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Media NGOs Condemn Intimidation of RISE Moldova Journalist
A number of media organizations – the Independent Journalism Center (IJC),
the Association of Independent Press (API), Association of Electronic Press (APEL), the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJM), the Press Freedom Committee, the Association of Independent TV Journalists, and Access-Info Center – released a statement condemning the intimidation of RISE Moldova journalist Liuba Sevciuc by the "Sfantul Gheorghe" Charitable Foundation and crowdfunding platform Caritate.md. After RISE posted a teaser video of an investigation into potential scams involving the Foundation on its Facebook page on February 18, the Foundation posted a photo of the journalist on the crowdfunding portal Caritate.md with a mock statement to asking her for help. The statement’s signatories qualified this as intimidation and asked the portal administrators to remove the photo and issue a public apology.
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Inconvenient Newspaper Shut Down in Tiraspol
The publication Profsoyuznye Vesti (Trade Union News) was effectively shut down after authorities the breakaway region of Transnistria prohibited the use of the term “trade union” without the consent of the Federation of Trade Unions. On February 2, the Board of the Federation of Trade Unions voted against granting the newspaper the right to use the term and thus “sealed the fate of the publication,” according to its owner and editor-in-chief, Ludmila Covali. The journalist claims that the decision was a retaliation for not supporting the current authorities in the last election.
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Survey Results: TV Channels Shape Moldovans’ Political Choices
According to a recent survey, Moldovan citizens’ preferences for particular world leaders, as well as the television channels they watch, shape their political choices. Watchdog community experts released a survey entitled “The Influence of the Russian Mass-Media on Moldova’s (Geo-) Political Choices” on February 16. According to the survey, Russian President Vladimir Putin ranked first in the preferences of those who mainly watch Prime, NTV Moldova, and RTR Moldova. German Chancellor Angela Merkel ranked first among those watching Jurnal TV, PRO TV, and TV8. Overall, the study found a clear link between media consumption and political preferences.
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Digital Switchover In the Government Spotlight Once Again
Disadvantaged families who do not have televisions capable of receiving a digital signal will soon be provided with converter boxes, according to a government decision made on February 7. It provides for the establishment of a mechanism for distributing converter boxes to about 72,000 disadvantaged families, amounting to 210,000 individuals. This effort will cost MDL 50 million. In May 2015, the government passed Decision No. 240, which obliged the Ministry of Finance to allocate MDL 100 million in the 2016 budget for converters for disadvantaged families. The government postponed the deadline for the digital switchover to 2020 by the end of 2017.
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Crowdfunding Campaign to Expose Trolls
Civic activists Vlada Ciobanu and Dumitru Alaiba launched a crowdfunding campaign “Adopt a troll” (Adoptă un trol) to encourage trolls to speak out about their employers and how “troll factories” work in Moldova. Campaign organizers seek to inform the public on this practice and how it is managed, compensated, and driven by employers. Those who provide information about their or others' trolling activity will receive rewards from donations collected via crowdfunding through the platform Indiegogo.
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Acting Mayor Silvia Radu’s Complaint against TV8 – Press Council Review
During a meeting on February 14, the Press Council (PC) reviewed a complaint filed by Acting Mayor Silvia Radu against TV8 journalists who produced a report entitled “All Talk and No Action. Ice and Snow Banks in Front of the Gates of Filip, Dodon and Radu.” Radu accused the TV8 camera crew of interviewing her daughter (a minor) during the news report and asked the PC to adjudicate on whether journalistic ethics were violated. Journalist Lilia Zaharia argued before the Council that Prime TV, Publika TV, and Canal 2 quoted her incorrectly and without her consent. After review, the Council found that the journalists had not violated the existing frameworks for journalistic standards and ethics.
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CCA Fines Broadcasters for Failing to Comply with Anti-Propaganda Law
On February 12, the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) fined several television channels, radio stations, and service distributors MDL 5,000 for failing to submit new general concepts of program services as mandated by a BCC decision made on January 15. Only 51 of 60 TV channels and 53 of 55 radio stations submitted general concepts of program services for approval. TV networks TV Gagauzia, VTV, TV RAIN, ART TV, AXIAL TV, MOLDOVA 2, PRUT TV, RTR Moldova, and REN Moldova TV, along with radio stations GRT FM and ART FM, were issued fines. Separately, BCC found that the documents submitted by 15 TV networks and 20 radio stations were incomplete or not in legal compliance. These providers must revise their submission packages and resubmit.
