Enough Blunders to Fill Up a Textbook

Macedonia:

By Zeljko Bajic (AIM Skopje)

What the public and private media in Macedonia have been through in the past decade is a perfect indication of the turmoil the society on the whole has undergone. If a textbook on how not to carry out the process of transition from ideological homogeneity to full democracy is ever to be written, the example of Macedonia would prove to be more than enlightening.

The decade in which Macedonia gained its independence coincides with the definitive departure from the political scene of the League of Communists, symbol of an one-party system governing the society for forty five years. But, this does not go to say that Macedonia disentangled itself from bigotry overnight, nor were the political parties too quick in shifting to the "highway with multiple lanes" of democratic pluralism. The former ruling party made certain cosmetic changes, the most significant one being that it changed its name to Social Democratic League. Apart from a relatively short period immediately upon gaining independence when there was indeed room to speak of the "blossoming of a hundred flowers" the Social Democratic League managed to consolidate its rule in the period prior to presidential and parliamentary elections in 1994. with the help of its coalition partners. Liberals (with whom they will form the League for Macedonia) and the Party for Democratic Prosperity which articulated the political interests of a portion of the Albanian population, joined them. When the VMRO-DPMNE and its allies stepped in power, it became obvious that what had changed were the people at the top, but that the ideological matrix – the propensity to discipline thought – had stayed the same. To make things even more crushing, those presently in power are no less fond of dominating the media than the ones preceding them.

The interim between parliamentary elections of 1994. and those held three years later will be remembered as the era of the close control of the Social Democratic League over the state media which, to the minds of many analysts of the local media situation, was in many respects similar to the period of ideological single-mindedness. Regulations which to this very day define the status of the two leading state media houses – the Macedonian Radio Television (MRTV) and the newspaper and publishing company Nova Makedonija- date back to that period. MRTV is run by the Managerial Board and the general manager, both appointed by the Macedonian parliament. The Managerial Board is made up of prominent public figures, scientists, cultural workers, and several MRTV employees nominated by the Employees’ Council. After the break up of the League for Macedonia, the Social Democratic League managed to relieve of duty the general manager close to the Liberal Party. Owing to the parliamentary majority it had at the time, it appointed a man from its own ranks. Thus, a tight grip over the editorial policy was secured, in line with the wishes and needs of the ruling party.

An almost identical situation was to be found in the state "dinosaur", Nova Makedonija, which monopolized the printing business market. Three dailies, two in Macedonian and one in Albanian, and the weekly Puls, all printed in Nova Makedonija, dictated the public opinion until the appearance of the private newspaper Dnevnik in March 1996. Owing to a better organization of the work process, higher quality and a price within reach of a broader public, Dnevnik soon won priority. As in the case of the state RTV, the Managerial Board and general manager of Nova Makedonija were appointed by the parliament. As a consequence, the editorial policy was party-oriented, perhaps to an even greater degree than was the case with MRTV.

VMRO-DPMNE's victory in parliamentary elections in autumn of 1998. was partly brought about by its well conceived pre-election promise that it would provide for the freedom of press, that it would not interfere with the editorial policy and that single-mindedness would be done away with once and for all. The credibility VMRO-DPMNE enjoyed with the general public was the result of the fact that , in protest against the electoral fraud of 1994, it operated outside of the institutions of the system, meaning that at the time, as opposed to the ruling parties, it had no means of influencing the media. It afterwards turned out that its pre-election promise held good only until it won the elections.

In line with the inter-party agreement, members of the winning Coalition for Changes (VMRO-DPMNE and the Democratic Alternative, to be joined by the Democratic Party of Albanians later on), assigned "their men" to crucial posts in MRTV and Nova Makedonija. In most cases (apart from instances of instant "conversion"), the measures taken against former top officials of the two media companies were experienced – by the relieved men themselves and a good portion of the public – as a punishment. In the hallways of the MRTV building people joked that Stenkovac 2 was in construction, alluding to the refugee camp of Kosovo Albanians. Thus, the former general manager of MRTV found himself in the documentary program, some of his associates wound up in the archives, others in the library and some, unable to reconcile themselves to professional degradation, left the most influential electronic medium in the country for good. The entire editorial staff was replaced, from top to bottom. Editors for whom the new authorities presumed would do the job according to their interests were appointed.

