NCPDP Responds to a Statement by Media NGOs

As reported before, several media NGOs publicly appealed to the Speaker of the Parliament, Andrian Candu, stating that the new draft data protection law prepared by the National Center for Personal Data Protection (NCPDP) would encumber journalists’ access to data of public interest. As a consequence NCPDP held a meeting on December 3 and invited representatives of civil society and experts on data protection to discuss concerns regarding the draft law. The signatories of the appeal reiterated their position that the proposed piece of legislation fails to take into account the laws on access to information and freedom of expression. After hearing several opinions, including that the new law could entail more references to laws promoting access to information, the NCPDP representatives agreed to review the possibility to amend the proposed draft law. 

Journalists Complain that Authorities Limit Their Access to Information

Participants of the Media Forum 2018 discussed issues related to access to information. Several journalists presented their experience within the panel “Access to Information and Transparency of Public Institutions: One Thing on Paper, Another One in Fact?” moderated by the director of Ziarul de Garda, Alina Radu. The inability to obtain information of public interest on time was presented as one of the biggest issues. The authorities tend to treat the requests for information of journalists as petitions and according to the Law on Petition, answers can be given within 30 days, not within two weeks, as provided by the Law on Access to Information. Also, many officials do not take into account journalists’ requests sent by email if they do not contain a specific electronic signature.

Media Expert Warns that Radio and TV Stations Might Encounter Issues in the Pre-election period

The Executive Director of the Electronic Press Association, Ion Bunduchi, has drawn attention to several issues connected with the Concept of How the Media Is to Cover the Election Campaigns adopted by the Broadcasting Coordination Council. Parliamentary elections in Moldova, scheduled for February 24, will be conducted based on a mixed system. In this context, local television and radio stations might encounter difficulties in organizing electoral debates in constituencies, while the public television will have problems related to free airtime for each electoral contender.

PRIME TV Has Not Violated Rights of the Child in a Talk Show

On December 18 the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) reviewed a complaint filed by the National Centre for Child Abuse Prevention (NCCAP) highlighting severe violations in “Vorbeste Moldova” talk show aired on PRIME TV. The show discussed the problem of teenage pregnancy by telling the story of a particular underage girl. According to the NCCAP the show caused severe damage to the girl and did not protect her identity properly. The Centre requested PRIME TV to delete the show from YouTube and other platforms and asked the BCC to warn or sanction the channel for having violated the principles of how underage victims are to be portrayed. The channel declined the allegations pointing to the involvement of a psychologist in the filming process and to other steps taken to ensure the girl’s wellbeing and anonymity.
Most BCC members considered that the TV channel complied with the child protection rules in the said show, therefore no penalties were applied against it. However, BCC member Olga Gututui added that besides legal rules there are also moral ones, which media institutions have to take into account when tackling sensitive topics.

A New Television on the Horizon: BCC Issues a Broadcasting License for ORIZONT TV

On December 18 the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) approved unanimously a broadcasting license for a new TV channel -ORIZONT TV. The channel is managed by ARHIDOC GROUP EAL, a company registered two weeks ago. According to the representatives of the new TV channel, it will broadcast educational shows for children. The founders also assured that the TV channel will not be involved in the election campaigns that will soon start and that ORIZONT TV will be an apolitical channel in general.

Journalist Natalia Morari Received the “Pavel Sheremet” International Award

On December 11 in Tbilisi the Moldovan journalist Natalia Morari received the “Pavel Sheremet” International Award for her efforts in developing the TV8 channel. The “Pavel Sheremet” award is conferred by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum and honors courage in journalism and remarkable achievements in promoting media freedom in the region of Eastern Europe. It was established in honor of the Ukrainian investigative journalist Pavel Sheremet who was killed in 2016.

New National Survey on Media Audience by IJC

Independent Journalism Center (IJC) commissioned a new National Survey on Media Audience. Among other things it concluded that television channels are still the most used sources of information, followed by social networks which are being accessed more often than news or specialized websites. The use of radio stations is more infrequent and takes place mainly in the first half of the day. Newspapers are consumed more than magazines.
The survey was conducted between October 17 and November 11, 2018 by Magenta Consulting sociological company and with the financial support of the Embassy of Sweden. The survey aggregated data on TV and radio channels and written and online media both at urban and rural levels.

