Community media in the online sphere are almost not developed at all in the Republic of North Macedonia. The main reason is that they are not recognized in policies and legislation, so they have neither systemic nor financial support from the state. In RSM, in general, media legislation does not cover online media at all, neither non-profit nor commercial. In the current process of media reforms that is taking place in the country from September 2022, the need for minimum regulation of online media is increasingly being discussed, as an issue that is also imposed by the new EU Regulation on media freedom.

This document provides guidelines for overcoming obstacles to the development of online community media in the media system of the Republic of North Macedonia. It is the result of the final phase of the pilot project for developing an authentic model of online community media that the RESIS Institute implemented in the Eastern and Southeastern regions of the country.

The households in which people with physical disabilities from the Eastern and Southeastern regions of RSM live have good access to modern communication technologies and devices: as many as 83.8% of these households have smartphones, 66.7% have personal computers, and in 52% of surveyed households have smart TVs. Some of the people with physical disabilities, especially the elderly, have several problems when using technologies: almost half of the respondents (47%) do not have enough computer skills, 44% are not skilled at searching content on the Internet, and 35.9% of respondents are not skilled enough in using a smartphone. For a significant percentage of respondents, the lack of financial means to purchase a smartphone (41%) or a computer (41.1%) is a problem.

This is a short summary of the research on the communication attitudes, habits and needs of different vulnerable groups from the East and South-East region. The research provides insight into the daily habits of using the media and communication technologies of people with physical disabilities, but also insights into the obstacles and problems they face in accessing the media and the public sphere. The results of this research will serve as an incentive for various activities of civil society organizations that work to promote the rights of vulnerable groups of citizens at the local level. The research was conducted within the framework of the project Encouraging civic engagement in local governance – LocalActiveMedia supported by the National Endowment for Democracy from the USA.

The access to smart communication devices of the households in which the hearing impaired people from the East and South-East regions of RSM live is relatively low: 61% have smartphones, 48.8% have personal computers, and only 40.2% of households have smart TVs. Problems in using technologies for these people are: the lack of skills to work on a computer (56.1%), to search content on the Internet (53.6%), and to use a smartphone (47.5%). A big problem for them is that they do not have access to assistive technology (automatically generated subtitles) for reading videos on the Internet (59.7%), as well as the absence of sign language or subtitles on programs on domestic TV channels (51.2%). .

This is a short summary of the research on the communication attitudes, habits and needs of different vulnerable groups from the East and South-East region. The research provides insight into the daily habits of using the media and communication technologies of the hearing impaired, but also insights into the obstacles and problems they face in accessing the media and the public sphere. The results of this research will serve as an incentive for various activities of civil society organizations that work to promote the rights of vulnerable groups of citizens at the local level. The research was conducted within the framework of the project Encouraging civic engagement in local governance – LocalActiveMedia supported by the National Endowment for Democracy from the USA.

Access to communication technologies and devices is not a big obstacle for realizing the communication rights of visually impaired people from the East and South-East region of RNM: 65.2% of households have smart phones, 64% have smart TVs, 60.7% have personal computers. But what most of this vulnerable group of citizens lack are: knowledge and skills to work with a computer (77.5%), to search content on the Internet (59.5%), as well as to use a smartphone (58 .4%). From there, the data that only one fifth of the surveyed people use a computer daily for various needs is understandable. This especially applies to older respondents who often have no one to turn to for household help.

This is a short summary of the research on the communication attitudes, habits and needs of different vulnerable groups from the East and South-East region. The research provides insight into the daily habits of using the media and communication technologies of visually impaired people, but also insights into the obstacles and problems they face in accessing the media and the public sphere. The results of this research will serve as an incentive for various activities of civil society organizations that work to promote the rights of vulnerable groups of citizens at the local level. The research was conducted within the framework of the project Encouraging civic engagement in local governance – LocalActiveMedia supported by the National Endowment for Democracy from the USA.

RESIS conducted the new assessment of the risks for media pluralism in North Macedonia, as part of the Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 (MPM2023), a project coordinated by the Center for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom from Florence.

The MPM data for 2022 unequivocally demonstrates that North Macedonia’s media system needs a new strategic media policy framework. This is due to the crystallisation of important systemic dislocations that started two decades ago and were nevertheless not matched with an adequate policy response.

The MPM 2023 is a scientific and holistic effort to evaluate the current threats to a pluralistic and free media landscape in Europe. To provide rigorous and sound findings, the CMPF team and the Country Teams involved in the project analyse 200 variables for the 20 indicators of the MPM, five for each of the four major areas: Fundamental protection, Market plurality, Political independence and Social inclusiveness. This cycle is based on data from the year 2022 and represents the sixth EU-wide implementation of the Media Pluralism Monitor project.

Community media is a standalone phenomenon, resulting directly from the need of different groups in society to find a way to satisfy that part of their media needs that they do not find in the main (mainstream) media.

The study arose from the need to build an authentic and sustainable model of online community media in RNM that will meet the communication needs of all groups of citizens at the local level.

The comparative study presents the different theoretical approaches, the standards of the Council of Europe for this type of media, as well as the experiences of other countries in creating non-profit media that serve local groups and communities.

The study "Journalists' Views and Perceptions of Judicial Transparency: A Comparative Study in Three Western Balkan Countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia" presents the findings from the regional research project conducted among journalists from three Western Balkans countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia. The author of this study is Dr Snežana Trpevska, from the Research Institute on Social Development – RESIS. The main objective of the study was to gain insight and identify means of facilitating dialogue and cooperation between journalists and judicial authorities in these countries and to establish priority areas and actions for transforming the current “antagonistic” relationship into a partnership for the benefit of the public. At a regional level, this is the first comprehensive study that comparatively examines the various aspects and causes of the tense relationship between these two professions, both of which are exceptionally important for a democratic society.

RESIS Institute published its third comparative analysis of the level of media freedom and journalists’ safety in the Western Balkans countries. As in the previous two cycles (2016 and 2018), the comparative findings presented in this analysis rely primarily on the data collected by the partners of the platform Safejournalists and published in the seven national reports. The first assessment in 2016 established many deficiencies in the implementation of the constitutional and legal guarantees for media freedom and safety of journalists in the Western Balkan countries. This newest assessment confirmed that the process of creating more free and safer environment for media and journalists in the last six years was complex, slow and sometimes regressive because the authorities in most countries demonstrated obvious reluctance to understand the demands of journalists’ associations and to increase media freedom and protect journalists from attacks and harassment.