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Monthly Bulletin, July 2021
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Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, MP from the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) and former Education and Research adviser to the head of state, was elected as chair of the Parliament's Committee on Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sports and Media. A majority of MPs approved the decision on July 29.
The Media Commission will consist of 12 members. The Vice-Presidents of the Commission will be Adela Raileanu from the Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BECS) and Virgiliu Paslariuc from PAS. The Secretary of the Commission will be Marcela Adam (PAS). The commission also will include four PAS MPs (Maria Gonța, Marcela Nistor, Larisa Novac, Eugeniu Sinchevici), three BECS MPs (Elena Beleacova, Diana Caraman, Svetlana Capatina), and one Sor Party MP (Petru Jardan). Thus, PAS will have seven members in the Commission, BECS four members, and the Sor Party one member. |
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The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CFFE), the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, and media non-governmental organizations (NGO) have criticized the Broadcasting Council's (BC) administrative malpractice during the election campaign for the July snap parliamentary elections. More than 50 civil society organizations in a public appeal expressed their perplexity about the BC’s unjustified and inexplicable decision not to sanction providers for violating the law. The signatories emphasized that the current legislation allows for the supervision and oversight of law enforcement by broadcasters and reminded the BC that it is the guarantor of the public interest in the audiovisual sector. The signatories asked the members of the BC to prioritize the public interest by delivering correct and objective information to the population. Signatories included the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), the Electronic Press Association, the Independent Press Association, the “Access-Info” Center, the Center of Investigative Journalism (CIJM), RISE Moldova, the “ADEPT” Association for Participatory Democracy, the CONTACT Center, the Promo-LEX Association, Transparency International -Moldova (TI-Moldova), Amnesty International Moldova, the Institute of Public Policy (IPP), Expert Group, IDIS "Viitorul," and other organizations.
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In its reply to the public appeal signed by more than 50 civil society organizations, the BC claimed that it “truly honors its obligation to protect the public interest in the broadcasting sphere in order to provide correct and objective information for the population.” The BC further noted, “According to the Code of Audiovisual Media Services, each member’s vote at the public meeting on June 30, 2021, was accompanied by arguments and statements that the collegiate authority considers and cannot oppose. The Broadcasting Council is not a threat to media service providers, and according to the provisions of this Code, the sanctions shall be applied individually depending on the gravity of a specific breach and its effects.” The BC also repeated that it is an independent institution promoting transparent policies, that “it will not admit any sort of involvement in political and economic games,” and that it “will not tolerate attacks against the independence and autonomy of the institution and its members.”
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Nine media NGOs, including the IJC, condemned the aggressive treatment of Nordnews journalists by candidate for MP Alexandr Nesterovschi and members of the PSRM youth guard. On July 7, Nesterovschi and the Youth Guard members formed a wall blocking the entrance to the building where PSRM President Igor Dodon met with voters in Balti. This restricted access to the event and made reporters the target of physical aggression. The media NGOs described these actions as unacceptable, stressing that they contravene both the generally accepted rules of conduct in a democratic society and the provisions of existing legislation. "Restricting the rights of journalists by preventing access to events of public interest is incompatible with both national law and international standards on freedom of the press," noted the nine NGOs in a statement. These watchdogs requested Moldovan law enforcement agencies to initiate appropriate legal procedures against the aggressors.
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On June 17, 2021, the TUK.md portal invited Taraclia Mayor Veaceslav Lupov to debates it organized on the transparency of public authorities. TUK.md’s editorial office stated that Lupov did not respond to the invitation, yet still arrived in the middle of the debate. During a live social media broadcast, Lupov launched a series of defamatory statements against the outlet, accusing the TUK.md editorial office of not allowing him entrance to the debates. Lupov repeated the same insults in Taraclia at a July 6 electoral meeting for Sor Party MP Candidate Vadim Fotescu. The media organizations showed solidarity with the TUK.md editorial staff, disapproving of the Mayor’s behavior. In a joint statement, nine NGOs, including the IJC, reminded Lupov that insults or deeds that harm a person's honor and dignity are subject to punishment. The NGOs added that intimidation of the media/journalists and intentional obstruction of their work constitute criminal acts punishable according to Article 180 prim of the Criminal Code.
