Skopje, 8 August 2016 – The Government of the Republic of Macedonia has declared this day, 8 August 2016, a National Day of Mourning, to mourn the large number of casualties killed by the extreme weather that hit Skopje and its surroundings.
The Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services calls on the broadcasters to adjust their programme accordingly, meaning that he music they air should belong to the music genre appropriate for days of mourning, while the entertainment shows, shows containing humour or feature films that belong to the genre of comedy, planned to be aired today, should be rescheduled to other days of the week. This applies to advertising as well, whereas for the other forms of commercial communications (teleshopping, sponsorship and product placement) there are no restrictions.
The radio programming services, which, in line with the Law, should make sure, on a daily basis, that a certain per cent of the music broadcasted should be instrumental music by Macedonian composers and composers belonging to the ethnic communities that do not constitute a majority in the Republic of Macedonia, and/or vocal-instrumental music in the Macedonian language or the languages of the non-majority communities, are exempt from this obligation on 8 August 2016.