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Parliament Issues Statement Condemning Media Attacks by Russian Networks
In the first plenary meeting of the 2018 spring session on February 8, Parliament of Moldova passed an official statement “condemning the attacks of the Russian Federation against national information security and abusive interference in Moldovan political life.” The multi-party Statement was voted on by representatives of the Democratic Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, and the Popular European Party, as well as independent MPs. The socialists and communists criticized the document and exited the session without voting. In the statement, several MPs expressed “concern over the intensification of attacks against the information security of our country from the Russian Federation launched through TV channels from Moscow and Moldovan media outlets.”
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MPs Extend Deadline for Digital Switchover to March 1, 2020
On February 8, the Parliament approved a draft law extending the deadline for the transition to digital television to March 1, 2020. At the Parliament’s plenary meeting, Vitalie Tarlev, State Secretary for Information Technology and Communications under the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, argued that the Republic of Moldova can broadcast simultaneously in analog and digital formats as long as it does not disrupt broadcasting in neighbor countries. Media experts point out that a number of EU countries completed the transition to terrestrial digital television by 2012 or 2015, and that Moldova is lagging behind.
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Media-M project updates
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IJC Report: Journalists Continue to Selectively Report Facts and Ignore the Right to Reply
An Independent Journalism Center (IJC) media monitoring report - “Elements of Propaganda, Information Manipulation and Violation of Journalism Ethics in the Local Media Space (October 1 – December 31, 2017)” - found frequent omission, labeling, and the blending of fact and opinion within coverage of topics of public interest. The report examined 12 news portals and TV channels between October and December 2017. According to the report, Accent TV and NTV Moldova favored the Party of Socialists while Publika TV, Prime TV, and Canal 2 TV provided almost identical content in favor of the Democratic Party. Jurnal TV tended to selectively cite facts and omitted the right to reply, whereas Sputnik.md completely ignored certain relevant topics.
IJC conducted the monitoring and reporting as a partner in the Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion, and Accountability in Moldova (MEDIA-M) Project, funded by USAID and implemented by Internews.
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IJC Implements Online Workshop on Identifying Visual Manipulation
The Independent Journalism Center released an online workshop entitled “Identifying Fake Photos and Visual Manipulation” in which Olga Iurkova, co-founder of the Kyiv-based organization www.StopFake.org, describes methods for identifying fake images and avoiding visual manipulation. The workshop is divided into six parts that outline processes for identifying the primary source of images, analyzing modifications, and using verification tools. Users can test their skill for identifying fake photos via this practice test.
IJC conducted the workshop as a partner in the Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion, and Accountability in Moldova (MEDIA-M) Project, funded by USAID and implemented by Internews.
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European Café in Balti: Young Professionals and SP Journalists Discuss Media Credibility Issues
Students and young professionals met with SP editorial staff in Balti on 15 February to learn about the newspaper’s work and history. 60 students, volunteers, and local civic activists participated. Veaceslav Perunov, the founder and director of SP, and Ruslan Mihailevschi, the editor-in-chief, described the organization’s development into a successful, independent regional publication and the trust principles it learned along the way. The European Café meetings take place across Moldova as a part of the “Strengthening Independent Media in Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia” project, implemented by the IJC in collaboration with Internews.
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Freedom House received 30 applications for the Media Freedom Matters small advocacy grants competition and is pleased to announce the winners: Newsmaker.md, NGO Prospect, and Sud-Est Junior Association. The grants will support these organizations' efforts to increase public awareness of media freedom issues, including freedom of expression.
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The second brief in Freedom House’s Media Forward policy brief series has been published. Author Mihai Mogildea explores how hate speech and polarized media affected the 2016 presidential election in Moldova.
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On March 13, Internews, Freedom House, and the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation will host the first annual Media Policy Forum in Chisinau. The Forum will bring together independent media, policymakers, civil society, and the international donor community to explore avenues toward a more transparent and accountable ecosystem for media and government in Moldova.
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The Association of Independent Press (API) will hold two sessions of the “Discussion Club” on March 14 in Străşeni and on March 28 in Hânceşti. These meetings are dedicated to journalistic ethics and are held outside of Chisinau so as to broaden access to Moldova’s journalistic community.
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