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The 2017 U.S State Department Report on Human Rights Practices contains a number of critical findings as to the media sector in Moldova. According to the report, “Pressure on independent media continued during the year, and a number of investigative journalists reported being intimidated and harassed after publishing investigative articles on political figures.” The report also cited two press freedom violations: Moldovan President Igor Dodon prevented photojournalist Constantin Grigorita from attending a press conference despite Grigorita’s possession of proper credentials, while investigative journalist Mariana Rata was accused of illegally using personal data by a former police commissioner in Chisinau.
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Moldova has maintained its previous score of 4.93 in Freedom House’s 2018 Nations in Transit report. The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level of democratic progress and 7 the lowest. Moldova was also assessed its previous score of 5 in the independent media category. Media concentration, gaps in the legislative framework, media manipulation and disinformation, and the ongoing monopolization of the advertising market contributed to the negative assessment.
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A television broadcaster affiliated with the ruling Democratic Party (PDM) has opened a local studio in the town of Nisporeni for the Canal 2 TV channel, which previously belonged to PDM President Vladimir Plahotniuc and currently belongs to his political advisor, Oleg Cristal. Media experts believe that this office was opened to provide informational support and promote the Democratic nominee for the upcoming parliamentary elections, where 51 MPs will be elected from single-member constituencies.
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In a presentation demonstrating the functionality of a planned sports arena, Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu used a video taken from the internet without attributing the source. Ziarul de Garda (ZdG) contacted the representatives of a French company that owns the material. ZdG reports that the company had not been contacted for permission to use the video. After the story was published, Speaker Candu accused the Ziarul de Garda journalists of manipulation. Media-azi.md asked Press Council (PC) President Viorica Zaharia to comment on the case, and Zaharia remarked that ZdG’s approach was consistent with ethical norms and standards. The PC President described the situation as “an attempt to undermine the credibility and authority of a newspaper.”
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Ombudsperson Maia Banarescu shares the concerns of Press Council members regarding the usage of images of children for political purposes in the media, arguing that this tactic violates children’s rights to privacy and dignity. The Ombudsperson calls for political parties, public authorities, and parents to refrain from publicly exposing children for personal gain. Earlier, the Press Council called on the People’s Advocate to speak out against tactics used on the eve of the Orthodox Easter, when several politicians and political operatives distributed images of them giving gifts to low-income families, including children.
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In April 2016, RISE Moldova journalists submitted an information request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding 10 individuals wanted nationally or internationally for criminal behavior. The Ministry of Internal Affairs refused to provide the requested data, and RISE decided to bring a case in court to defend its right of access to information. On March 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) ruled in favor of RISE, recognizing the right of journalists to request and receive such information. The SCJ resolution is irreversible.
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After RISE Moldova published its “Money from Charity” investigation featuring the Caritate.md platform and the MedicalPark Clinic in Turkey, the clinic’s representatives invited a number of other Moldovan journalists to Turkey (at the clinic’s expense) to discuss the clinic’s views on the matter. RISE Moldova was not invited, and ZdG and PRO TV Chisinau declined to attend out of ethical concerns. The Press Council of Moldova reviewed the situation and determined that the journalists who did participate in the trip to Turkey violated the Code of Ethics by accepting gifts. The trip to Turkey did not add any substantive journalistic value, and the journalists had not sought to visit with the clinic prior to being offered a subsidized trip.
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The People’s Assembly of Comrat elected new members of the Council of Observers (CO) of the “Teleradio Gagauzia” Public Regional Company (GRT). Several MPs left the room during the process, deeming the decision illegal since the previous CO members, who were dismissed by the PA, have appealed their dismissal in court and are awaiting a hearing. According to experts, the dismissals and new appointments of CO members represents an internal power struggle between political actors, including the Governor of Gagauzia, Irina Vlah, and MP Nicolae Dudoglo, who seek to leverage the GRT for political purposes. |
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On April 24, the Audiovisual Coordination Council (CCA) unanimously approved a broadcasting license for TVN, a TV station that will operate in Balti. TVN representative Viorica Bugulean explained that the network will cover events in Moldova’s eleven northern districts. Bugulean added that the station will not be politically affiliated, as some local business entities have already expressed interest in supporting the station. TVN will broadcast its own informational and analytical programs, newscasts in Romanian and Russian, and a daily talk show.
