TRM Supervisory Board took notice of the IJC Report on the Monitoring of Moldova 1 channel

The IJC report was supposed to be examined by SB during the meeting of 22 April. However, the Board members postponed the discussion of the document until 6 May, invoking among other things, that the TV channel management needs time to study it. According to the SB decision, the monitoring report was sent to TRM management ‘for them to take a reasoned position’. Also, the author of the study, media researcher Victor Gotisan, is going to be invited to the meeting. The decision also says that the Board members will monitor the Moldova 1 newscast ‘Mesager’ between 9 and 15 March.

The IJC monitoring report shows that, between 9 and 15 March, Moldova 1 largely adjusted its news content to the Government's agenda, the central public authorities being the ones most frequently mentioned and quoted in the news. Another document’s conclusion refers to the fact that President Igor Dodon was presented in a positive light in almost all the news, while the Socialist Party was favored to a larger extent in comparison with the opposition parties.

The report shows that in about half of the news of the most significant newscast of the day, the sources cited were the central authorities or state institutions: the Presidency, the Government and the Parliament. At the same time, Prime Minister Ion Chicu, President Igor Dodon, Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection, Viorica Dumbraveanu, Speaker Zinaida Greceanii, and Mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban enjoyed the largest news presence.

Among the political stakeholders, the Socialist Party and its representatives were favored by direct quotes, by being presented as sources in many news, as well as by the way in which this news was prioritized in the newscasts and by presenting in a more positive light the PSRM, the party’s initiatives and its representatives.