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In May 2019, the Public Association of Lawyers for Human Rights and Moldovan citizen Ana Burlacu filed a request with the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure (MEI) to gain access to information of public interest. Requested information included the following: the list of MEI employees who received bonuses and the total amounts of these awards from April 2017 to April 2019; the list of those who went on international business trips from January 2017 to December 2018 and the money spent on these trips; and other data related to the procurement of contracts for the delivery of services and goods. MEI refused to provide this information, citing the Law on Personal Data. The Association sued MEI, and the trial lasted over two years. On July 14, 2021, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) issued a decision ordering the MEI to provide the Public Association of Human Rights Lawyers with the requested information.
In July 2021, the SCJ examined a similar 2019 case in which the Public Association of Lawyers for Human Rights filed a lawsuit against the National Social Insurance House (CNAS). CNAS officials refused to name the CNAS officials who benefited from salary bonuses. In an irrevocable decision, the SCJ awarded the case to the Association.
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TV8 journalist Mariana Rata requested a public apology from the President of the New Historical Option Party (PNOI), Svetlana Chesari, for comments the politician made during a televised debate on June 23. During the debate, Rata asked Svetlana Chesari why the party changed its name from the NEW Party to the Alternative and Chances Party (PAS) – an abbreviation identical to the pre-existing PAS. The TV8 journalist also probed into a criminal case involving the politician. In reply, Chesari accused Rata of violating ethical norms. On July 13, Rata requested that Chesari deny "false and derogatory information that harms my [Rata] honor, dignity and professional reputation" and issue a public apology on Facebook. If Chesari does not apologize, the journalist intends to pursue legal action to defend her professional reputation.
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An August 2020 investigation by Ziarul de Garda (ZdG) entitled “‘My Moldova’: Money and donations earned through volunteering that do not reach their destination” revealed that several supposed Moldova Mea (My Moldova) volunteers, who were collecting money for needy people, did not actually disburse any money to the intended recipients. Moldova Mea requested the right to reply and deny the information and seek compensation for non-pecuniary damage totaling 5,000 lei (250 euros).
The Moldova Mea representative did not appear at the court hearing, leading IJC’s lawyer Cristina Durnea to request the dismissal of the summons. ZdG writes that Moldova Mea leader Fiodor Ghelici did not contest the decision of the first instance and did not address a new request for summons. According to ZdG, Ghelici only requested the reversal of two sentences related to the number of bank accounts and transport units mentioned in the investigation.
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Carmelia Albu, the audience ombudsman of Teleradio-Moldova (TRM), claims that she did not receive any notifications from civil society representatives or citizens about the content broadcast by the company's TV and radio stations during the July parliamentary election campaign. Albu announced this at the IJC’s July 16 press club, which focused on ethical issues and manipulation techniques used by the media during the recent campaign. Representatives of TRM’s administration did not accept the invitation to participate in the press club. Albu specified that she could not comment on behalf of the company about content broadcast on its airwaves during the election period. At the same time, she noted that the ombudsman's office had not been alerted of any infringements. The BC and IJC monitored Moldova 1 during this period. IJC states in its latest report that “in the last week of the election campaign, Moldova 1 treated most competitors neutrally, except for slightly favoring BECS and disadvantaging PAS and President Maia Sandu through the selection of certain topics and its slant.”
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Journalists represent the most affected category of employees in the media sector during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a July study released by the UN Office for Human Rights in Moldova (OHCHR Moldova). The report entitled "Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Human Rights in the Republic of Moldova" also reveals that the pandemic has both increased the financial burden on the media while reducing revenue streams. Xenia Siminciuc, an Equality and Inclusion consultant at OHCHR Moldova, stated that women journalists, who make up the majority of front-line media workers in Moldova, experienced a disproportionate burden due to additional household responsibilities and childcare. Olesea Garbuz, Freedom House representative in Moldova, said that another problem faced by the media sector during the pandemic has been the increase in the costs of producing journalistic content. The study finds that there is a need to recognize the vital role played by the media during emergencies and recommends that authorities examine possibilities for financial assistance to the media, especially independent outlets, during the pandemic.
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On July 12, international observers from the OSCE’s ODIHR released their preliminary findings of their election monitoring report. OSCE representatives found that the "BC did not adequately implement the provisions on impartial media coverage during the campaign." OSCE observers recorded that the Electoral Code and the CEC Regulation require fair, responsible, balanced and impartial media coverage of competitors' campaigns. "However, the law does not define such media coverage, leaving it to the discretion of the BC," the report said.
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The BC "was ineffective" and "did not impose swift sanctions on media service providers that violated the law," according to a preliminary report published a day after the election by observers from the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO).
