media, public awareness remains very low. Political and economic pressure, erosion of professional standards and increasing of self-censorship are gradually deteriorating the quality of information together with the new challenges posed by the digitalisation.

On the other side, many associations, NGOs and professional organisations have been carrying out valuable activities of documentation, analysis and advocacy. If existing and valid sources remain fragmented, scattered around the web and therefore difficult to access, it will be impossible to develop an informed and inclusive debate on media freedom. That is why we are building this virtual space of curation as an open map in which reliable contents are selected and presented, and as a space of mutual knowledge for the ever-growing community of stakeholders, driven by a transnational idea of knowledge, responsibility and democracy.

Press Council in Bosnia-Herzegovina - Stakeholders

The Press Coucil BiH is a self-regulatory body for print and online media, whose aim is to mediate between unsatisfied media readers, and print and online media as well as to supervise the application of the BH Press Code. Furthermore, it contributes to improve professional standards in print and online media of Bosnia-Herzegovina in order to protect public from unprofessional and manipulative journalistic reporting and media from political and economical pressures that jeopardize freedom of informing and freedom of media.

The complaints commission, which operates as an adivory body within the Association, considers monitoring results and public complaints about the writings of media in BiH. It monitors the implementation of the Press Code of BiH in all newspapers and publically reacts to breaches of ethical journalism standards foreseen by the Press Code of BiH.

Association of Journalists of Macedonia - Stakeholders

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) is an independent, non-governmental and non- political party organization whose purpose is to be the protector and promoter of professional standards and freedom of expression.

It also offers practical support.

Specific objectives of the AJM include:
-Defend freedom of press, radio, television and other media;
-Fights against their abuse, the creation of monopolies and any form of censorship that affects the determination of truth, complete, unbiased, updated public information;
-Protects and promotes the freedom of rights and responsibilities of journalists, based on the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Macedonia, Statute and Acts of AJM, and international documents concerning the freedom of the media, and the exercise of expression and information as basic Human Rights.
-Protect the reputation and dignity of the journalists and the journalistic profession and protects and promotes freedom of critical and creative work.
-Represent its members in front of the community and actively participates in the preparation of legislation and inter-national conventions of interest to the profession and defend the journalistic interest in regards of the Code of Ethics.

The Association was founded in 1946 and is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). AJM publishes in Macedonian, Albanian and English.

UNESCO - Stakeholders

UNESCO is the UN specialized agency with the mandate to promote "the free flow of ideas by word and image", and to nurture freedom of expression, media development, and access to information. It provides governments with technical advice on legal, regulatory, policy and other critical issues, and educates and builds capacities of journalists, media professionals and institutions.

UNESCO has a long-standing experience of promoting freedom of expression and media development in transitional countries, particularly in South East Europe and Turkey. In this respect, UNESCO contributed to the Guidelines for EU support to media freedom and integrity in enlargement countries 2014-2020.

From 2009 until 2011, UNESCO implemented the project "Alignment to International Standards in the Media Sector of South East European countries". From 2013 to 2015, a second project was implemented under the title "Media Accountability in South East Europe". In January 2016, the project "Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey " was launched, with the aim of supporting media accountability mechanisms, internal governance of media entities and media and information literacy in EU candidate and potential candidate countries with financial support of the European Commission, DG Near. 

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) - Stakeholders

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal. CPJ ensures the free flow of news and commentary by taking action wherever journalists are attacked, imprisoned, killed, kidnapped, threatened, censored, or harassed.

CPJ’s work is based on its research, which provides a global snapshot of obstructions to a free press worldwide. CPJ’s research staff documents hundreds of attacks on the press each year. CPJ denounces press freedom violations, meets with heads of state and high-ranking officials, spearheads or advises on diplomatic efforts, and works with other organizations to ensure that justice prevails when journalists are imprisoned or killed. CPJ also provides practical support to journalists and media support staff working around the world through up-to-date safety and security information and rapid response assistance.

International Press Institute (IPI) - Stakeholders

The International Press Institute (IPI) is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists. The institute is dedicated to the furtherance and safeguarding of press freedom, the protection of freedom of opinion and expression, the promotion of the free flow of news and information, and the improvement of the practices of journalism. 

IPI works by:

• conducting direct advocacy with governments
• raising awareness on violations of media freedom through news coverage, research and analysis
• leading programmes and campaigns to further change
• offering platforms for cooperation, networking and skills exchange among our members
• promoting high-quality, independent journalism through the development of best practices at the global level
• providing opportunities for dialogue among diverse journalistic communities, in line with IPI’s founding principles

IPI runs a project called OnTheLine, that aims at promoting online journalists’ safety and countering threats against press freedom and freedom of expression in the digital sphere.

Backgrounds, Experiences and Responses to Online Hate Speech: A Comparative Cross-Country Analysis - Reports

With funding from the EU's Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme, a recent report by the PRISM project has empirically investigated online hate speech in France, Italy, Romania, Spain and the UK