Val Butnaru: “Jurnal TV” Will Not Change its Editorial Policy with the Change of Funder

“Jurnal TV” channel was re-launched on Sunday, March, 5, after nearly two months of downtime. Broadcasting started at 14:00 with a new edition of the show “Cabinetul din Umbră”, moderated by Val Butnaru. The director of the channel announced at the show that the channel will be further funded from a grant of the European Endowment for Democracy.

Asked by “Media Azi” whether there will be any changes in the editorial policy together with change of the funder, Val Butnaru said: “The editorial policy will remain the same, to oppose the government and theft in Moldova. As for the BCC [Broadcasting Coordinating Council] sanctions and accusations that we did political partisanship during the election campaign, we consider them ungrounded. We supported Maia Sandu, a European candidate who promoted European values, and the fact that the BCC penalized us shows that they are anti-European. Relations with the European Endowment for Democracy oblige us to continue defending European values in a more determined manner. Victor Topa is still the final beneficiary, but he no longer funds the channel. We are self-financed.”

The new broadcast schedule includes “Jurnal TV” newscasts, which will be aired at 17:00 and 19:00, and the “Ora Expertizei” show from Monday to Wednesday and on Friday at 20:00. We will also keep such shows as “Cabinetul din Umbră”, “Acasă devreme”, “Veranda” and “Ora de ras”. At the same time, new shows will appear, such as “Popcorn Show”, originally aired by Jurnal FM, and “Dora Show”, hosted by Emilian Cretu.

It should be reminded that “Jurnal TV” was forced to stop working in January, when the “Capital Estate” Ltd. company, owner of the International Business Center “Skytower”, where the channel had been renting offices for nearly seven years, forced it to vacate the premises within 35 days.