The News on Selected National Television Channels on the Macedonian National Holiday, October 11th, Day of Uprising of the Macedonian people

Abstract

In this research we examined the news on the four most-watched Macedonian national television channels broadcasting in the Macedonian language according to the Annual Report for 20221 by the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services2. We analysed the news from the above television channels presented on October 11th, Day of the Uprising of the Macedonian People, which is one of the most important Macedonian National Holidays for the Macedonian state. Going through the news flow and selection of information, we get the picture of the attitude of the television channel towards daily political events and the eventual political inclination. Consequently, the composition of the editorial team, the language employed, presentation style, and target audience all play pivotal roles in shaping the conveyed media messages. Especially, it is crucial to consider how the audience will react to the messages. This research shows that the editorial team plays a significant role in the final product of the programme, they decide on what information will be placed in the news, guided by the established editorial policy, which is assumed to be complying, i.e. should be complying to professional criteria: timeliness, relevance, truthfulness, completeness, and objectivity of the message3. Through production, i.e., creating media content, each medium creates a different representation  of the same event. It is especially important to know who owns the medium.Each television channel uses a different linguistic expression, combining image, sound, text, film, etc. In this way, a different representation of reality is created in the media.