The report notes that the BC found that four television stations – Primul in Moldova, NTV Moldova, TV6 and 10TV – committed violations during the period from June 12 to June 25. However, the BC only sanctioned 10TV. Some of the ENEMO observers , noting that members of the Council are not perceived as politically independent and do not enjoy public confidence. |
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In a July 13 statement, the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CFFE) expressed its position on the BC’s role in the election campaign for the July snap parliamentary elections. According to CFFE experts, the Council did not adequately perform its supervisory duties and did not take prompt decisions to ensure equal coverage of candidates by all audiovisual media service providers. The Coalition's observers also mentioned that the BC’s lone monitoring report found violations of relevant legislation by several broadcasters, but sanctioned only one station.
The CFFE, which consists of 36 Moldovan public organizations, contributes to the development of democracy by promoting and conducting free and fair elections in accordance with Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Council of Europe, and other international standards. |
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| On the day after the July 11 election, at least two international election observation missions – ENEMO and the OSCE ODIHR - ruled that the Broadcasting Council (BC) "was ineffective", “did not impose sanctions on media service providers that breached legal provisions,” and “did not adequately implement the provisions on impartial media coverage.” In response to an inquiry made on the IJC’s Media Azi portal, BC Chairman Ala Ursu-Antoci stated: "It is their personal opinion and we respect it." She added that the institution will reply after the second monitoring report. |
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| The IJC sent the BC three petitions addressing media coverage during the election campaign. According to the documents, NTV Moldova and Primul in Moldova failed to provide equal news coverage to all electoral participants and covered the campaign in a biased manner. The TV channels massively favored the BECS party over PAS. TV6 treated most candidates and parties impartially, with the exception of the Sor Political Party. Authorities refused to examine the petitions, claiming that the acts “were not motivated.” IJC lawyer Cristina Durnea said that the authorities’ claims “are ungrounded and used to avoid supervision and control.” She considered the BC’s response a “legal absurdity.” |
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| The BC did not send the CEC its monitoring reports on the activities of TV channels and radio stations during the election campaign. According to legislation, the BC was supposed to submit these reports two days before the elections. The BC representatives claim that the regulatory authority monitors content broadcast even on weekends during the election campaign and argue that the legal standards should be modified. |
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| During a July 15 meeting, The BC presented its second monitoring report on the behavior of media service providers from June 26 to July 11. The BC sanctioned several of the 16 monitored providers for various legislative violations. TV6 was fined 10,000 lei (approximately 500 euros) for violating the provisions of its broadcasting license. The Council also fined NTV Moldova and Primul in Moldova 10,000 lei each. NTV Moldova was publicly warned for not presenting the perspectives of different parties on two occasions, while BTV was fined 5,000 lei for the same violation. The BC warned Publika TV for not including a sign language broadcast. Television station 10TV received the most sanctions, totaling 32,000 lei. It received two fines of 5,000 lei each for not correctly reporting events, a fine of 10,000 lei for not including a sign language broadcast, and another of 12,000 lei for non-compliance with the provisions in its broadcasting license. |
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After examining a citizen petition to the BC, The Council issued a public warning to Jurnal TV for not providing correct information about a fact or an event. The BC noted that the moderator of the Jurnal TV show "Secrets of Power" referred to the inaction of the Prosecutor General’s Office and brought accusations against businessman Veaceslav Platon in an interview with Sandu. However, the moderator did not offer these parties the right to reply. The majority of the BC members found that the show’s moderator expressed a lack of impartiality.
After the application of the sanction, Jurnal TV declared that a prior decision of the BC was unfounded and issued in violation of the procedure. The representatives of Jurnal TV believed that there were sufficient reasons for revoking the decision of the BC and opted to suspend the execution of this "obviously illegal" act.
At a July 28 meeting, BC members unanimously voted to reject Jurnal TV’s request to suspend the execution of the BC’s previous decision. |
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| During the election campaign for the July parliamentary election, the IJC submitted eight petitions to the BC related to several TV stations’ coverage of electoral events. The IJC reported these notifications on the basis of the organization’s monitoring of ten television stations during the election. However, the BC did not examine three of these petitions and only considered five others. The July episode of the Media Azi show investigates how the BC makes its decisions and how the IJC reviews these conclusions. |
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IJC released last two TV monitoring reports during election campaign
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| The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) continued to monitor ten television stations until the day of the July parliamentary election. The organization released two monitoring reports, in addition to the four published in June. Journalists, media experts, representatives of TV stations, and BC members discussed the results of the monitoring at the IJC’s press club on July 17. |
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| On July 6, the IJC launched its fourth report on the media’s behavior during the election campaign. This report, which spanned the period from June 25 to July 1, stated that Jurnal TV, Pro TV, and TV8 generally covered the election campaign in a fair and balanced manner.
