TEAM
Availability of a competent partner organization in a country is critical for effective implementation of MOM. MOM would not have been possible without the commitment and passion shown by the local team convened by BIRN Macedonia.
MOM Team
Nafisa Hasanova, Head of Research, GMR
Nafisa managed Media Ownership Monitor projects in Ukraine (2016), Serbia (2017), Albania (2018), Sri Lanka (2018), India and Pakistan (2019). She was also involved in the Journalism Trust Initiative, from the RSF team. Before joining RSF, Nafisa worked on the Transdniestrian Settlement Process for the Finnish Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) founded by the former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. Prior to that she worked as policy officer for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia for APRODEV (now ACT Alliance EU), EU Central Asia Monitoring (EUCAM) for Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). Nafisa holds an MA in Intercultural Communication and European Studies from the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda, Germany. She completed a BA in English Philology at the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages in Uzbekistan.
Sheley Gomes, Researcher and Project Assistant, GMR
Sheley is a project assistant and researcher currently working for the Media Ownership Monitor (MOM) on the Western Balkans. She is also currently a volunteer at Intervozes, the organization that implemented the Media Ownership Monitor in Brazil, where she previously worked as an advocacy consultant. At Intervozes she has also worked as a researcher in several projects regarding freedom of expression, fake news, media coverage, and media ownership. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Brasilia, a post-grad in Law and Government Affairs by the University Center of Brasilia, and is currently finishing a master’s degree in Media and Area (Central-Eastern European) Studies at Charles University in Prague.
Lea Auffarth, Head of Operations, GMR
Lea coordinates the implementation of the Media Ownership Monitor's editions, and manages some of them directly. Previously, Lea has worked for the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, where she coordinated the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) and headed the development of its IT infrastructure. Other work on media transparency, literacy, and ethics include the ‘Media Ownership Monitor’ (MOM) and Lebanese Samir Kassir Foundation’s ‘Digital Rights Project’. Lea is a trained journalist and has worked with the German public broadcaster WDR as well as regional press. She holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from King’s College London.
Olaf Steenfadt, Global Project Director , GMR
Olaf Steenfadt heads the "Media Ownership Monitor" project and the "Journalism Trust Initiative" at the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, RSF. For many years, he has been engaged as a consultant and coach in media development cooperation. Mandates of international organizations and NGOs lead him primarily to Southeast Europe and the Arab world. He previously worked for national German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF in various roles, including as a radio and TV presenter, investigative reporter, domestic and foreign correspondent, as well as in format development and corporate communication. Olaf is a member of the "High-level Expert Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation" of the European Commission and of the "Committee of Experts on Quality of Journalism in the Digital Age" at the Council of Europe. He teaches frequently at universities in Germany and Europe.
Ana Petruseva, BIRN North Macedonia
Ana Petruseva is an experienced journalist and one of the founders of the BIRN regional network and BIRN Macedonia. She is country director for BIRN in North Macedonia.
Tamara Chausidis, BIRN North Macedonia
Tamara Chausidis is a long-time journalist, trainer, and editor-in-chief of Prizma.mk, the online publication of BIRN Macedonia. Over the course of her career, she has actively engaged in advancing professional standards and investigative journalism skills for young journalists. She is a coauthor of Journalism Ethics Manual.
Vlado Apostolov, BIRN North Macedonia
Vlado Apostolov is a senior journalist with extensive media experience. He has been a member of the BIRN team for eight years.
Goce Trpkovski, BIRN North Macedonia
Goce Trpkovski is a senior journalist with nearly two decades of experience, who joined BIRN in 2018. His prior roles include working as a reporter and editor for Nova Makedonija and Vreme newspapers.
Vasko Magleshov, BIRN North Macedonia
Vasko Magleshov is award-winning journalist. He has been working for different media outlets for 15 years. From 2020 he work as an investigative journalist for BIRN.
Frosina Dimeska, BIRN North Macedonia
Frosina Dimeska joined BIRN in April 2022. She is professionally engaged in journalism since 2004. Most of her career she worked at Radio Free Europe as a political journalist.
Jasmina Jakimova, BIRN North Macedonia
Jasmina Jakimova is an experienced journalist who has worked in various media outlets. Recently, she joined the BIRN team.
Elena Gagovska, BIRN North Macedonia
Elena Gagovska is young journalist working at BIRN Macedonia. She worked as a freelance writer and journalist while finishing her Master's degree in North American Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin.
In the execution of the Media Ownership Project in North Macedonia, valuable assistance was provided by:
Snezana Trpevska, co-founder of RESIS Institute and an expert in Media Law, Media Policy, and Social Research Methodology. She holds a PhD in Sociological Sciences and an MA in Communication Studies.
Dejan Georgievski, president of the Media Development Center, who has actively contributed in the area of media policies and freedom of expression for more than two decades.
BIRN Macedonia
BIRN Macedonia, an independent NGO, was founded in 2004 as part of the regional Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.
It has since implemented various local and regional projects, from organising the training of journalists on international standards of journalism to coverage of transitional justice issues, production of TV documentaries, publishing of analysis and investigations, and the organisation of round tables on issues related to the country's EU integration.
BIRN Macedonia has built a reputation not only of being a credible media organisation but also of being a source for media development and network building. It has also fostered strong relationships both with media and CSOs in the country and in the region, and runs locally relevant programmes designed to respond to media and wider societal needs. BIRN Macedonia has contributed to different projects of the Regional BIRN Network and has been crucial in establishing Balkan Insight as one of the leading regional media outlets.
BIRN Macedonia aims to consolidate the country’s stability and accelerate its political, economic and social reform within its chosen framework of Euro-Atlantic integration. It does so through high-quality journalism and facilitation of cross-sector debate on key challenges.
Global Media Registry
The Global Media Registry (GMR) collects, compiles and provides – either publicly available or self-reported – datasets and contextual information on media outlets around the world.
In doing so, the objective is to enhance transparency, accountability and responsibility in the information space. Thus, the GMR facilitates better choices and decision making, both algorithmic and human, of all stakeholders. These may include every citizen and consumer, regulators and donors, as well as the private sector – for example advertisers and intermediaries (a. k. a. platforms and distributors).
By providing this public service as a social enterprise, the Global Media Registry contributes to the advancement of the freedoms of information and expression at large.
It was founded as a spin-off from the Media Ownership Monitor project, which it now operates as a non-for-profit LLC registered under German law.