Skopje, 22 March 2020 – Amidst this declared state of emergency due to the Coronavirus, the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services appeals that all media – electronic, print and online –be provided with equal access so as to be able to do their reporting.
Bearing in mind the need for providing the citizens with timely, objective and complete information about the prevention of the Coronavirus spread, as well the measures taken up by the competent authorities, the institutions should invest every effort to make their operations as inclusive and as transparent as possible. In this context, we call on the Government and the state authorities to ensure access to their press conferences and similar events for all media outlets and to publish the answers to all questions that have remained unanswered at the press conferences on their websites.
At the same time, we emphasize that all media outlets, without an exception, should do their reportingin a professional and responsiblefashion, excluding sensationalism. In addition, all online media outlets should publish Impressums, the names of the texts’ authors and information on their ownership.