The public television station Moldova 1 took a neutral stance towards most of the candidates, with the exception of BECS.
NTV Moldova and Primul in Moldova released mainly positive coverage of BECS to the disadvantage of PAS candidates.
RTR Moldova generally assumed a neutral and balanced approach towards most of the competitors, yet the station provided disproportionate airtime to the Sor Party and shared positive stories about Sor candidates.
Prime TV and Publika TV offered airtime to less than half of the candidates. Television stations gave priority to PP Sor and BECS, painting them in a positive light. The stations gathered most of their news from a single source.
TV6 also favored Sor candidates in terms of airtime and the tone its reporters used when discussing the party. The station relied on a narrow range of sources and examined some controversial stories in a biased manner. |
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By the final week of the electoral campaign, the ten stations monitored by the IJC favored or disadvantaged certain electoral candidates. NTV Moldova and Primul în Moldova predominantly supported BECS, while TV6 backed the Sor candidates and opposed PAS. Jurnal TV, Pro TV and TV8 have more or less disadvantaged BECS. Moldova 1 provided airtime to most electoral candidates, but it did express a slight preference for BECS and the disapproval of PAS. RTR, Prime TV and Publika TV evinced a biased attitude in their stories on BECS, PAS and the Sor Party.
The conclusions can be found in the IJC’s latest report launched on July 12 regarding the media’s behavior in the election campaign. Nadine Gogu, the executive director of the IJC, blames the BC for not holding the stations responsible for violations of the electoral legislation at the end of the campaign.
The monitoring reports were prepared with the financial support of the Office of the Dutch Embassy in of Moldova. |
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| At the IJC press club on July 16, media experts and journalists from several TV stations investigated by the IJC participated in a discussion of the topic of “Journalistic Ethics vs. Media Manipulation in Moldova.” The executiv director of Independent Journalism Center, Nadine Gogu, reviewed the IJC’s findings from its monitoring of ten TV stations in the parliamentary election campaign. According to her, most stations focused on the accusations directed by the candidates at one another and ignored the parties’ electoral programs. "Unfortunately, I noticed this trend in the public television station, which, in some places, had an editorial policy similar to some politically-affiliated private television stations," she said. Media researcher Victor Gotișan noted that manipulation techniques have become more subtle. The following journalists and managers participated in the press club: Jurnal TV news editor Vitalie Călugăreanu; TV6 producer Tatiana Turcanu; TV8 news director Mariana Rata; Unimedia.info editor-in-chief Olesea Banari; media expert Eugen Ribca; and several others. |
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| The IJC continues its efforts to improve conditions for journalists through a new project that is set to last from June 2021 to February 2022. It involves advocacy initiatives designed to empower the authorities in providing information of public interest. "Access to information is a right often undermined by the authorities,” says journalist and co-founder of the platform CU SENS Olga Ceaglei. Journalist and editor-in-chief of the Balti SP newspaper, Ruslan Mihailevschi says that the pandemic has exacerbated challenges to access to information requests. The virus and its resulting restrictions have led many public institutions to tighten information requirements. IJC lawyer Cristina Durnea asserts that journalists face various "barriers" imposed by several state authorities in order to conceal information of public interest. In addition to excessive delays, some providers also resort to incomplete, evasive, or vague answers. The project will try to remove barriers and make information of public interest more accessible to both journalists and the general public. |
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“Filter information with a clear mind!” With this slogan, the IJC in 2020 launched the first media education podcast in the country named Podcast cuMINTE, as part of a project to promote critical thinking among information consumers.
The 21 editions of Podcast cuMINTE have educated the public on topics related to disinformation, media manipulation, and fake news. In each episode, journalists, researchers, and experts explain why media education and critical thinking are critical in combating misinformation and media manipulation. The podcast can be found on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud.
As part of this project, the IJC also exposed teachers and students to several media education resources available on the Educația Mediatică (Media Education) platform. This diverse set of materials challenged students to be vigilant when reading media content and continue to enhance their understanding of media education and media literacy.
The IJC regularly updated the Mediacritica.md platform, which offers quality content to help citizens counter disinformation. In a period marked by fake news linked to the pandemic, the portal has become a valuable and credible source of information.