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Parliament passed the draft Code of Audiovisual Media Services on April 20. In the same session, the deputies approved a draft law on the National Media Development Concept of the Republic of Moldova. The new Code of Audiovisual Media Services contains several provisions applied from European media regulations. According to the MPs, the adoption of European standards will guarantee editorial independence and informational pluralism. The draft Code of Audiovisual Media Services will be delivered to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Council of Europe, and European Union for review.
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On April 6, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) published a study entitled Evaluation of the Regulatory and Self-Regulatory Legal Framework for Mass Media in the Republic of Moldova. The report recommends repealing the Press Law and the Law on Countering Extremist Activity, along with a review of other legislation, including laws on freedom of expression, personal data privacy, advertising, and access to information. The researchers assessed Moldova’s media legislation and other documents in relation to European media laws and standards.
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Between January and March 2018, IJC monitored TV stations Publika TV, Prime TV, Canal 2, Canal 3, Moldova 1, Jurnal TV, Accent TV, RTR Moldova, and NTV Moldova along with the internet portals Noi.md, Sputnik.md and Deschide.md. IJC published the findings of the monitoring project in a report entitled Elements of Propaganda, Information Manipulation, and Ethics Violations in Local Media. The authors found several Moldovan media outlets biased toward political parties, and some outlets leveraged manipulative techniques including labelling, generalization, dissemination of false information, and ingroup-outgroup style reporting. The IJC produced the monitoring report as a partner of the “Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova” (MEDIA-M) project, funded by USAID and implemented by Internews.
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On March 12, The WatchDog Association reported a Prime TV rebroadcast of a 2-hour address by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the CCA. The speech, which contained political-military content, was originally broadcast by Russian TV network Channel One. The CCA members found that Prime TV violated an amendment to the Broadcasting Code known as the “Anti-Propaganda Law,” which prohibits political-military content produced outside of the EU, USA, Canada, or countries that have ratified the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. The CCA imposed the maximum fine of MDL 70,000 (€3,474) against the network. PDM leader Vladimir Plahotniuc owns Prime TV.
The Audiovisual Coordination Council (CCA) issued a fine of MDL 5,000 (€248) to the Ren Moldova television station for broadcasting incomprehensible sign language translations. The sanction was imposed after the Moldovan Deaf Association monitored, at the request of the CCA, several newscasts and concluded that “None of the sign language experts managed to translate what the ‘interpreter’ on TV was conveying.” As many as 5,000 people with hearing deficiencies live in the Republic of Moldova, and there are only 17 specialists licensed in this field.
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In partnership with the National Geographic Society, Internews held a five-day photo camp for 20 young adults in Soroca from April 16-20. The photo camp’s location, with its high proportion of Roma community members, Ukrainians, Russians, and other individuals, provides a window into the life of different groups living together. The camp built understanding and empathy through up-close interaction and sharing of human moments on camera. Young adults from around the country and from different ethnic backgrounds convened to share stories and break down stereotypes. The 20 participants were selected from 279 applications and were instructed by five National Geographic photographers with considerable experience in international photojournalism: Matt Moyer, Dominic Bracco, Ayigan Tonato Peterson, Elfadl Jessica Marie, and Erika Larsen.
Before the camp, Matt Moyer presented to an audience of nearly 200 people at Tekwill on April 14. He described his experience, locations in which he has worked, the production process, and the opportunities associated with visual storytelling. At the end of the camp, Internews donated all cameras to the participants to continue making visual stories. To broaden the impact of this opportunity, which has not previously been available in Moldova, the participants will organize follow-up activities in their communities or educational institutions to share their experience. Each participant learned to speak one language: that of the visual story. Regional newspaper Observatorul de Nord provided visual account of the event.
