PERCEPTION OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OF MEDIA WORKERS IN THE WESTERN REGION OF THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

The right to freedom of expression is one of the fundamental human rights guaranteed
by Article 16 of the Constitution in Republic of N. Macedonia and by several international
documents as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights, International Covenants (on civil and political rights and on
economic, social and cultural rights) and other legal acts that have also been ratified in our
country. Constitutional Article 16 guarantees freedom of speech, public information, free
access to information, reception and transmission of information as well as free establishment
of public information institutions. In order to obtain concrete results regarding the
implementation of these rights, the paper analyzes the subject of media workers’ perception
of freedom of expression, the degree of censorship and self-censorship of media workers
and the reasons that affect restriction of the right. The research included media workers
from the media in the Western region of the Republic of N. Macedonia. The main guide
research question is “What is the perception of media workers about the degree of freedom of
expression in the Western planning region of the Republic of Macedonia?”