The BCC gave the green light to NTV Moldova despite media organizations’ recommendations

After NTV Moldova failed to receive the broadcasting license at the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) meeting on December 3, on Tuesday, December 8, the BCC voted for granting the license despite a declaration of media NGOs, which recommended to the BCC “not to allow rebroadcasting in Moldova of Russian newscasts and information and analysis programs that seriously violate the principle of socio-political balance, neutrality and objectivity.” The decision was voted for by seven council members out of the eight present. BCC member Olga Gututui voted against, and her colleague Mariana Onceanu-Hadirca was absent from the meeting.

NTV Moldova will broadcast domestic programs and will rebroadcast content from Russia on the basis of the contract with Russian NTV channel. The channel’s administration says they will promote European values.

The right to rebroadcast NTV’s media content in Moldova also had the TV7 television, owned by Liberal Democratic Party MP Chiril Lucinschi. In the period when Lucinschi was chairman of the parliamentary commission for mass media, Olga Gututui was the commission’s senior advisor.

The repeated application for license was filed by “Exclusiv Media” SRL company the day following the BCC meeting of December 3. The company’s representatives assured the BCC that they took into consideration their objections. Among other things, the BCC had asked the broadcaster to exclude information and analysis programs from Russia, to change the names of the programs similar to those of NTV, and to increase the amount of domestic broadcasting products in the Romanian language.

BCC member Olga Gututui said at the Tuesday meeting that she was not convinced that NTV Moldova complied with the BCC requirements. She showed that the modified schedule maintained the name of a program similar to the one on the Russian channel – “Segodnia.” Gututui believes that this program is a “trap” intended to broadcast programs from Russia.

“I understand that Russian NTV wants to return with newscasts to the Moldovan market,” Olga Gututui said. In this context, she reminded of the declaration published by media NGOs in the morning of Tuesday, December 8, asking the BCC as the legal representative and guarantor of public interest in broadcasting “not to allow rebroadcasting in Moldova of Russian newscasts and information and analysis programs that seriously violate the principle of socio-political balance, neutrality and objectivity provided by the Moldovan legislation.”

Another BCC member, Dragos Vicol, recognized that “the BCC mission is to bar any propaganda danger,” but he added that “until proven otherwise, NTV Moldova should be allowed to materialize its concept.” BCC chairman Dinu Ciocan had the same position: “If the law is permissive, I rely on the law,” he said.

BCC member Nicolae Damaschin, who voiced several objections to the “Exclusiv Media” SRL project at the previous meeting, found that “it is probably one of the most difficult meetings.” The BCC issued the license to NTV Moldova in the situation when Moldova’s information space is not secured, while the two draft laws developed in this sense have not yet gotten onto the agenda of the parliament’s plenary meeting. This year, the broadcasting regulator has ceased the license of the Russian channel Rossiya 24 for serious violations of the Moldovan broadcasting legislation.

It should be mentioned that “Exclusiv Media” SRL, which will manage NTV Moldova, is owned by Party of Socialists MP Corneliu Furculita, while the company’s director is Petru Burduja. According to 2014 property statements of Party of Socialists leader Igor Dodon and socialist MP Corneliu Furculita, their wives had income from “Exclusiv Media” SRL. The company also owns “Argumenty i Facty v Moldove” newspaper.

Photo source: video capture privesc.eu