|
|
Monthly Bulletin, January 2021
|
|
|
|
The Journalists’ Crisis Cell, launched by the Center for Independent Journalism to promote transparency and access to information during the pandemic, sent a new request to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection (MHLSP) asking it to continue organizing online press conferences. The Ministry stopped organizing press conferences in September 2020, promising to continue them "in an updated format" "in the next period." In a public statement, signed by 18 NGOs and media institutions, signatories warned MHLSP that in failing to follow up, it is limiting journalists’ ability to inform citizens about issues of major public interest and infringing on their right to information. The statement calls on Tatiana Zatîc, acting Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection, to resume the conferences as soon as possible.
|
|
|
Television viewers with analog signal were left with only two channels in 2021 – Moldova 1 and Primul în Moldova – after TVR Moldova was suspended on January 4. Representatives of the State Radiocommunications Company, which is responsible for TV broadcasting, claim that the Romanian Television Company (SRTV), holder of the broadcasting license for TVR Moldova, had not paid debts it accumulated in 2020. On its website, TVR Moldova argues that it should not owe money for analog broadcasts made since March, when Moldova was meant to switch completely to digital broadcasting: "Regarding the so-called debts that the State Radiocommunications Company claims from SRTV, we consider that in order to support such claims they should be made on a legal basis. The State Radiocommunications Company, in its correspondence with SRTV during 2020, failed to indicate or present the normative act that would give them the possibility to broadcast in analog after March 1, 2020, the deadline for switching to digital television.” The Broadcasting Council (BC) clarified that after this deadline, "the use of analog networks ceased by law," but noted that the government had never issued a decision to halt analog broadcasting by signal after the deadline passed.
|
|
|
The study "Mass Media Barometer - January edition," conducted by Intelligent Data (iData), shows that the most watched TV hosts in Moldova are Natalia Morari (25%), host of "Natalia Morari's Politics" on TV8; Natalia Cheptene (19.73%), host of "Vorbeste Moldova" on Prime TV; Lilu Ojovan (14.54%), presenter of the game show "100 Moldovans Said" on Prime and host of "Good Words with Lilu" on Channel 2; Mariana Rață (9.34%) of "Black Box" on TV8; Emilian Cretu (8.22%), host of "Dora Show" on Jurnal TV, and Angela Gonța (7.75%). In total, respondents named 112 hosts and TV personalities.
The list of most watched shows is led by "Vorbeste Moldova," watched by 28.56% of respondents; "100 Moldovans said" with 17.20%, and "Natalia Morari's Politics" with 10.98%. The most popular stations are Prime TV (37.8%), Moldova 1 (35.3%), Jurnal TV (31.34%), Pro TV (28.21%) and NTV (26.7%). The study was based on 616 responses collected between January 15 and 22. The sampling error is +/- 3.9%.
|
|
|
A study conducted by the Bureau of Auditing of Publishing and the Internet (BATI), finds that last year about 1.13 million Moldovans used a computer daily to surf the Internet, and 1.5 million went online using a mobile device. Most Internet users - 608,000 people – used the web to browse the news, 75 percent of them on their mobile phones. Other areas of interest were information about studies, personal development, culinary topics, health, and culture. According to the data, 41% of Internet users in Moldova (both computer and mobile) are people aged between 15 and 30, followed by 31-50 year-olds (37%). Those over 51 surf less (20%). BATI is a non-profit media and advertising industry organization composed of print and online publishers and advertising agencies. The site traffic and audience measurement study was conducted by the Polish research agency Gemius.
|
|
|
According to a report of the National Agency for Regulation in Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI), in the third quarter of 2020 the total volume of revenues from paid TV services increased by about a quarter compared to the same period in 2019, amounting to 45.5 million lei (2.2 million euros). However, it decreased from first two quarters of 2020, when total revenues were estimated at about 45.6 million lei (first quarter) and 45.7 million lei (second quarter). During the reporting period, the largest market shares were held by Moldtelecom - 35%, TV-Box - 33.2%, and Orange Moldova - 5.5%, with all other companies cumulatively taking 26.3%. In total, at the end of the third quarter of 2020, the number of subscribers to paid TV services amounted to over 351 thousand customers, increasing by 4.7%.
|
|
|
The Russian-language weekly SP Bălți has returned to print, one year after the newspaper temporarily stopped publishing for financial reasons. In addition, the editorial staff of the regional publication intends to launch a Romanian version of the news portal in February. The director of the publication, Veaceslav Perunov, told Media Azi that the return to paper format is dictated by the need to inform the elderly, who are not used to or do not have the skills to surf the Internet. According to him, the newspaper will appear in only 12 pages, in black and white. The financial resources for publishing and publishing the newspaper were obtained from a grant from the European Endowment for Democracy.
