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In a press conference, the leaders of five media NGOs launched the Press Freedom Days 2017. On this occasion, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), the Association of Independent Press (AIP), Electronic Press Association (APEL), Association of Independent TV Journalists (AITVJ), and Journalistic Investigations Center of Moldova (JICM) presented a Memorandum on Press Freedom for the period of 3 May 2016 – 3 May 2017. According to it, Moldovan media mainly regressed during this time. The memorandum focused on the main problems of the press: media concentration, a defective legal framework, limited access to information, political interference with the work of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council and the media in general, as well as poor economic conditions that do not sustain media development.
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Several journalists and civil society representatives picketed on Wednesday, May 3, at the Parliament of Moldova. They wore T-shirts bearing the words “Freedom to the Press” and held posters saying “We demand protection of Moldovan media”; “No censorship”; “A free press – a free society”. The rally was organized by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC). According to journalists, retrieving information from public institutions has become increasingly difficult. The goal of the participants was to show to MPs the variety of problems in the media that have to be addressed. Andrian Candu, Chair of the Parliament, came in front of journalists saying that the much-needed legislative amendments are possible only through a collaboration between the media and the Parliament.
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Members of the European Parliament and Moldovan MPs who met on Monday, May 22, in Chisinau for the fourth sitting of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee discussed several issues, including the situation of the media. The Parliamentary Association Committee made several recommendations, emphasizing inter alia “the importance of transparency of media ownership and of ensuring media pluralism, including TV channels, protection of independent media and freedom of expression, and reform of the national broadcasting company.” The joint declaration mentioned “the urgent need to adopt a new broadcasting code (...) in consultation with civil society and with support from the EU, the Council of Europe and the OSCE.”
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On May 4, 2017, the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) launched a study on the needs of the media. Among other things, the study found a lack of financial resources among media outlets, leading to their financial and/or political dependence. In addition to financial strain, there is unfair competition, unfair advertising, and problems with access to information, which adversely affect freedom of the media. In addition to the needs and problems common to the majority of media outlets, there are also specific ones: newspapers and magazines have to face high printing costs, while television and radio struggle because of insufficient advertising.
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The parliamentary commission for culture, education, research, youth, sports, and media organized on May 30 public hearings titled “The Situation of Periodic Press: Impediments in the Publishing and Distribution of Periodicals.” The managers of periodicals are dissatisfied with their relations with the state enterprise “Posta Moldovei”, which requires them to sign contracts that bring them no economic benefits, and recently has imposed an additional fee of MDL 0.15 for the packaging of each copy of a newspaper/magazine. The hearings were attended by MPs and representatives of “Posta Moldovei”, the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (MITC), Chisinau Mayor’s Office, civil society and the media, ending with a decision to create a working group that will examine the situation and draft short-, medium- and long-term action plans.
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On Tuesday, May 23, the Association of Independent Press (AIP) presented the second report monitoring the content of the most important Russian televisions rebroadcast in Moldova: Perviy Kanal, RTR, NTV, REN TV, and STS. The report covering the period of 11-26 April 2017 found that all five channels continued to present unilateral, manipulative and propagandistic information. The manipulation techniques included selective and unbalanced presentation of facts; interpretation of the sources’ messages or selective quoting; labeling; misrepresentation of opinions (including reporters’ opinions) as facts; coverage relying on a single source; etc. The final report will be sent for examination to the Moldovan Parliament, the Broadcasting Coordinating Council, the Information and Security Service, and to other public authorities regulating mass media and national security.
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A study of the Independent Journalism Center – “Protection of Personal Data vs. Freedom of Expression and Information” – found that the law on the protection of personal data limits journalists’ access to information. It is also the opinion of the representatives of the media and civil society who participated in a public debate on this study, organized by the IJC on May 16. The event brought together the representatives of Parliament, the National Center for the Protection of Personal Data, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Legal Resource Center of Moldova, as well as journalists, media experts, and media managers. The study was prepared by lawyer Tatiana Puiu as part of IJC campaign aiming at improving the legislation on personal data while ensuring freedom of expression and preserving access to information.
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This was the title of a round table meeting organized by “Ziarul de Garda” newspaper during Press Freedom Days. The event was attended by representatives of civil society, journalists, and representatives of public authorities. As a sign of limitation of journalists’ access to information, a symbolic mock cage was installed in the room. Journalists reported about their experience of working with public institutions, expressing their dissatisfaction with the authorities’ habit of providing incomplete information or, most often, ask for written information requests.
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Media Azi joined forces with RISE Moldova reporter Nicolae Cuschevici and freelance journalist Polina Cupcea for an infographic where they retraced the route of one of their investigations in order to determine the length of the process of collecting documents and writing the material, as well as the amount of fees paid to different institutions to obtain the necessary information. The visuals illustrated the investigation "SHOR Holding / Real Estate Projects Drafted in Moscow", published on Rise.md on February 19, 2016. According to the infographic, the investigation lasted 41 days, and financial expenses amounted to MDL 1,798. At the same time, in four cases journalists were refused information.
