Fisnik Xhelili, a journalist from Portalb.mk, on 4th of April received the annual award from the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) for the best journalistic reporting on topics of local and regional importance in 2024. The AJM’s annual competition commission honored Xhelili for his story, “Violence Among Students, an Alarm Bell in Tetovo.”
Thanking the commission, Xhelili emphasized that this award is extremely important for him as a journalist and for the entire Portalb newsroom. “As journalists, we are often preoccupied with daily topics and politics, and we forget the real troubles and problems of citizens. We need to investigate and report more on alarming phenomena and issues in our society, to urge those in charge to take measures so that we can bring about positive changes in society. After all, this is our mission,” said Fisnik Xhelili. He added that this award serves as additional motivation for him to continue working in this direction.
The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) also presented other traditional annual awards today, honoring the most distinguished journalists and media professionals.
The awards committee, composed of German Fillkov, Dushica Mërgja, and Senat Zylbehari, this year presented the “Krste Petkov Misirkov” Lifetime Achievement Award to Zvezdan Gjorgjievski, in recognition of his long-term contribution to Macedonian journalism.
The “Jashar Erebara” Award for Investigative Journalism was granted to the Investigative Reporting Lab (IRL) for their story: “A Post Office Official Shielded ESM’s Power Plants from Ash, ‘Covered in Ash’.”
For the first time since its establishment, the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) decided this year to introduce a prestigious award for the best public interest film project, affirming its commitment to advancing journalistic and media standards. The commission, comprising distinguished professionals like German Fillkov, Dushica Mërgja, and Senat Zylbehari, and, for the cinematographer category, also Zoran Dogov and Sasho Dokovski, was tasked with evaluating projects that excelled in creativity, technical quality, and public interest relevance.
The award for the best public interest film project in 2024 went to Ivan Popoviq for his reportage on the topic: “Climate Migrations: Prespa in a Race Against Time to Preserve Water,” published on the doma.edu.mk platform.
Special recognitions for their contributions to promoting professional investigative journalism were given to:
- The investigative journalistic program KOD from TV Tellma for the story: “Lottery Tenders for the Purchase of Video Terminals and Millions of Euros.”
- Aleksandar Dimitrievski and Mihail Miloshevski for their series of reports on the topic: “Bojan Hristovski Possesses an English Language Proficiency Certificate from a Studio/School that Generated No Income (Was Not Operational) During the Relevant Period and Was Not on the List of Legal Entities” – published on 360 Stepeni.
- Trajçe Antonovski, a cinematographer from IRL, for the best video and cinematic expression in the story titled: “Stolen Lives.”
This year’s award winners expressed their gratitude for the honors, emphasizing that these awards motivate them to continue their work in the public interest.
The President of AJM, Mlladen Čadikovski, in his address to the attendees, highlighted the challenges journalists face and the importance of solidarity within the profession. “Today, with these awards, we celebrate the courage, persistence, and professionalism of Macedonian journalists. We honor those who, through investigative stories, expose corruption and injustice. We honor those who go into the field, who speak with people, who write about voices rarely heard. We also celebrate those who, through columns and analyses, prompt us to think, reflect, and act. This year, we received a record number of applications, stories, analyses, and film projects. These awards should be precisely this – a symbol of solidarity, cooperation, and support when it is most needed. The commission had an important task, but I am convinced that they made a careful selection. Congratulations to everyone, not just the winners – every good story is a victory for the public interest,” said Čadikovski.
At today’s event, Anthony Bellanger, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), also spoke, congratulating the award winners and all colleagues who submitted their original works. The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which represents the world’s largest organization of journalists, uniting over 600,000 media professionals from 187 unions and associations in more than 140 countries.
The representative of the Awards Committee, German Filkov, emphasized that the selection process was challenging due to the high quality of the applications. In his speech, he stated: “Every commission thinks it has the hardest job in the world, but this time it truly was. Four categories, 48 applications, and a total of 99 journalistic products, most of them complex stories and shows. And only four awards. They could have been given to 40 people. It was inspiring to read and see 99 of the most significant journalistic achievements for 2024 collected in one place. Despite all the problems and limitations journalists face, I would say it is a year that demonstrates that journalism in Macedonia is alive and thriving, and journalists should be proud of their skill and energy. For each of the four categories, there was strong and serious competition. I have been part of many journalistic awards commissions, but for the first time, there were no differing opinions among the commission members, nor was there a need for additional effort to reach a consensus. For all four categories – the commission decided unanimously.”