Public Opinion Barometer: Most Moldovans Are Watching PRIME TV or Using Facebook

According to the Public Opinion Barometer 2018, presented by the Institute for Public Policy, the number of internet users has grown significantly over the past 9 years – from about 22% in 2009 to about 60% in 2018. Facebook is the most popular online website, followed by Odnoklasniki. However, internet ranks second as a source of information, being used on a daily basis by 47.1% respondents. The Barometer, similarly as the National Survey on Media Audience by IJC, names television as the main source of information for most of the citizens – 64.3% watch TV daily and for 70.7% it is the most important source of information. The most popular TV channel, watched by 58.7% respondents, is PRIME, which is a part of the leader’s of the Democratic Party, Vladimir Plahotniuc’s, media holding. The public TV channel Moldova 1 is second with 35.3%.

Media Legislation

Heavily Criticized Draft Law on Data Protection approved in the First Reading

The Parliament approved in the first reading the new draft Law on Personal Data Protection which was previously criticized by the civil society because it would contradict the Law on Freedom of Expression and the Law on Access to Information. Media NGOs also expressed concern that some parts of the draft law will make it harder for journalists to access personal data of public interest. The Speaker of the Parliament, Andrian Candu, acknowledged that he has heard concerns about certain provisions of the draft law from both - the civil society and the EU Delegation in Moldova - indicating that they do not fully comply with the EU legislation. To address these comments he said that the draft law will be publicly debated and only adopted in the final reading by the future Parliament.

The Parliament Postponed the Review of the Draft Advertising Law

The Parliament’s Committee for Economy, Budget and Finance postponed review of the draft Law on Advertising in the second reading, although the importance of this document was emphasized by the European Parliament’s recent Resolution on Implementation of the EU Association Agreement with Moldova. According to the Head of the Committee, Stefan Creanga, MPs could not reach a consensus and there had not been enough votes to support the document. He stated that it will be for the next Parliament to review this draft.  
However, media expert Eugeniu Ribca, one of the draft law authors, suspects that this delay is actually an attempt to remove certain provisions strengthening the advertising sector’s transparency.

The CoE Representative Urges Moldovan Authorities to Pass the Laws on Advertising and Access to Information

The legislation on advertising and access to information “is an important part of law that has been postponed, but postponement is not an option. You cannot postpone the future,” Silvia Grundmann, the media representative of the Council of Europe, said at the Concluding Conference of the Joint Project of the European Union and Council of Europe “Promoting media freedom and pluralism in the Republic of Moldova”. Peter Michalco, the Head of the EU Delegation in Chisinau also echoed her opinion. The event took place on December 14 in Chisinau and brought together representatives of the European organizations, MPs and media experts.

The New BCC Members Approved by the Parliament are Former Employees of the Institution

The three new members of the Broadcasting Coordination Council, (BCC) - former Chair of the BCC, who was an employee of the institution even before the fall of the communist regime, and current democratic MP, Corneliu Mihalache, the Deputy Head of BCC’s General Division for Licensing, Authorization, and Monitoring, Lidia Viziru; and the Head of BCC’s Legal and Regulation Department, Iulian Rosca - were approved as members of the BCC by the majority (55 votes) of the Parliament on December 14. The three new members will fill vacancies at BCC after the mandates of Iurie Colesnic, Cristina Duca and Olga Barbalata mandates expired on November 16. The members of the BCC are appointed by Parliament’s decision for a six-year term.

Media-M Project Updates

Internews in continues its activities related to the first National Geographic Photo

Camp organized in Moldova. We are talking about a series of travelling exhibitions around the country, which includes a part of the participants’ works. In December, America House and State University from Tiraspol hosted the exhibition.
In April 2018, Soroca hosted the first National Geographic Photo Camp in Moldova, organized by Internews in partnership with the National Geographic Society. Twenty young people, aged 18-25, from different districts of the country and different ethnicities learned from some of the best international photographers how to create visual stories and translate reality into quality images, how to become "voices" in their communities and combat stereotyping and discrimination through photography. They have experimented with various techniques of creating photographic stories, and opened a window in the world of an often stigmatized community in which Roma, Romanians /Moldovans, Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Armenians, live together. For one week, the participants focused their cameras on tolerance and solidarity, and they spoke the same language - of the photography. The participants created about 30,000 visual stories, some of which are presented in these exhibitions. The National Geographic Camps and Exhibitions are organized within the framework of the "Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova" project implemented by Internews with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

New Joint Project on Multimedia Reporting and Exchange of Materials by IJC and Internews

The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and Internews together launched a project on multimedia news production and regional content exchange “Strengthening Independent Media in Europe and Eurasia”. As part of this project IJC will provide grants and editorial support to national and local media partners to produce and exchange multimedia news stories in Moldova and to diversify the content of their websites to better engage with the audience. The project will also support production of regional stories and exchange, highlighting common events and issues that are affecting Moldova and other countries in the Balkans and Eurasia. The aim of the project is to increase citizens' access to reliable information about local, regional and international issues of public importance in the region.

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