One other aspect of the project involves the platform T(V)E Privește!. This tool enables media consumers to critically analyze and report the content broadcast on radio and television that they find to be non-compliant with journalistic ethics and existing legislation. Over 100 violations of Moldova’s audiovisual media legislation were reported by Moldovan citizens on the platform between July 2020 and June 2021.
The project “Media literacy innovative tools for media savvy citizens” was implemented by the IJC between July 2020 and June 2021 with the financial support of the Embassy of Finland in Bucharest. |
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The Center for Women's Law (CDF), in collaboration with the IJC, organized a training on July 15-16 on the topic: “Journalists in the field of domestic violence. How do we report professionally about this phenomenon?” 16 national and local journalists attended the event. The training aimed to help journalists show empathy for victims of domestic violence, to cover the subject without using stereotypes, and, most importantly, to propose solutions to readers. Mariana Buruiană, the executive director of CDF, mentioned that domestic violence is a complicated problem with deep roots in Moldova. In her opinion, many do not recognize the existence of domestic violence and are not aware of the scale of the phenomenon. Therefore, such trainings are very useful. ZdG director Alina Radu drew the participants' attention to gender stereotypes perpetuated in the media. "The mission of journalists is to sound the alarm, to prevent and help society understand that such cases should not happen," said Radu.
The participants in the training also attended sessions taught by experts, including CDF lawyer, Arina Țurcan, and the psychologist from the Institute for Family and Social Initiatives, Sergiu Toma. Oana Sandu, reporter for Decât o Revistă (DoR) Romania, also joined the virtual event and presented several domestic violence cases she has documented in the last 10 years.
After the training, the journalists have three months to document and produce at least one journalistic piece about domestic violence. The journalists will send the event organizers published materials by October 31. At that time, the trainer will evaluate the pieces based on compliance with ethical standards and the application of knowledge gained in the training. The best five materials on the topic of domestic violence will be awarded 8,000 lei each (400 euros).
The training program was organized by the CDF in collaboration with the IJC and with the support of Sweden. |
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Librarians for media literacy
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14 school librarians from educational institutions in the north and south of Moldova (five secondary schools, five high schools and four colleges) received on July 14, 2021 certificates of competence, attesting their ability to train other people (librarians, teachers, etc.) in the field of media literacy.
Internews ended in July 2021 its cooperation with the Association of Librarians of the Republic of Moldova (ALRM) to spread media literacy messages in rural, regional, and other communities in Moldova. With Internews’ support, ALRM organized in Chisinau three Training-of-Trainers (ToT) events during April 2020 – July 31, 2021, for these librarians from across the country. After each ToT, the librarians were each tasked with leading five media literacy training sessions in the regions, which resulted in a total of 210 training sessions. More than 3,200 participants, both children and adults, received media literacy training from the trained librarians in that period. The participants increased their knowledge on how to:
- Critically distinguish facts from opinions;
- Understand the role of media in contemporary society;
- Think critically when they see news, whether on social networks and/or on another media source; and
- Check if a news item is a fake or not.
Moreover, five of the 14 librarians chose to teach the optional course "Media Literacy" in their institutions in the academic year 2021-2022, the rest being in the process of discussions with students, their parents and school administrations. Within the project, a contest was organized regarding the most creative and unusual lesson of media education, and six winners received important prizes that will facilitate their activity in the libraries where they work.
This activity is part of the USAID and UK Embassy in Moldova funded project “Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova” (MEDIA-M) and implemented by Internews in Moldova, which aims to promote the development of an independent, professional media, and to create a media sector that is more resilient to political and financial pressures. |
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Freedom House, along with its local partner Lawyers for Human Rights, submitted its joint civil society stakeholder submission for the third cycle of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This document, which also draws from Freedom House’s consultations with local partners ZdG and CIJM, provides targeted analysis and policy recommendations for the Moldovan government to address critical issues related to access to information and free expression. The Romanian and Russian language versions of the joint civil society stakeholder submission will be published on Freedom House’s website in the coming weeks. |
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Freedom House Partner Media Guard continued to spotlight stories on investigative reporters’ experiences with monitoring access to information by publishing a news story and short video about TV8 reporter Mariana Rata. According to the journalist, limiting access to information is a "form of censorship” that is increasingly becoming an issue in Moldova. Rata also stressed, "When reporters send questions or requests for information to civil |
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