A similar destiny befell Nova Makedonija. In order to spare themselves from the "mercy" of the victors, the executive cadre and some of the then leading journalists left the oldest Macedonian medium. Led by VMRO-DPMNE, the government at first spread rumors in the public about enormous debts encumbering both the state TV and Nova Makedonija. Then came the whispers that the government was not in the least interested in covering the debts of Nova Makedonija and that it was prepared to let in sink. In the end, it dawned on many: the authorities planned to keep the publications of Nova Makedonija barely alive, asking in return for blind obedience on the part of its journalists. The exact amount of the debt was proclaimed a top secret, and the government then decided not only to keep its share in the company (a third of the capital), but to enlarge it as well, no one knows exactly to what extent. All information concerning the issue came from the outside, while the employees themselves seemed to have taken a vow of silence. More or less the same thing happened in MRTV – with the sole difference that, being a public service, it could never be dissolved or shut down. The targeted group in the case of MRTV were the employees, according to all estimates, far too numerous in respect to the actual needs of the company. These people now live in constant fear for their jobs.

But, since a grain of good is to be found in all evil, turmoil in the two leading media had a positive effect on the evolution of the media culture in Macedonia. Former MRTV and Nova Makedonija journalists founded new media - dailies, weeklies, TV stations. Most of these privately owned media are benevolently inclined towards the opposition. Thus, a paradoxical situation came to pass: apart from the governmental, i.e. public means of information, no great sympathy is lost on the ruling parties in the remaining media.

A governmental decision dating back to the era of the Social Democratic League (at the time discussed before the Constitutional Court) according to which the electronic media are mainly financed by means of TV subscription is still in existence. Like in some other countries, the authorities made the subscription obligatory, since it is collected through the electricity bill. Owing to the fact that very few homes are without electricity, the effect is more than satisfactory. Out of this substantial sum, 90 per cent of the resources go to the MRTV, thus enabling it to maintain its monopoly, while all the remaining media – for the most part, private radio and TV stations – share the meager remainder.

In 1997, a novelty enters the electronic media scene in Macedonia. At the time, the Council for Radio-Broadcasting was established which, at least judging by the legal acts, operates as an independent body entrusted with advising the government on new ways of financing public radio-broadcasting, proposing the allotment of funds out of the RTV subscription to RTV projects of general interest, drawing up tenders for granting concessions, etc. The Council is made up of prominent public figures from the social, cultural and scientific walks of life.

In concordance with the Law on Telecommunications, operating concessions are allocated by the government. Frequencies are in the domain of the Ministry of Transportation, i.e. the Telecommunications Administration. The state RTV is an exemption, in as much as it pays no compensation fee for its operating concession. In order to obtain concessions, other media, mainly private ones, have to part with sums which are, according to local standards, rather high. To gain a seven-year national radio frequency concession, one has to pay out 65 000 DM, while a ten-year TV concession costs twice as much. In spite of the exorbitant prices, the allocation of national concessions was accompanied by a lot of wrangling, leading a number of RTV-stations to the conclusion that, once more, politics has interfered. Whatever the case, at present, Kanal 77 from Stip holds the national radio concession, while TV concessions are in the hands of two Skopje television stations: Sitel and Televizija A-1. In the last month, private, or better said, commercial radio television statations, have staged two strikes protesting against the monopoly of the MRTV on the allotment of funds out of the RTV subscription and grants for program projects; they also rose against the chaos prevailing in the ether, accusing the government to have caused it. It seems that the strike is beginning to give results, since the Telecommunications Administration forbid the work of some fifty of around 200 pirate RTV stations starting with the first of February. Nevertheless, matters will not proceed as smoothly in the future, in view of the claim of the Telecommunications Administration that it lacks the needed equipment for doing the job properly. This lead the Council of Europe to reprimand Macedonia on more than one occasion as the only European country lacking appropriate equipment for the control of the ether.

