The Broadcasting Coordinating Council Suspended Again the Rebroadcasting of Russian TV Station Rossiya 24 and Fined the Broadcasters That Were Biased in Their Reports about the Events in Ukraine

The members of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council resolved unanimously on Wednesday, May 27, to suspend the rebroadcasting of TV station Rossiya 24. PRIME TV, REN Moldova, RTR Moldova TV stations were penalized with maximal fines, while TV7 – with a minimal fine. The penalties were applied pursuant to the monitoring of the compliance of their news programs with the principles of social and political balance, fairness and objectivity. The monitoring showed that the broadcasters had reported the facts about the conflict in Ukraine in a biased manner.
 
The Broadcasting Coordinating Council took action on its own accord regarding TV station Rossiya 24 after it had broadcast a report about the situation in Transnistria, which, according to the BCC members, contained elements of propaganda and threats to the integrity of Moldova. In addition, Liberal MP Ghenadie Brega urged the Broadcasting Coordinating Council to take action in connection with the broadcasting by the same TV station of the movie “The Road to Motherland”, justifying the annexation of the Crimea to Russia. In his turn, Nicolae Dudoglo, who ran for bashkan (governor) in recent elections in Gagauzia, complained that the same TV station had covered the election campaign in a biased manner, also urging for temporary suspending of rebroadcasting. The Broadcasting Coordinating Council concluded that Rossiya 24 had breached a number of articles of the Broadcasting Code concerning the principles of audiovisual communication and requirements on rebroadcasting program services.

The representative of Rossiya 24, Yevgeny Sergeyev, had objections regarding the professionalism of the experts who had conducted the monitoring. In his view, the movie about the Crimea should have not been subjected to such monitoring, as it is a documentary and therefore is not part of the informative and analytical programs grid. Sergeyev was critical of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council for having focused on reviewing the coverage by the monitored TV stations of the events in Ukraine and said that he did not understand how the crisis in the neighboring country could affect the audience in Moldova.

Dinu Ciocan, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council, expressed regret that the broadcasters who had been given time to make adjustments had chosen to do nothing. Mr. Ciocan stated that the monitoring report provided enough evidence to demonstrate that public opinion was manipulated in the informative and analytical programs rebroadcast from Russia and it was a direct attack against the information space of Moldova. He added that the findings provided even more evidence confirming the need to amend the Broadcasting Code.

When asked for how long Rossiya 24 TV station was suspended, Mr. Ciocan stated that the resolution of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council would remain in force until the content broadcast by the TV station meets the requirements regarding accurate reporting of events, in line with the European Convention on Transfrontier Television.

The new member of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council, Olga Gututui, suggested that the monitoring results be sent to the Information and Security Service, for it to take note of the extent to which the information security of the country is affected.

It should be mentioned that the rebroadcasting of Rossiya 24 TV station was suspended for half a year in 2014, following a resolution of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council.