College of Journalism

Fact-based journalism is being taught at Macedonia's only College of Journalism, part of the University of Cyril and Metody. But it is unclear whether students have a true grasp of what's generally meant in the West by fact-based reporting. What's being taught at the university is more European in nature. That is, stories do not employ the inverted pyramid style, but they do rely on solid information -- not rumor -- as the basis for news writing.

Students who learn to write news stories are also told to keep them short, clear and to the point.

A major and obvious question, however, is how experienced faculty members are in teaching fact-based reporting. The journalism school, begun in 1978, was forced to close at one point for two years because of a lack of trained teachers.

Macedonia's press still appears to hold wide credibility among the reading public. The main reason appears to be the media's "crucial role" in bringing "pluralism" to Macedonian society after the break from Yugoslavia in 1991, analysts say.

Freedom of the press, prohibition of censorship, access to information and the right to protect sources of information are guaranteed by Article 16 of the Macedonian Constitution.

Without legal barriers to setting up independent media outlets, private radio and television stations have sprung up throughout the country, but the formerly government-owned Macedonian Radio-Television (MRT) in Skopje is still the heavyweight in broadcasting. With three television and four radio channels at its disposal, MRT is now financially independent of the government, depending largely on income from advertising and monthly subscriptions.

Its programs are broadcast in Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Serbian, Rom and Vlach languages.

The newspaper scene also has seen some diversification but there are few new, independent dailies -- largely because their circulation does not provide sufficient revenues to sustain them. The nation's largest press conglomerate in Skopje, formerly government-controlled, now owns the largest daily, Nova Makedonija, a second daily, Vecer, and several weekly publications devoted to politics, humor, music, sports and film.

Nova Makedonija publishes Albanian and Turkish language versions that are government-subsidized.