Playing the Audiovisual Game

About parallels
Let's compare the national audiovisual media with a luxurious villa. Why? Because ‘we live in it’, about 80 percent of the population. And why shouldn’t we live in such a villa?! But how we build it? First thought: a design is needed. In fact, instead of a luxurious villa we have a disgusting shanty. Without design, we started not from the foundation, as villas are built, but from the roof, which is also called ‘krisha’ or ‘protection’. But someone threw the cornerstone into the water and no one can fish it up. And if so, we come back to the roof and sometimes put a buffer stop, a stick, but anyway it rains in the villa! And it will rain. Because a villa should not be built starting from ‘protection’. And if we keep in this way, the luxurious villa and the audiovisual agency will be like two parallels; as we know they never shake hands as long as they remain parallel.

About laws and fire-fighters
We know very well that law is somewhere at the head of the table. We know even better that we didn’t join the ‘somewhereֹ’ zone. But we make laws. We elect law-makers by party eyebrow; we follow their lawmaking and marvel. To be known: the day of a lawmaker lasts 24 hours as well, but lawmakers manage their affairs, if any; manage to start affairs, if they do not have them; to speak on three phones; to debate on Facebook; to fish carps; to take selfies and, besides all, to make laws. They worth double salaries and supplement like fire-fighters. It would be fairly, because you have noticed: when a fire breaks out, we extinguish it with laws. If some institutions do not work – we give them a package of laws; if propaganda attacks us - we give another package of laws; if farmers revolt - we have a package of laws for them as well. Such timeliness is really worth of appreciation, because packages of laws are needed.

About propaganda
There are two kinds of propaganda: internal and external. The internal propaganda is a honey one and it shall be protected by law, the external is harmful and shall be stopped by law. And the law shall say ‘Strictly prohibited!’. Such phrases of the national legislation have always amused me. It seems if you write only ‘prohibited’, it should be understood that, in fact, it should not be done, but sometimes it might be done. The law, therefore, should suspend TV channels of external propaganda. And then we save the minds of citizens from information poison. Their mind shall be protected indeed, as it is frail and little. So little, that it is enough neither for Internet, nor for satellite channels. By the way, it’s an efficient technique, as J.Milton says (MP as well, but not from here) to keep the crow in the yard closing the gate.

About continuity
Continuity is a great thing! For instance, a mason leaves, another comes and the masonry goes on; a head of television channel leaves, another comes and inherits the helm; a government leaves and another one comes and continues what the previous started. Continuity gives us predictability. Examples are enough! Here is the year: from 2009 onwards all governments included in their activity plans in terms of the audiovisual media, the same actions actually needed in the area. They did not exclude them, because they realized the importance of continuity and, if it provides predictability, we can say already today what the activity plan of the next government will contain for the audiovisual media.

About privatization
The Coordinating Council of Audiovisual (CCA) has been distressed for a long time to elect 4 candidates for the 2 vacant positions of members of the Supervisory Board (SB) of ‘Teleradio-Moldova’. For now they elected three: two ex-members of the CCA and someone who runs for an unknown amount of times, and it probably was a difficult argument to the time of voting. Previously the CCA already designated as candidate an ex-member of the CCA, who now, with the blessing of the Parliament, is member of the SB. The last contest of the CCA failed because none of the present candidates was given a rap. It is true that among them, this time, there is no ex-member of the CCA.

About logic
I, Eugen Ribca and Petru Macovei, modestly considering that we understand something in the audiovisual media, had the imprudence (without being ex-members of the CCA) to run for membership of the SB. E. Ribca was rejected by the CCA. I and P. Macovei were rejected by the relevant parliamentary committee; shortly we were invited all three to be part of the Media Advisory Board. Now we wonder whether they invited us as being good or as being bad?

About three voices
The national audiovisual media cry with one voice: ‘You stole a billion!’. ‘Not a  billion, but a half!’, another voice cries. And only the third one says: ‘Don’t steal!’. If it said: ‘Don’t steal more than a billion!’, would the first voice cry?!

About culprits
I know the culprit of what happens in the audiovisual media! The system! They said even on the television. Until recently there was only one culprit - lack of political will. Now we have two. We have two bogeys. By the way, has anyone seen where these scarecrows live?! We’d make a package of laws and ... But as it is time consuming, let’s see what similarities and distinctions there are between the system and, for a word, the Colorado potato beetle? My version: only one can be seen, but both destroy in the same way. Are there other versions?
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The article was published within the Advocacy Campaigns Aimed at Improving Transparency of Media Ownership, Access to Information and promotion of EU values  and integration project, implemented by the IJC, which is, in its turn, part of the Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society project, implemented by FHI 360.
This article is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content are the responsibility of author and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.