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Nadine Gogu, Director of the Independent Journalism Center, who moderated this discussion panel, had a critical view on the current situation of the Moldovan media.
‘In 2015, when we first organised the Media Forum, we used the term ‘involution’ to refer to the quality of the Moldovan journalism. Today, three years away, I would say with all boldness that the content quality has degraded’, Nadine Gogu highlighted.
Galina Vasilieva, Editor-in-chief of Newsmaker.md news portal, mentioned that the independent media in the Republic of Moldova finds it very hard to compete with the power-affiliated media. The journalist conventionally divided the media market into three major structures – the first, which belongs to the Democrats, the second, which belongs to the Socialists, and the third – the smallest one – is represented by the independent media.
Vasilieva mentioned that power-affiliated media very quickly presents the information received from the authorities. ‘Although the leader has just announced the increase in pensions and has not yet finished the announcement, the news is already published on the website, the live is streamed and the experts already discuss it. Is it qualitative? Yes, it is. Except I don’t know what this has to do with journalism. It’s rather a way to promote the political agenda’, Vasilieva said.
In his turn, Valeriu Vasilica, Director and Founder of Info-Prim-Neo (IPN) Agency, mentioned that lately it has been increasingly difficult to bring politicians from different factions at the debates organised by IPN. Vasilica argues that his Agency is highly committed to present, in an objective and equidistant way, all the subjects targeted by one or another material. ‘This year, we noticed the first cases when certain persons from political parties no longer accepted to come to our debates’, Vasilica mentioned.
According to Ruslan Mihalevschi, Editor-in-chief of Balti ‘SP’ newspaper, independent media outlets will soon find it very difficult, both during and after parliamentary elections, to deal with the denigration campaigns organised against them by certain political forces. ‘There is a demand from oligarchs to discredit independent information sources. Manipulators aim not only to create a massive stream of fake and propaganda news, but also to reduce the public trust in the independent media’, Mihalevschi said.
The journalist believes that the independent media should strengthen its position in such situations so that its voice can be heard.
Present at the forum, President of the Lithuanian Internet Media Association, Aiste Zilinskiene, was surprised that journalists in Moldova sometimes write both news and commercial articles, a practice that no longer exists in her country. ‘I was startled that the same journalist one day writes an objective report, and another day writes an ordered one. Such things do not happen in our country’, Zilinskiene said.
The Lithuanian journalist said that she is currently helping Moldovan colleagues to develop a new Code of Ethics for Journalists, which will meet the democratic standards and the new challenges in the realm.
In this respect, Viorica Zaharia, President of the Press Council, said that a first version of the Code of Ethics has already been developed and would be sent to journalists for consultation.
