Low Trust in Media and Journalists - Media Programme Southeast Europe
Almost every second Macedonian thinks that the media in the country are not reporting independently and only one third of the population feels well informed about current political topics. Generally Macedonians are informing themselves about politics from the TV. There is relatively high trust in the EU and NATO. These are the main results of a national representative survey commissioned by the Media Programme South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS).
Trust in Media Is Low
Only 15 percent of the population believe in a real independent press in Macedonia; further 27 percent are not sure in their assessment. In addition, only 14 percent of respondents have high confidence in the work of journalists; contrarily 38 percent distrust the journalists tremendously. “These are sad results for journalism in Macedonia, “comments Hendrik Sittig, Head of the KAS Media Programme South East Europe. “The survey shows that there is much room for improvement concerning independent media.”
A little more than a third (38 percent) of the citizens feels well informed about politics by the media. 16 percent indicate that they are not interested in politics. The lack of interest is even higher among young people. Almost every fourth citizen between 18 and 29 years old doesn’t want to deal with politics.
TV Prevails – Social Media Follow
The most important source of information about politics are TV channels. 71 percent of the Macedonians get their political news from the TV. Social networks (47 percent), websites of public institutions and radio (each 12 percent) follow. Print media are only used as a source of information by 9 percent. Regarding the age there is a similar picture as in other countries. The younger generation watches less TV and uses more the internet and social media.
Concerning trust, TV is also ahead. Every second Macedonian trusts the TV news. This is followed by social media (18 percent), websites of public institutions (7 percent) and radio (6 percent). However, 28 percent of interviewees respond that they do not trust any source of information.
Although TV enjoys high trust, 39 percent of the population believe that false facts are distributed through TV. This opinion is even higher for social networks with 44 percent. „These results are no surprise and confirm the perception of the media community in the country. It shows the need for systematic media reforms in Macedonia as a precondition for creating a more favourable environment for the work of journalists and media. To create a better image, the professional standards of journalists and independent reporting should be further improved”, said Dragan Sekulovski, Executive Director of AJM.
More Trust in International Organisations Than in Other States
Another aspect of the survey was the trust in other states and international organisations. 44 percent of Macedonians have very high or high confidence in the European Union. Against that 30 percent state that they trust the EU little or very little. NATO enjoys high trust as well. 41 percent trust the defence organisation.
Concerning trust in other countries, Germany lies with 35 percent in front of the USA (30 percent) and Russia (22 percent).
The institute “Ipsos Macedonia” conducted the opinion poll. The sample of 1,033 interviewees is nationally representative. The results were presented at a public discussion on “How can citizens’ trust in media and politics be regained?” in Skopje on 8th November 2018. Speakers at the panel discussion, which was organised by the KAS Media Programme South East Europe and the Association of Journalists of Macedonia, were Aleksandar Kržalovski, Director of Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC), Mirče Adamčevski, President of the Complaints Commission at the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia, and Dragan Sekulovski, Executive Director of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia.
The Media Programme South East Europe is part of the global media programme of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. In the framework of global democracy promotion, one of the special priorities of the KAS is the support of free and independent media as an essential precondition for the opinion-making of citizens in a democracy. The KAS Media Programme South East Europe is working in ten countries of the region with activities in the area of journalists’ qualification, media freedom and political communication.