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The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) has launched an online platform for media education as part of the Mediacritica.md portal, which is dedicated to the students, parents, and teachers of the Republic of Moldova. The platform features four categories and several sub-categories, and a Russian translation of the material is currently under development.
IJC was the first media organization to conduct media education activities, beginning in 2014. Media education lessons in about 100 Moldovan schools, summer camps, and a media hackathon soon followed. Beginning in September 2017, the optional “Media Education” course was piloted in nearly 30 schools. This online platform was created by the IJC as a partner of the “Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova” (MEDIA-M) project, funded by USAID and implemented by Internews.
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The IJC has launched the “Fake or Fact?” online workshop to support journalists and media consumers. The workshop helps participants understand how to check facts and fight fake news, a phenomenon that has emerged alongside the development of social media. The workshop is supported by the Lithuanian media education expert Solvita Denisa-Liepniece, who will present online tools and platforms that can be used to identify fake information.
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Freedom House has published the fourth policy brief in the Media Forward series on the MEDIA-M program page. Author Danu Marin, research fellow at the Foreign Policy Association (APE) of Moldova, describes how to combat disinformation in Moldova using emergency management principles and examples from Georgia and Ukraine.
On April 11, Freedom House released the 2018 Nations in Transit report, which identifies and compares trends of illiberalism across Central Europe and Eurasia, including in Moldova. The report emphasizes the pivotal role of media amid increasing manipulation and politicization of information sources across the region.
Following a comprehensive needs assessment, Freedom House has begun providing technical assistance to the Press Council of Moldova by arranging tailored consultations with international experts. On April 19, members of the Press Council met with Aistė Žilinskienė, President of the Lithuanian Online Media Association, and Vytis Jurkonis, Freedom House Project Director in Vilnius, for a workshop on enhancing the visibility and role of the Press Council in upholding journalistic integrity in Moldova.
On April 22-26, Freedom House and Internews organized an exchange visit to Latvia and Lithuania for representatives from the Moldovan journalistic community, including the Youth Media Center (CMT), Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJM), Association of Independent Press (API), Press Council of Moldova, Association of Independent TV Journalists (ATVJI), Independent Journalism Center (IJC), Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), and RISE Moldova. Participants met with leaders from local media outlets, media self-regulation organizations, and research centers to explore best practices for upholding quality journalism and protecting freedom of the press in Moldova.
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Between April 20–22, 18 teachers from across Moldova attended IJC’s fourth teacher training seminar. Loretta Handrabura, Doctor of Philology and associate professor at Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University, and Natalia Griu, senior advisor at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, led the course. The training program was based on the Education for Media curriculum, approved by the Ministry of Education, and on additional materials used to create the pilot program in schools.
The activity was organized by the Independent Journalism Center with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency through the Swedish Embassy in Chisinau.
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IJC director Nadine Gogu, Development Partnership Center consultant Alina Andronache, and diez.md portal founder Alex Lebedev convened for the 70th edition of the Media Azi talk show to discuss the image of women in the press and how to fight traditionalistic and sexist prejudices.
In the 71st episode, journalist Nicolae Negru hosted Sergiu Bozianu, expert on personal data privacy. Bozianu described the concept of personal data and the degree of data confidentiality applicable to civil servants.
The theme of the 72nd episode was “hidden advertising – in whose interest?” Journalist Anastasia Nani and her guests – Viorica Zaharia, President of the Press Council of Moldova, and Eugen Ribca, Director of the MoldStreet portal – explored the following questions: who seeks to make readers misinterpret advertisements for journalistic material, and what does the law say about hidden or misleading advertising?
Journalist Vladimir Thorik hosted the 73rd episode of Media Azi. He and his guest, the head of the Circulations and Internet Audit Office (BATI), Stanislav Popov, discussed the data reviewed by BATI and the use of cases for these data.
The broadcast was produced with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency through the Embassy of Sweden in Chisinau.
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