English
The AVMU media regulator condemned the statement from SDSM party leader Venko Filipce, who yesterday gleefully commented to a question from an Alfa TV journalist. Filipce accused the TV station of being funded by businesses close to Hungary and insinuated that now the journalists will be out of their jobs, after the change in Government there.
Public labeling and instrumentalization of the media for political confrontations is not in accordance with the democratic principles and the guaranteed freedom of expression. It is absolutely unacceptable that a bearer of a public office uses demeaning rhetoric that contributes to polarization in the media space and can undermine public trust in the media, AVMU said in its statement. Filipce’s comments were also condemned by MAN and other associations of journalists.
This is just the latest statement from Filipce attacking media outlets, and his party has been producing charts which it claims prove that there is media bias against them. Alfa TV was frequently the target of his ire. But more recently, Filipce also broke with Infomax, a media outlet that was for years the most reliable supporter of his SDSM party. SDSM also accused this outlet of being paid to work against them.