OSCE Mission to Skopje to support Media Information Agency

SKOPJE, 3 March 2023 — In order to boost independent journalism in North Macedonia, the OSCE Mission to Skopje has signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the Media Information Agency (MIA), a state-owned public enterprise and country’s biggest news agency.

“Free and independent media is vital for a functioning and healthy democracy,” said Kilian Wahl, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje. “Journalists are indispensable in providing neutral and unbiased reporting that is topical, fact-checked, timely and accurate. We need this more than ever in a world that is increasingly dominated by fake news and disinformation.”

The Mission’s support is aimed at strengthening MIA’s capacities by improving its functional independence and ensuring that it is sufficiently resourced, so that the citizens of North Macedonia continue to receive news in a neutral and unbiased way. This will in turn improve the Agency’s long-term viability.

“MIA is recognized for its reliability and as a pillar of verified and accurate information. The OSCE Mission has already helped us with develop multimedia reporting, which has brought us closer to our service users,” said Dragan Antonovski, director of MIA. “We value the Mission’s support with helping us stay on that path. To do that, we need financial independence, predictability and professional sustainability.”