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The round table meeting on the topic of “Employers vs. Employees: Ethical Means Unprofitable?”, organized by the Press Council (PC) on Thursday, May 18, drew the journalists’ attention to the recent violations of the Code of Ethics. According to Viorica Zaharia, Chair of the PC, the most frequent violations notified to the Council related to plagiarism, and violation of human dignity and presumption of innocence. At the round table they also discussed the factors that bring audience to journalistic materials. Media managers insisted that, “unfortunately, it is quantity, rather than quality, which boosts sales.” Participants also expressed their belief that grants and special projects could be part of a solution for the financial support of media.
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Journalists have great expectations from the new chairman of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) Dragos Vicol, elected to this position on Friday, May 12. Media Azi has been told about it by various representatives of the media community. To certain journalists, the new chairman should keep at least some of the local broadcasters that are likely to disappear after transition to digital terrestrial TV, learn to resist falsehood and propaganda, and find solutions for the media space to be less polluted. Dragos Vicol was voted by seven out of the eight members present at the meeting, and one member abstained. The office of BCC chairman became vacant after Dinu Ciocan resigned earlier during the meeting.
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On Wednesday, May 24, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) pronounced the final and irrevocable decision in the case of PRO TV Chisinau. The channel is to pay damages of MDL 40 thousand to the teacher from Ungheni who was the protagonist of the scandalous piece aired in January 2015 under the headline “Terrible Revenge from Ex-Boyfriend. A Romanian Man Filmed His Girlfriend, a Teacher from Ungheni District, During Oral Sex.”
After the story was aired, several media NGOs sent a letter to the management of the TV station asking for a public apology to the teacher from Ungheni “for unjustified interference in her private life.” More than 2,500 people have also signed an Internet petition with the same message. PRO TV Chisinau apologized to the teacher from Ungheni and “to all those who were offended by the broadcasting of these materials.”
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A new meeting in the framework of “European Cafe", organized by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), took place in Cahul, where young people spoke with several experts on various aspects of media education. Radio Free Europe journalist Diana Raileanu, IJC Strategic Development Officer Ina Grejdeanu, “Gazeta de Sud” newspaper editor Ion Ciumeica, and “Invento” President Ana Indoitu spoke about the role and importance of media education as means of avoiding “information poisoning”. The guests urged young people to be watchful and not give in to manipulation. Together, they did some practical exercises to detect manipulative stories, and in the end they watched the video clip “Do you know what media you consume?”, made by the IJC.
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Over 300 people have installed the DIY News (Do It Yourself News) app, produced by one of the teams who won the second Media Hackaton “The Fifth Power,” organized by the Independent Journalism Center and Deutsche Welle Akademie in July 2016. The authors of the project aimed to create a useful tool for journalists and for active and responsible citizens communicating through social networks. The app is available for free on Google Store and Apple Store and can be installed by users worldwide.
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The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) has released a documentary about the media campaigns that IJC and other NGOs carried out in recent years to improve working conditions for journalists and media outlets in Moldova. The campaign ”For Order and Transparency in the Press” aimed at improving the legal framework on media ownership transparency. Within the "Media Campaign Against False and Tendentious Information STOP FALS!”, the IJC together with other two media organizations (Association of Independent Press and Association of Independent TV Journalists), conducts activities to discourage the use of manipulative and false content in news and press materials. The ”Better Law for Journalists, Better Informed Citizens!” campaign aims to improve the legislation on access to information.
The ”We Want Access into the Parliament” campaign, launched by the IJC and supported by a number of media organizations and media outlets, focused on solving the problem of free access of the media to plenary sittings of Parliament.
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| The “Media Azi” show had five editions in May, all covering current issues in the media. In the 39th edition, journalist Anastasia Nani wondered, together with her guests, journalist Lilia Zaharia and former deputy chairman of the National Integrity Commission Victor Stratila, why public authorities ignore journalistic investigations. In the context of Press Freedom Days, journalist Nicolae Negru, host of the 40th edition, raised another question: Whither does the Moldovan press go? He discussed the issue with his guest Corina Cepoi, media expert at Internews, who presented several fundamental criteria according to which the media can be qualified as free. In the show you can see what these criteria are and why our press has been for years only partially free. A special topic was covered in the 41st edition: the IJC Executive Director Nadine Gogu and media researcher Aneta Gonta discussed the subtle mechanisms of manipulation on a subconscious level, trying to answer the question: How does it happen that although we realize we can be manipulated, we still become victims of media manipulation? Also, see what subconscious reactions happen to the viewer when the host of a show resorts to certain mimics, gestures, and so on. The 42nd edition brought to the fore another hot topic – the cession of two of the four televisions that belonged to Vlad Plahotniuc, leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova, for the benefit of Telestar Media Company, approved by the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC). Journalist Nicolae Negru as moderator discussed with his guest, political scientist Aurelia Peru-Balan, to what extent the decision of the BCC will solve the problem of concentration in the media. In the 43rd edition, journalist Anastasia Nani and her guests – Liuba Sevciuc, investigative reporter for RISE Moldova, and lawyer Olivia Pirtac – spoke about filming with hidden camera. What are the restrictions and what rules must journalists comply with when using a hidden camera, so as not to come in conflict with ethical norms and legal provisions? The show also explores the situations when journalists can resort to such information techniques and what the law says in this regard. |
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