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Thus, according to recent amendments, the salary fund has been reduced, and only reporters will be paid, as they are the only ones listed as journalists. Editors-in-chief, graphic designers, layout designers and other people in print media, radio or TV will be deprived of payment, although they directly participate in production of media content, often working extra hours. “It will negatively influence the media product and will make professional workers leave for commercial media outlets,” says the director of the Media Center.
According to Luiza Doroshenko, it all happens at the time of tensions between Transnistrian authorities. “So far, state-owned media outlets were exclusively subordinated to the region’s leader, and not to the supreme council. When MPs rejected initiatives coming from the region’s leader, motivating rejection by the fact that they were not for the benefit of citizens, state-owned media outlets presented the MPs’ position as undermining Yevgeny Shevchuk’s work, which, in the opinion of state-owned media, was for the benefit of the people… So, official media promoted Shevchuk’s ideas, created a positive image of him, while MPs were not given space in newspapers or airtime on TV. It is logical to suppose that the modification related to payment has been introduced in order to ‘punish’ official media outlets,” claims the activist from Tiraspol.
According to another amendment to the legislation, introduced on September 14 this year, a new procedure for founding state-owned media outlets has been established. The right to found them will have the region’s leader, the supreme council and a body of the judiciary. If one of the three instances wishes to found a media outlet, the other two will necessarily become its co-founders. All official media outlets will have to re-register, taking into consideration these new rules. Media founders will be able to propose candidates for editors-in-chief, but they will have to be confirmed by the supreme council. Editors-in-chief will be dismissed by the region’s supreme council at the proposal of prosecution.
The set of laws also provides for restriction by authorities of accredited journalists’ access to organized events and interdiction to use video or audio equipment.
Media Azi asked Luiza Doroshenko for a comment on the situation, and she said that the above-mentioned provisions will lead to censorship in the region’s media and to greater political control. “Appointment and dismissal of editors-in-chief by the supreme council will establish greater control of authorities on the information provided to the society. This law will also facilitate monopoly of one political force on the media market. The majority of MPs are members or supporters of the “Obnovleniye” party, backed by the Sheriff holding. At the same time, consumers’ rights will be violated, as they will receive incomplete or manipulating information. The adoption of these amendments will only worsen the situation in the region,” Luiza Doroshenko underlined.
It should be mentioned that these amendments were made during the election campaign for the so-called presidential elections that will take place in the Transnistrian region on December 11, 2016.
