Veles, 1 April 2023 (MIA) – The three-day roundtable in Veles focusing on solutions for promoting the independence and sustainability of the Media Information Agency (MIA) will set out the recommendations that would define agency’s role in media landscape and guarantee its financial stability and independence.

The roundtable, which is organised and supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, is attended by domestic and foreign experts and representatives of relevant institutions.

The Media Information Agency (MIA) and the OSCE Mission to Skopje signed on March 3 a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening independent journalism.

Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Jeff Goldstein said that the MIA’s management team, the media community and the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption have recently reaffirmed the need to define the role of the Media Information Agency with a special law.

“Both the Association of Journalists, as well as MIA’s management team and State Commission for Prevention of Corruption agreed that the legislative framework of MIA should be reformed in order to improve its institutional independence and sustainability. The OSCE Mission's efforts are also in that direction,” Goldstein noted.

He said that the Mission decided to thoroughly approach the problem and support an expert analysis, but also a discussion between the expert media community and the relevant institutions to find the best ways and practices to increase the stability, independence and sustainability of the news agency.

“The current model of MIA's functioning obviously faces challenges and employees face obstacles to normal, professional and independent functioning every day, and this is also shown by the analyzes of the experts we hired for this purpose, whose views you will get to know exactly at this event. We see the Media Information Agency as the primary source for news in the country, because it is evident that the entire media spectrum of North Macedonia in their daily work, both for national and international topics, largely relies on MIA’s news,” Goldstein added.

“Based on the previous observations and our discussion, the activity will be finalized with a concrete report with a set of recommendations, which will describe in detail the challenges faced by the MIA and present clear and concrete steps for legal and functional improvements, also propose new operational modalities with a clear goal, strengthening the long-term functional independence of the MIA,” Goldstein noted.

He added that the goal of this document will be a roadmap for all the next steps in terms of reforming the MIA.

Dragan Antonovski, director of MIA, delivering opening remarks at the event said that it is necessary for the state-owned agency to have predictability and sustainability, and currently MIA’s position is such that many things regarding its operation are undefined.

Antonovski said that it is crucial MIA be treated as a media, a redefinition of MIA's position and institutional and financial independence are necessary...

He pointed out that in the past years reforms have been implemented in MIA, a new organization, a new job position systematization has been developed, in which for the first time since the establishment of the news agency, the positions of general director and editor-in-chief have been divided.

“A distinction must be drawn between role of editor-in-chief and managerial-level role. The new concept of operation proved to be far more efficient in terms of quantity and quality and offer of media products. In addition to news, reports and research stories, video and live streaming and clippings are also being produced. Our users are all relevant media, all televisions, influential portals, we produce clippings for foreign missions, for foreign embassies, we have increased income from our own operations, but that is not enough for financial stability and functionality,” Antonovski said.

He referred to the inconsistency in the financing of MIA, which currently takes place through the government, i.e. with funds transferred via Office for General and Common Works to the MIA, noting that it is necessary to redefine and stabilize the method of financing the media with a special law, MIA as a media to be separated and institutionally independent, financially within a defined framework following the example of regional state agencies, which will contribute to greater efficiency and sustainability.

“We know that we have serious trust and influence, how MIA’s services were offered before and now, today our clients include both pro-government and opposition and independent media, all embassies, we cooperate with all agencies in the region, and MIA is a member of the Association of the Balkan News Agencies-Southeast Europe (ABNA-SE),” Antonovski said.

He said that the MIA receives an annual budget, with which it should function, however he added the funds were reduced without consulting the management team thus blocking the possibility of realizing what was planned to be done.

The roundtable is attended by MIA representatives, foreign and domestic experts, representatives of the OSCE Mission, the Delegation of the European Commission, a representative of the Prime Minister's Office, the General Secretariat of the Government, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, Parliament’s Legislative Committee, the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption, Association of Journalists, the Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers and the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services.