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According to the Chair of the BCC, Mr. Dinu Ciocan, who reported to the Commission, in 2014 the BCC conducted 48 monitoring projects, focusing on various issues, particularly regarding the freedom of opinion and diversity of opinions in an election year. Four monitoring projects concerned the enforcement of Article 7 of the Broadcasting Code, on ensuring social and political diversity of opinion. “During 2014, the BCC has conducted a thematic monitoring on compliance with the requirement to ensure social and political diversity of opinions in newscasts on major television stations during January 10-20, 2014, and two rounds of monitoring the program services of TV channels, except for local ones, to check compliance with the national legislation on broadcasting, during April 18-24, 2014 and during July 14-20, 2014”, the report says.
Also, as reported by Mr. Ciocan, the BCC received 16 complaints about violation of the principle of social and political diversity of opinions in 2014. Only 2 complaints were valid.
In turn, the members of the Commission expressed the opinion that the BCC’s response was not always prompt enough. “In my opinion, BCC should have intervened promptly on two occasions, and it didn’t. They are: monopoly over the broadcasting sector and heavy dependence on foreign content”, stated Commission member Corneliu Mihalache, Communist MP.
Mrs. Liliana Palihovici, Liberal Democrat member of the Commission, recommended the BCC to collaborate more actively with counterparts in Transnistria, so that the people in that part of the country have access to national broadcasters. “We are well aware of the propaganda targeting the people in Transnistria, broadcast by their local media, and of the jamming of Moldovan broadcasters. I believe that in 2014 the BCC should have been more active in their efforts to collaborate with the Bureau for Reintegration and see how this problem can be solved. Why do their broadcasters reach people here, while our broadcasters do not reach their audience?”, inquired Mrs. Palihovici.
The monitoring of the diversity of opinions remains a priority for the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) in 2015. As provided by Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the freedom of expression enjoys almost absolute protection, and democracy cannot exist without diversity of opinions. “The BCC has set its priorities for 2015 based on the outcomes of monitoring in 2014. These include increasing the amount of local media products on national TV channels, as well as monitoring compliance of the principle of diversity of opinions and the principle of political diversity during news and analytical products aired by the broadcasters”, he stressed.
As of January 1, 2015, there were 218 holders of broadcasting licenses in Moldova.
