The Association of Media of Macedonia (AMM) and the public broadcaster RTM have expressed concern over indications that several new Serbian television companies, closely linked to state structures in Serbia, are circumventing and misusing legal provisions in North Macedonia.

In a joint statement, MMA and MRT described the way several new television channels linked to companies from Serbia operate as “seriously concerning.”

Their attention has focused on the sports channels Arena M1, Arena M2 and Arena M3 Premium. According to MMA and MRT, these channels have been operating without domestic licences for a long time, while ASHMAA classifies them as foreign programme services retransmitted in North Macedonia.

The two organisations consider this classification problematic because, according to them, the production teams, journalists, commentators and guests are based in Skopje. Studio programmes are also produced locally and broadcast in the Macedonian language.

Another issue they have raised concerns the status of the Arena channels. In the registers of Serbia’s media regulator, REM, Arena M1, Arena M2 and Arena M3 Premium do not appear to be registered. For MMA and MRT, this means that they do not have the status of domestic Serbian channels.

Meanwhile, in the lists of operators approved by AVMU, these channels appear as foreign services broadcasting content in the Serbian language.

MMA and MRT have called on investigative bodies and the competent institutions to verify whether this model has been used to evade the legal obligation to obtain a licence.

They are also seeking a determination of whether the failure to pay the licence fee caused damage to the state budget and whether the owners, the responsible officials of the television services or AVMU officials may bear responsibility for this.

Another part of the request concerns verifying the possible unauthorised use of television rights for premium sports content. MMA and MRT describe this practice as television piracy.

According to them, the illegal retransmission over many years of several regional channels, including channels from Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Serbia, must finally be examined by the Macedonian regulator.

The two organisations also warn that the same treatment must not be applied to Euronews Macedonia, a project expected to launch soon.

They oppose the possibility that AVMU could also categorise this channel as a foreign service, as it has done with the Arena Premium channels.

MMA and MRT claim that the owners and structures from Belgrade have signalled the implementation of such a model.

“The illegality tolerated today as an exception may become the rule tomorrow,” MMA and MRT warn.

In conclusion, the two organisations said they would turn to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Their request will be for an investigation into the actions of the competent institutions and the possible responsibility of the officials responsible at ASHMAA.

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The Independent Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers of Macedonia (SPGPM) has expressed concern over the emergence of a practice in which the Government continually avoids answering journalists’ questions and obstructs access to information of public interest. According to the union, such a situation occurred again during yesterday’s event, when the Government’s public relations service responded to questions selectively.

SPGPM stresses that the Government has a duty to maintain transparent communication with the public. It says silence cannot be used as a policy, while journalists’ questions must not go unanswered. Such an approach prevents journalists from verifying the information they seek, while press conferences cannot be turned into monologues where questions are not allowed.

The union notes that the Government’s PR service has a clear responsibility to answer every journalistic question and that it is not its role to decide whether or not a question “deserves” an answer. Determining the importance of questions does not fall within the remit of government communications services, but belongs to journalists, the media and the public. For this reason, SPGPM is calling for this practice to end.

SPGPM’s statement also calls on government officials responsible for media relations to treat journalists with professionalism and respect./Telegrafi/

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The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) published its Annual Report, titled “Indicators on the Level of Media Freedom and the Journalists’ Safety Index 2025.” The document provides a broad overview of the state of media freedom, professional independence, and the safety of journalists and other media workers in North Macedonia.

According to the report, 2025 brought several positive steps, including the establishment of an online media register and the selection of new members to the councils of the media regulatory body and MRT. Despite these developments, key reforms and the full alignment of national legislation with European Union rules, including the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), have yet to be completed.

Legal safeguards continue to be applied inconsistently in practice. At the same time, the independence and effectiveness of some institutions remain matters of public debate.

The report also contains a dedicated section on the Journalists’ Safety Index. The conditions in which journalists carry out their work are analyzed across four main dimensions: the legal and organizational framework, prevention, institutional procedures, and the actual level of safety.

The data show that the response of institutions has improved in some cases involving physical attacks. However, online threats, hate speech, attempts at public discrediting, economic insecurity, and the still insufficiently effective fight against impunity continue to be identified as serious problems.

The increase in online harassment and sexist attacks against female journalists is a particular cause for alarm. This trend shows that the digital environment is becoming an increasingly unsafe space for the professional practice of journalism.

The economic fragility of the media also remains among the key issues. The weak socioeconomic position of journalists, particularly those working in private and local media, job insecurity, and the risks associated with the return of state advertising could undermine media pluralism, editorial autonomy, and transparency in the allocation of public funds.

The annual document was prepared within the framework of the regional SafeJournalists network, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. SafeJournalists is the largest regional initiative monitoring media freedom and journalists’ safety in the Western Balkans. AJM is part of the network alongside partner journalists’ associations from the region.

Over the past 10 years, SafeJournalists has developed a standardized and unique research methodology that provides reliable, relevant, and comparable data across countries in the region. The data and findings from AJM’s reports also serve as a reference point for international reports addressing media freedom and human rights, including documents issued by the European Commission and the U.S. Department of State.

The report is regarded as an important tool for developing evidence-based policies and monitoring reforms in the media sector. Punishing attacks against journalists, aligning national legislation with European standards, and improving professional and economic working conditions remain essential to ensuring free, independent, and safe journalism in North Macedonia.

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