Transportation Minister Ljupco Balkovski has announced certain changes in law provisions governing the matter, supposed to have been brought before the Parliament long ago. The said changes should eliminate problems between the government and the private broadcasters. Another paradox deserves to be mentioned as well. Although the means at its disposal are far greater than is the case with private RTV stations, the state radio television has no reason to boast about the quality of its programs. All public opinion polls done by independent researchers show that private stations are much more popular and that the three national concessionaires holding the leading positions on the popularity top list are Kanal 77, TV A-1 and Sitel. MRTV owes its popularity to chance games, shows, Latin American soap operas, in a word – a kind of program having little to do with the purpose ascribed to it by the law. Nothing changed during the presidential elections in the fall of 1999. or the local elections last autumn, when the state radio television failed to improve its rating. On the contrary, international monitoring showed that the MRTV gave preference to the candidates of the ruling parties. Independent or, in other words, private stations had a much more balanced approach.

Only in recent times has the discussion on the possibilities of foreign investments in electronic media come to life. There is talk of Greek investors interested in buying some of the private TV stations. Some view this as an opportunity for the "destructive" Greek influence to take root. Some others believe that the foreign capital would freshen the stereotypic offer of programs conceived at the start of the nineties. According to the regulations still in effect and adopted by the previous authorities, foreign investors can buy off up to 49 per cent of the capital in electronic media companies. For reasons hard to explain, the law restricts foreign investments to either electronic or printed media. Those familiar with the circumstances in the media sphere, account for this by the wavering of the Social Democratic authorities, all talk and no deeds when it comes to reforms – a fault they paid for dearly in the end. According to the evaluations of international financial institutions, the current authorities are more interested in subsidizing the printed media. The outcome of public tenders held in recent years have proved that foul dealing took place in this respect too. A lion' share of the money went to Nova Makedonija and publications believed to be close to the ruling parties. At the tender organized last year, the money went to a publication that never reached the news-stands afterwards. As a rule, sums granted to newspapers and magazines close to the opposition are modest.

The electronic and printed media have something in common – in a country with a small population and an even more modest purchasing power, none of them can live solely on profits from advertisements. None of the six Skopje daily papers have ever reached a circulation of 100 000 copies, meaning that only every tenth citizen reads newspapers.

Rights and duties of journalists, ethical norms, sources of information, slander and untruthful reporting – all of these issues belong to the "twilight zone". The para-governmental Association of Macedonian Journalists is counting off its last days, conscious that it represents a relict of past times. The Forum of Young Journalists is trying hard to establish at least some standards of professionalism. A number of journalists are dreaming about an influential, independent journalistic association yet to be created. The old association had drawn up a document, formally a professional codex, but no one ever stuck to it. The state controlled media either have no codex or, if they do, no one ever takes them seriously. Thus, the past decade offers numerous examples of professional failures verging on scandals. For instance, the pro-governmental Nova Makedonija once carried a text claiming that a mayor (member of the opposition Albanian party) engaged in pimping. At the times of the Social Democratic League, the acting Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski and his associates were called abusive names. With the change of government, the tables turned: during the last presidential elections, a few days before the voting was to take place, Nova Makedonija prints a "sensational discovery" concerning an oppositional candidate – the man has an illegitimate son! Or, an allegation also carried by the press that the former Minster of Justice was a familiar figure in gambling-houses all over former Yugoslavia. To top it all, came the uncovering of the alleged affair between president Kiro Gligorov and a member of his cabinet, his cultural woman adviser.

In all of the above mentioned cases suits were announced, in some instances claims were even brought before a court of law, but nothing ever came of them or, if it did, a verdict was usually reached when the public and the damaged person no longer cared that much. In a word, the judiciary is one of the weak links in the process of the democratization of the Macedonian society. The courts are slow and judges often exposed to political pressure. Consequently, most citizens and public figures rarely give serious consideration to seeking satisfaction for slander and insults within the legal system.

In theory, citizens are entitled to rectification. In practice, it is almost impossible for them to realize the said right. At present, the outdated Law on Information from the seventies is in effect which, similar to Stalin' Constitution, guarantees rights only on paper and not in practice. On two occasions in the past year, the government of Ljupco Georgievski has tried to "push through" a draft of a new Law on Information. The spokesman of the government recently explained the intentions of the authorities by stating that the professional journalistic associations do not function and that the government is only trying to help. The journalists, on the other hand, believe they do not need that sort of a helping hand and that the existing constitutional and legal framework will suffice. True, the draft the government is trying to impose does contain certain provisions which would bring more order into the chaos now governing the information system – concerning the sources of information, state secrets, the obligation to print rectification. Still, the journalists judge that the harmful effects of the new law would outnumber the desired ones. But, what angered them most, were hints that the governmental Information Agency would be the one deciding who is to be issued press ID's. This was understood as an attempt to reestablish the principle of "political fitness" characteristic of the socialist era.

