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According to the report, in 2015 Moldovan mass media regressed due to political instability in the country. At the same time, politicians continued getting involved into mass media activities, and a significant number of private media outlets often behaved as loudspeakers for political parties and media owners.
Corruption in the top levels of power was the main topic covered by mass media. In this sense, the investigation conducted by Kroll, which detected the “robbery of century”, as well as the mass protests caused by the political crisis attracted the attention of not only Moldovan, but also foreign journalists.
The main achievement in terms of legislative developments was the adoption of Law no. 28 of March 5, 2015 on modifying and supplementing the Broadcasting Code of Moldova no. 260-XVI of July 27, 2006, which entered into force on November 1. The law confirmed the phenomenon of media concentration and clear trends of monopolization on the media market.
The main failure of the year, according to the report, is connected with transition from analog to digital television. The process should have ended in June 2015, according to the Geneva Agreement signed by Moldova in 2006. Due to delays, on July 31 the Parliament adopted Law no. 167, extending the term of transition to digital television to December 31, 2017.
A chapter has been dedicated to the situation of mass media in Transnistria, where 202 journalists work. The region’s experts believe that media representatives on the left bank of the Nistru have few alternatives – they either work for official media or for those owned by “Sheriff.”
According to the report, the region’s journalists are limited in their rights, and this fact has been proven by the internationally known arrest of journalist and activist Serghei Ilchenko.
Forecasts for 2016 are not very optimistic. According to the report, situation in the field will not change dramatically from the situation in 2015. The big challenge for media outlets will still be propaganda and manipulation through mass media, and the civil society will have to identify new ways to neutralize the harmful impact of these phenomena on people’s minds.
The report has been produced by the IJC with the financial support of Civil Rights Defenders, Sweden, and it is available in Romanian, English and Russian. (Here EN, RO, RU)
