MJA and MMI

Round Table “Journalists and the 2002 Parliamentary elections”

The Macedonian Journalists’ Association (MJA) and the Macedonian Media Institute (MMI) organized a pre-electoral journalists’ caravan. The discussions on “Journalists and the 2002 parliamentary elections” took place in Tetovo, Ohrid, Bitola, Strumica, Stip, Kumanovo and Skopje, that is in the towns and cities where the MJA has its regional centers. The caravan took place from 18 to 24 August this year. The journalists’ interest was great, which can be seen from their participation at the round tables where 40 to 70 journalists were present.

The journalists’ coordination on regional level is not a thing that happens every day, on the contrary, it has not been done for a long time. Therefore, the journalists did not hide their satisfaction for being able to discuss this very popular issue.

The journalists could hear some foreign experiences, such as, how their colleagues from other countries report on the elections. The presentation of the new legal regulations about the elections attracted a lot of attention, because they include the journalists’ rights and responsibilities. The presentation was done by representatives from the International Federation for Electoral Systems (IFES). They also presented the prevention mechanisms against falsification of the electoral material.

The Macedonian Journalists’ Association presented the publication “Handbook for covering the elections” that will be printed and distributed to the media. The publication was prepared by the MJA in cooperation with the International Journalists’ Federation.

The project called “Pre-electoral journalists’ caravan” was carried out with the support from IREX ProMedia – Macedonia.

D. Shabani