According to the Constitution the journalists refer to so readily, the right to information is guaranteed. But, the law is one thing, practice an altogether different matter. Government officials decide on their own what is to be classified as a government or, more seldom, a military secret. Almost as a rule, the only person allowed to communicate with the public is the minister himself, i.e. the top executive of the said service. Only recently, an ambassador accused of mishandling financial funds, justified his refusal to give statements to the press by calling upon the ban imposed by the minister. And this is not where it all ends. It is common practice that statistical data, information on new appointments, decisions of public interest etc, can only be obtained with a written request. Luckily, the government has decided to start opening up a bit, so that a couple of ministries (and the government itself) now have their spokespersons. The efficiency they do their jobs with differs, depending on their skill, resourcefulness and level of information. The least popular one in the general public is the government's spokesman, criticized for his tactless statements which have often managed to heighten tensions instead of toning things down.

There is no set line between information open to the public and those considered a state or military secret. On several occasions, this has resulted in misunderstandings between the press and the authorities. In none of this cases has a journalist ever been accused of disclosing a state secret (since, in fact, there were no prior signals that the information should be treated as such), nor has a governmental body ever insisted on punishing journalists for similar offenses. In other words, a touching relation of mutual forgiveness and even "non-aggression" between the authorities and the press is in effect. Journalists are more likely to resort to personal sources of information than to employ formal information channels, since the latter may well provoke suspicion on the part of the government servant. Nor have there been examples in the last ten years of media accusing government officials for withholding relevant information or journalist ending up in court (or jail) because of unlawfully obtained information or spying.

Nevertheless, the relationship between the government and the press is far from idyllic. Last year, the government engaged in several actions against journalists which the media understood for pressure. Local police in Veles, Decev, Ohrid and, on several occasions in Skopje as well, prevented journalists from doing their jobs, confiscated their equipment and films, some even complained of physical abuse. In the minds of many journalists, local elections held last autumn were "a time of dangerous living". Several journalists reporting on political rallies were threatened and prevented from doing their job. In the midst of the electoral campaign, some TV stations suffered sudden power failures coinciding with the presentations of the opposition candidates. When the "mishap" repeated itself a couple of more times, it became obvious that mere bad luck had little to do with it. There were instances of much more drastic measures against the press in the past year. TV stations A-1 and Kanal 5 were told that their premises would be torn down "for town-planning reasons". The transfer account of the daily Makedonija Denes came close to being blocked, allegedly because of the unsettled tax. But the most drastic case was the one of the Skopje weekly Start: police stormed the office of its proprietor, one of the most fervent critics of the government at the time. A journalist of Start was taken into custody and cross-examined, the first incident of the sort in a long while.

After several years of haggling, last year the Macedonian parliament decided to open the police files. The police claim that the public was presented with 19 000 individual files compiled over the last fifty years. It turned out that the files were being updated up to the last parliamentary elections in 1998. Journalists were a common "target" of the police informers; those who looked into their own files, found out that they contained a lot of true, but also a considerable amount of false information. The conclusion that many files have been destroyed or meticulously filtered in the past ten years so as to make them harmless and their true contents hidden away to be used "in dire need", could be heard in the public. Those familiar with that sort of thing, claim that both the present and the former authorities have engaged in "editing" the police files. The opening of the archives itself did not produce a shock in the society, as had been the case with some ex-communist countries.

The recent scandal of the tapping of some of the leading politicians, government officials and journalists - a disgraceful affair yet to be resolved in the parliament - only goes to prove that the representatives of the "fourth government" are an interesting subject for the " bug-planters", whoever they might be.

To conclude, Macedonian democracy and journalism as its constituent part, suffer from juvenile maladies. Some questions are yet to be addressed, such as the sensitive issue of the source of information, government and military secrets and many others. What the public and private media have been through in the past decade is a perfect indication of the turmoil the society on the whole has undergone. If a textbook on how not to carry out the process of transition from ideological homogeneity to full democracy is ever to be written, the example of Macedonia would prove to be more than enlightening.