|
|
|
|
A new general-format television channel, called TV Plus, received a license from the Broadcasting Council (BC). The company that holds the broadcasting license for the channel, TV Entertainment Plus, was registered a month ago. Administrator and founder of TV Entertainment Plus Alexandr Furmanov told members of the Council that the new channel corresponds to viewers’ current needs. "A basic theme of TV Plus is the reflection of social and economic life in the Republic of Moldova, a combination of informative-analytical and entertaining programs," said Furmanov.
|
|
|
At its January 29 meeting, the Broadcasting Council (BC) appointed academician Victor Borsevici, civic activist Dumitru Roibu, and entrepreneur Alexandr Verșinin as new members of Teleradio-Moldova’s (TRM) Supervisory Council (SC), bringing the SC up to full strength. Five people participated in the contest. All the members of the BC (9 people) voted for Victor Borșevici and Dumitru Roibu, while seven voted for Alexandr Verșinin. Former deputy Nae-Simion Pleşca did not win any votes, and Nicolae Scorpan was supported by two members. The three new members of the SC were appointed for a term of six years.
|
|
Journalist and communicator Sorina Stefarta was named spokesperson for President Maia Sandu in a January 11 decree. Stefarta graduated from the Faculty of Journalism and Communication at the State University of Moldova in 1995, after which she also graduated from the National School of Political and Administrative Studies in Bucharest in 1998. She started her career as a reporter in the publication Flux, was editor-in-chief of the daily Timpul and editor at Ziarul Național. At the same time, as part of a project of the Independent Press Association, she edited European Objective. In recent years, the journalist had been a communications consultant at the State Chancellery in the Leanca Government, then held the position of director of the School of Advanced Studies in Journalism, a project of the Center for Independent Journalism.
|
|
In a January 14 decision, the Constitutional Court (CC) rejected an appeal by the Lawyers for Human Rights Association regarding some articles of the Law on Access to Information. The Court was notified in the context of a dispute between the non-governmental organization and the State Tax Service, which two years ago refused to provide data on the beneficiaries of a law on voluntary declaration and tax incentives, known as the "tax amnesty law." This was the second time this matter came to the attention of the Court. Initially, during substantive examination, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional a provision that limited the entities which could have access to the data, indicating that the media and the general public should have access to information regarding the beneficiaries of the "tax amnesty." In its second judgment on January 14, the Court partially reversed this decision to take into account privacy restrictions, ruling that “in examining cases concerning access to information relating to the enforcement of the Law on Voluntary Declaration and Tax Incentives, the State Tax Service and, where appropriate, the courts will balance competing rights - versus privacy - given the contribution of the requested information to the public interest; the degree of notoriety of the person / persons affected by the requested information; the content, form and consequences of the publication of the information; and other criteria relevant to the case they are examining.”
|
|
|
Experts and journalists have expressed their views on the risks of possible legal regulation of online media. According to them, it is best for this field to be regulated by internal ethical rules, and not by legislation. This was discussed by the participants in the debate "Online media in elections: post-election reflections," organized by the Association of Independent Press (API). API representative Petru Macovei argued that more and more politicians could be "guided by the thought of amending the legislation" in order to "tighten the rules of operation of websites." "Politicians, especially those from Moldova, are great masters at inventing all kinds of additional regulations, more than at offering freedoms and rights. They are ready to restrict existing ones as well," said Macovei. Note that in March 2020, shortly after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Intelligence and Security Service announced that it had blocked dozens of anonymous sites for spreading false information about COVID-19. In addition, the Ministry of Justice announced last year its intentions to draft a law by which the authorities could counteract the dissemination of false information that would affect national security. So far, however, the draft has not been presented to the public.
