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The journalist underlined that in Moldova some media representatives accept to serve politicians, and it impedes journalists to gain strength.
“We have a lot of media obedient to the power, which, instead of being in solidarity with the news media that criticize the government and try to defend the rights of journalists and to promote laws and regulations able to ensure protection to journalists, are on the government’s side, working in politicians’ favor. I know that journalists from the media outlets that serve the power understand that one day they might wake up in the street, limited in their rights, involved in lawsuits, but their voice is not heard at the moment,” says Cornelia Cozonac.
In the context of the International Day of Journalists’ Solidarity, she mentioned the case of journalist Mariana Rata from Anticoruptie.md portal that she leads: “At the beginning of the year, when our colleague Mariana Rata was threatened with a criminal trial related to a material about a former official, some media joined forces and together conducted a campaign trying to show what news stories and other materials in the media would look like if we protect personal data. Then, over 20 information media outlets joined the campaign and disseminated materials with letters XYZ instead of the names of people, institutions and companies referred to in those materials. The media gripped by power did not join the campaign, but they didn’t criticize this action of journalists’ solidarity, either. And this shows that the journalists of those outlets perfectly understand the situation they are in and what can happen to them,” Cozonac noted.
The JICM director considers that in Moldova the situation of the media is getting worse and that the power is trying “to duct-tape them” by different methods: “Access to information of public interest is increasingly limited. It should worry our entire professional community, and journalistic solidarity is very important now,” she added.
According to Cornelia Cozonac, “if journalists were solidary, they could more easily put pressure on authorities.”
From time to time, some journalists raise their voices and appeal to journalistic solidarity, but these appeals are not shared by all their fellow professionals.
One such appeal was launched in the latest issue of the Timpul newspaper by journalist Pavel Paduraru. He reminded of the case of the photojournalist Constantin Grigorita, to whom the guard of President Igor Dodon forbade access to the events organized by the president. Paduraru suggested that journalists go to presidential press conferences but refuse to enter the room without Constantin Grigorita.
“Many hands make light work, and there are a lot of us, praising that we are fighting for justice, so let’s prove it at least once,” Pavel Paduraru urged his fellow professionals.
The International Day of Journalists’ Solidarity was set up in 1958 by the International Organization of Journalists in the memory of the Czech journalist Julius Fučík, executed by the Nazis on September 8, 1943.
