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Рy05 April 2017
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Moldova has obtained an overall score of 4.93 in the Freedom House “Nations in Transit” report for the year 2017, which was published on Wednesday, April 5, 2017. Thus, our country accumulated a lesser score than in the previous year (4.89), falling behind Ukraine and Georgia, which have a rating of 4.61 points each, but beating other ex-Soviet countries, such as Russia (6.67 points), Belarus (6.61 points), and Armenia (5.39 points).
The study examines the situation in 29 post-Communist countries from Central Europe to Central Asia according to seven main indicators – National Democratic Governance, Local Democratic Governance, Electoral Process, Civil Society, Independent Media, Judicial Framework and Independence, and Corruption – awarding them a score on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 means the best situation, and 7 – the worst.
The Independent Media indicator for Moldova is below the country indicator – 5 points. Ukraine and Georgia have better results in this section, too – 4 points each.
Referring to the situation in the media, the study noted that although this sector remains one of the most influential pillars in the Moldovan society, trust in the media is decreasing. According to the report, it is due to the media concentration in the hands of owners who are politicians. Thus, over 80% of the televisions are owned by politicians or persons that are close to Moldovan political parties.
Among other problems in the media field, the report points to the fact that the current Broadcasting Code is outdated and that it had been modified 64 times in the 10 years since its adoption. In July 2016, the Parliament finally voted in the first reading a new draft code, which, however, needs updating, as it had been developed back in 2011 and has no provisions relating to digitizing, advertising, combating propaganda, etc.
The Freedom House report also refers to the conduct of the media during the campaign for presidential elections, noting that a good portion of the media failed to provide citizens with accurate information. Manipulation and misinformation of the public opinion through television channels owned or controlled by politicians have also influenced the score of 5 points awarded to the media in Moldova.
“Nations in Transit” is a research project of Freedom House concerning democratic developments in 29 former Communist countries from Central Europe to Central Asia. Since 1995, the project presents annually a report on the democratic developments in those countries, based on assessments by national and international experts. The country report for Moldova for the year 2017 was prepared by researcher Victor Gotisan.
The study examines the situation in 29 post-Communist countries from Central Europe to Central Asia according to seven main indicators – National Democratic Governance, Local Democratic Governance, Electoral Process, Civil Society, Independent Media, Judicial Framework and Independence, and Corruption – awarding them a score on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 means the best situation, and 7 – the worst.
The Independent Media indicator for Moldova is below the country indicator – 5 points. Ukraine and Georgia have better results in this section, too – 4 points each.
Referring to the situation in the media, the study noted that although this sector remains one of the most influential pillars in the Moldovan society, trust in the media is decreasing. According to the report, it is due to the media concentration in the hands of owners who are politicians. Thus, over 80% of the televisions are owned by politicians or persons that are close to Moldovan political parties.
Among other problems in the media field, the report points to the fact that the current Broadcasting Code is outdated and that it had been modified 64 times in the 10 years since its adoption. In July 2016, the Parliament finally voted in the first reading a new draft code, which, however, needs updating, as it had been developed back in 2011 and has no provisions relating to digitizing, advertising, combating propaganda, etc.
The Freedom House report also refers to the conduct of the media during the campaign for presidential elections, noting that a good portion of the media failed to provide citizens with accurate information. Manipulation and misinformation of the public opinion through television channels owned or controlled by politicians have also influenced the score of 5 points awarded to the media in Moldova.
“Nations in Transit” is a research project of Freedom House concerning democratic developments in 29 former Communist countries from Central Europe to Central Asia. Since 1995, the project presents annually a report on the democratic developments in those countries, based on assessments by national and international experts. The country report for Moldova for the year 2017 was prepared by researcher Victor Gotisan.
