On August the 22nd, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia came to the decision not to advertise with electronic broadcasters, newspapers and news portals, as well as billboards, but reserves the right to inform about its activities through social media. 15.800 denars were spent on this information since its appointment in June, stated government spokesman, Mile Bosnjakovski for “Meta” regarding questions about government advertising on social networks.
He said that the government is determined to create a democratic space for informing citizens to have an open opinion and proved it with its decision not to advertise in the media and on billboards.
“On August the 22nd, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, within the framework of the Plan 3-6-9, passed a measure so that it would no longer appear as a contracting party for advertisements, campaigns and videos on paid space on electronic commercial broadcasters, i.e. televisions and radio, daily and weekly newspapers , billboards, internet portals, etc. (excluding social media). This decision prevents any government from imposing its influence on the media by paying large amounts of money for advertising, a practice that has happened in the past”, said Bosnjakovski in the response he sent to “Meta”.
According to the government spokesman, the government will inform the public about its measures and activities via social media, because they can not impose power and influence from state institutions, however the advertising there costs much less than it does in the media.
“At present, social media is the cheapest channel for communication, and given that there is no central editorial control on social media, there is no threat of imposing power and influence on state institutions that communicate with citizens, and that is why they are used by many governments in the world”, explained Bosnjakovski, adding that “a total of 15,800 denars have been spent on this”.
The text is made within the framework of the project “Media Reform Observatory”, implemented by the Foundation for Internet and Society Metamorphosis, “Agora” Center for Promoting Civil Values and the Platform for Investigative Journalism and Analyzes – PINA, with the financial support of the “Foundation Open” Society – Mace
donia “. The content of the text is the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be considered to reflect the views of the “Open Society Foundation – Macedonia”.