|
|
| The Broadcasting Council (BC) fined RTR Moldova and ITV 10,000 lei (500 euros) each and Bravo TV 15,000 lei (750 euros) for non-compliance with the obligation to broadcast feature films for children with dubbing or Romanian subtitles. The monitoring which resulted in these fines was carried out at the request of the Employers' Association of Broadcasters, and in one case, by self-notification by board member Iulian Roșca. The subject was discussed during the BC’s January 28 public meeting, and the fines were applied after monitoring of the three stations found a violation of the provisions of the Audiovisual Media Services Code requiring Romanian dubbing of feature films, documentaries and children's media products. The members of the BC obliged the three television stations to present a report within 30 days from the date of the decision on the measures taken to remedy the problem. |
|
More and more newsrooms in Moldova report that they are facing a crisis of journalists and are always looking for new employees. Do we have solutions for this crisis? What could newsrooms do to attract good journalists to their teams? In a new edition of Media Azi, Corina Cepoi, director of the Internews office in Moldova, an organization that has been providing support to independent media in Moldova for several years, offers some solutions that media managers could take into account. |
|
|
The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) has designated 11 media institutions to enter the second stage of the small grant competition carried out within the project "Understanding the audience through digital assistance," implemented by IJC with the support of Internews and funded by Sweden. In total, 16 media institutions participated in the contest. After evaluating all the applications, the jury selected 11 national and regional media institutions to enter the second stage. The applications were assessed considering the original character of the project, the degree of knowledge of the target audience and its needs, the use of modern technologies for content distribution, and plans online monetization. The winners of the first stage of the contest are: Vmeste.md, Gagauzinfo.md, Media TV Cimișlia, Cu Sens, Agrobiznes, Ziarul Nostru, BAS TV, ER News, AgroTV, Suntparinte.md, and Zugo.md.
In the second stage, the 11 finalists will send detailed project proposals regarding increasing their online audience and present a budget for these activities. The jury will select four winners, which will become media partners of the project and obtain grants worth 5,000 euros for the implementation of their initiatives across six months (March 1 - August 31).
The jury included: Corina Cepoi, Internews in Moldova, Viorica Zaharia, President of the Press Council, Dona Scola, co-founder of Generator Hub, and Mariana Tabuncic, program manager, IJC
|
|
Online Media Education Lessons Held for Students from Three Russian-Language Schools
|
|
|
In the last week of January, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) organized three online media education lessons for students studying in Russian-language schools, in which students were introduced to the basics of the Media Education elective course. The three lessons were led by journalist Dumitru Stoianov and IJC representatives. The activities were carried out by the IJC in partnership with Internews in Moldova.
|
|
|
On Tuesday, January 26, 11th grade students from the “Mihai Eminescu” High School in Otaci, Ocnița district, were acquainted with general notions of media education. Participants in the online lesson learned why it is important to critically analyze information from the press or on social networks, and how to use the Internet to get information without falling prey to manipulation or misinformation. Moderator Dumitru Stoianov discussed information technologies, which are developing rapidly and producing great transformations in all areas, and noted that schools should not lag behind. He gave examples of this and urged students to take the elective Media Education course. Mariana Tabuncic, IJC program manager, informed students that in January the IJC resumed organizing media education lessons in Russian-language educational institutions and expressed hope that the online format would continue to bring students closer to the media education.
|
|
On January 27, a group of 22 students from grades 7,8, and 9 from the Russian-language "Dimitrie Cantemir" school in Semionovca village, Stefan Voda district participated in a media education lesson for the first time. During the lesson, journalist Dumitru Stoianov and IJC representative Victoria Tataru gave the students general information about the concept of media education and how it can help them develop their critical thinking. Stoianov urged students to get information from several sources, because only in this way can they develop their critical thinking. IJC representatives recommended students access the Media Education Platform, where they can find various teaching materials, audiovisuals, games, and quizzes, which can be used both for the elective course and for other school subjects. The lesson was organized with the help of Valentina Proscurchina, a primary school teacher from the "Dimitrie Cantemir" school, who received IJC training in the field of media education last autumn.
|
|
|
In the 2020-2021 academic year, 11 students from the 4th grade and 14 students from the 7th grade at the Russian-language school in Slobozia-Chiscareni, Sangerei district chose to study Media Education elective. 16 students from the 8th grade were also interested in the new course. On January 27, they participated in an online media education lesson. Journalist Dumitru Stoianov analyzed several key notions that define the concept of media education with the students. He encouraged them to always ask questions while watching TV, reading newspapers, listening to the radio, or surfing the Internet. "Creativity, critical thinking and digital literacy will help you have a complex view of the world around you," Stoianov said.
|
|
|
Internews in Moldova is planning to award several small Media Information Gaps Grants (MIGGs) to support worthy and creative media literacy pilot projects and nascent initiatives through a competition open to independent media outlets, CSOs, civic activists, journalists, bloggers, vloggers, influencers, and others who could benefit from professional guidance and financial support to flesh out their ideas. The support will be awarded for programs, campaigns, events (online or in-person, respecting pandemic restrictions) in areas outside the capital city that support media literacy and consumption of quality media. Examples of potential initiatives include support of youth media literacy projects through mini-grants, engagement of young people through citizen journalism competitions, hosting of events to convene teachers and media literacy professionals to discuss opportunities and challenges of integrating media education in schools, and the development of mobile media literacy advertising campaigns that target rural areas. More details can be found HERE.
|
|
|
Ro
En
Рy
