Bozana Kjulakova, a journalist, speaks in an interview for CIVIL Media about freedom of expression, media freedom, the commercialization of the media and the pressures by the business centers of power.

CIVIL Media: What do freedom of expression, media freedom and activism mean to you?

Kjulakova: Freedom for journalists means to present to the public what we see. Meaning that when we present news from a certain event, we need to represent around five sides in order to be able to present the objective side of the events that are happening. However, this in local conditions, such as here in Veles, cannot be carried out because here we do not have the practice of taking statements from people who are experts in a certain area, as in some way they withdraw or are afraid to make statements.

CIVIL Media: In what way do you support or can support freedom of expression, and media freedom in general?

Kjulakova: In what way? Well, I have been in this field of work for almost 35 years, and with the transition of our society I as a person and as a journalist have changed, because the conditions in which we have been working all these years do not give us enough freedom to work, although we started ambitiously with the wish to inform as it is. But often we came across a stumbling block and repressions by the people who were in power, and also by businessmen who didn’t want things to be written, especially at the time when the companies were being privatized, so we were witnesses of various corruptions and criminal doings then. I think that you could write much more objectively in social information outlets than in private ones. Because private media are in some way dependent of the capital in the state, in the city, and in that way we become a bit more permissive. So, from a sharp journalist I turned into a commercial journalist, because I had to sell the program in order to be able to stay in the field of work that I love and to be able to do the work that I also love. It’s difficult being a journalist these days, but it is not hard doing what you like to do, so I will always strive for freedom of information. This does not mean that you can say things only in words, you can also say the things that you want to tell the listeners and consumers through a poem or written text.

CIVIL Media: What are your recommendations in the context of the fight for freedom of expression and media freedom?

Kjulakova: My recommendations are for the media to be left aside, primarily from politics. Because all these years back some media have been stigmatized, and some favored. They need to work according to their code of ethics. Journalists need to be what they really are. However, I think that Facebook as a social network or the portals are messing things a little because they are not regulated. I think they should be regulated by law, and then the public written word will be able to be sanctioned. Because now everyone is a journalist, everyone can state their opinion. Yes, that too is freedom, but freedom also has boundaries. We have reached rock bottom, it is time to climb up!

Маја Ivanovska

Camera: Dehran Muratov

Editing: Еrmin Klimenta

Photo: Biljana Jordanovska

This project is financed by the European Union through the small grants program “Protecting Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression in the Western Balkans”, implemented by the Croatian Journalists Association, as part of the regional project “Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety”, implemented through a partnership of six regional journalist associations – Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia, Association of Bosnia-Herzegovina Journalists, Croatian Journalists’ Association, Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Association of Journalists of Macedonia and the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro.