Most media outlets using “unnamed sources” for quotes were published in Serbia, while in Macedonia “unnamed sources” for quotes were named as such, i.e. there were as many as 43 % of the announcements, according to a survey by the Serbian NGO “CRTA” conducted from May 14th to June 10th this year.
It is an interesting fact that, according to the survey, Russia’s presence in the media is less in Macedonia than in Serbia-Montenegro, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Media reports in Serbia in which sources are not known are mostly directed to be pro-Russian and anti-US, while in Macedonia they were mostly pro-EU, and there were no pro-Russian announcements in that period.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev was the most-quoted politician in Macedonia in May and June.
In the survey, a comparative approach was applied to Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia with 5,553 media announcements from daily newspapers, portals, informative and morning programs, and analyzed topics were such as politics, military and arms, economy, Kosovo, culture, human rights and health.
The key topic in Macedonia in that period was politics, the EU, the US and NATO were mostly presented in a positive light (39%) pro, against negative of (20%).
The second topic was the military, with the economy coming third.
During the EU-Western Balkans summit held on May 17th, in Macedonia the media mostly took the EU’s position 41%, the EU was neutrally reported in 30 % of the cases, while anti- EU was reported at 12 %.
