Skopje, 30 September 2023 (MIA) — MIA is marking Saturday its 25th anniversary. The national news agency released its first news item on Sept. 30, 1998, after being established with a decision of Macedonian Parliament in February 1992.

Starting out with a newsroom of some twenty reporters, MIA now has around 100 employees, including journalists, local and foreign correspondents, videographers, photojournalists as well as administrative and logistics staff.

According to recent poll results, MIA is the leading news wire in the country, covering around 65 percent of the media space. Its subscriber base includes traditional and digital media as well as diplomatic missions, international organizations and institutions.

The news agency has implemented thorough reforms in the last seven years, and most recently it has been working toward changing its legal status.

At the end of 2021, the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption recommended the government regulate MIA's status with a special law.

In early April 2023, a round table was held on promoting MIA's independence and sustainability, which resulted in recommendations to the government on how to better position the agency in the media space and guarantee its financial stability and independence.

Participants included representatives of OSCE, EU Delegation, Prime Minister's cabinet, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Parliament's Legislative Committee, State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, Association of Journalists of Macedonia, Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers, and Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services.

The MIA newsroom produces and distributes about 400 news and other media products per day in Macedonian, English, and Albanian. It also offers special wires on different topics, daily and weekly bulletins, a photo service, and a video service with a live stream from events at www.mia.mk and the news agency's social media.

MIA is a member of the Association of Southeast European News Agencies ABNA and MIA’s services are used by Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe, and Voice of America.

It is part of the information pools of AGERPRES (Romania), BTA (Bulgaria), ATA (Albania), TANJUG (Serbia), MINA (Montenegro), FENA and SRNA (Bosnia and Herzegovina), STA (Slovenia), HINA (Croatia), ANA-MPA (Greece), ANADOLU AGENCY (Turkey), APA (Austria), EFE (Spain), and UKRINFORM (Ukraine).

MIA also cooperates with the European Pressphoto Agency EPA, dpa (Germany), BBC (UK), Xinhua (China), IRNA (Iran), and Yonhap (Korea).

The national news agency participates in the European Newsroom, a recent cooperation project between news agencies from all over Europe – AFP, AGERPRES, ANSA, APA, ATA, Belga, BTA, dpa, EFE, Europa Press, FENA, HINA, MIA, PAP, STA, Tanjug, TASR and UKRINFORM. The participating agencies have opportunities for training, further education and the joint development of journalistic standards. Tools such as fact checks and verification help to uphold quality journalism by counteracting the growing dissemination of disinformation and propaganda.

To contribute to media literacy and training of young journalists from other media outlets as well as journalism students, MIA has also started a school of journalism. Training courses have been held on covering topics related to the European Union and privacy legislation, especially focusing on the new national Law on Personal Data Protection.

In times of media reports polluted with misinformation, MIA uses its experience and professionalism to stay firmly committed to the public interest by providing timely, fact-checked and accurate information.

Over these 25 years of being the most meticulous chronicler of local, regional and world events, MIA has built an extensive database of information, photos and videos, which also serves as a research resource for scholars and institutions worldwide. mr/