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Moldovan photo correspondent Constantin Grigorita sued the presidency of Moldova for multiple cases in which the office created obstacles for him to do his job. Grigorita says he wasn’t allowed to attend over four meetings organized by the presidency with no justification. He argues that the president’s office is using a selective approach, letting in only the journalists who are not critical towards President Igor Dodon.
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Journalists, civil activists and opposition politicians organized a flash mob in front of the Global Business Center (GBC) building in Chisinau. The building belongs to Vladimir Plahotniuc, a leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM). A crowd of a couple dozen people came to protest against a recent clash between the building’s security staff and journalists from Ziarul de Garda - Marina Ciobanu and Viorica Tataru - who tried to take videos of the inside of the building. Some activists reported that similar protests might become a weekly tradition.
Non-governmental media organizations released a statement condemning the abuse committed by the people who stopped two journalists from Ziarul de Garda newspaper from filming in the public space in the area where the Global Business Center (GBC) is located. They called for observance of the rights of the journalists who work in public spaces. The GBC is known to belong to Democratic Party (PDM) politician Vladimir Plahotniuc.
A group of NGOs, including the Independent Journalism Center, the Association of Independent Press, and others, issued a statement addressing foreign embassies in Moldova in order to draw attention to their concerns around the worsening media situation in the country. “We are witnessing how the independent media community in Moldova is subject to increasingly worsening conditions for performing their work as journalists, together with a general decline in the people’s democratic freedoms such as the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” the NGOs expressed. The statement calls on the international community in Chisinau to condemn the actions of Moldovan authorities that are aimed at intimidating, threatening, or preventing journalists from doing their job.
The National Center for Personal Data Protection submitted several proposals to amend the laws on ensuring the right to personal data protection. A separate section in the Center’s proposal is dedicated to the relationship between the processing of personal data and freedom of expression. The document is at the public consultation stage and was presented on October 12 at the meeting of the working subgroup focusing on “Access to Information and Personal Data Protection.” The subgroup was created under the parliamentary group that works on improving media legislation.
Four deputies from the People's Assembly of ATU Gagauzia drafted a law in which they suggest changing the way the Regional Public Company for Radio and Television (GRT) is financed. The draft law suggests that the company's budget should amount to at least 2.5% of the total amount of Gagauzia's own revenue. This, supposedly, would not only increase the annual budget of the public broadcaster, but also lower political influence on it. This draft law is a result of public consultations with local deputies, media experts, and representatives of the Audiovisual Coordination Council.
Bulgarian National News Agency (BTA) opened an office in Taraclia, Moldova. Taraclia, located in southern Moldova, is where most of Moldova’s Bulgarian population is concentrated. The office will focus on sharing stories about the lives of Bulgarians in Moldova and will mostly cover socio-cultural events in the area. The agency will also keep the life of Bulgarians in Ukraine on the radar and will occasionally cover relevant issues. The news will be produced in Bulgarian and will be published on BTA’s website.
The Association of Independent Press (API) reported that a fake www.stopfals.com website was created, and that the logo and the disclaimer of “STOP FALS” campaign were illegally taken over. The fake website, registered on a server in USA, published fake news and distorted information. API states that the purpose of the clone is to undermine organizations involved in the campaign and give credibility to the news that the actual website criticizes as disinformation.
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The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) released a new report titled “Elements of Propaganda, Information Manipulation, and Violations of Journalistic Ethics in the Domestic Media Space.” The report evaluates news coverage from 12 media outlets between August and October 2017. A wide range of topics, including the declaration of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin persona non grata in Moldova, and the dispute between the government and the presidential administration about the participation of Moldovan soldiers in the military exercises in Ukraine, were explored and included in the report. The report concluded that “media outlets whose owners are members or supporters of political groups continue transmitting tendentious and manipulative content in newscasts.” Victoria Zaharia, one of the authors of the report and a member of FH partner the Association of Independent Press (API), said that journalists use manipulation techniques particularly when covering news about clashes between the government and the opposition.
The Audiovisual Coordination Council (CCA) announced it will monitor media coverage of the referendum on the dismissal of the mayor of Chisinau. They will monitor 12 TV stations, including Moldova 1, Prime, RTR Moldova, Channel 3, Publika TV, PRO TV Chisinau, Jurnal TV, Accent TV, NTV Moldova, TV 8, ITV Moldova, and Ren TV Moldova.
The Press Council (PC) at the meeting on Friday, October 6, noted violation of provisions of the journalist’s Code of Conduct in connection with the rights of the child, accuracy of information and its verification through two independent sources. The PC members signaled that some media outlets violated the Code of Conduct, namely the provisions that journalists must respect people’s right to privacy and dignity and must not disclose the identity of victims of accidents, natural disasters, and crimes, especially sex crimes, and that video recordings and photos must be modified in order to protect the identity of minors.
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The Regulation on the publication of rulings, drafted by the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM), was criticized by civil society representatives, who on October 9th signed an appeal to the SCM, asking to remove considering the regulation from the agenda of its October 10th meeting. After a protest organized by journalists, lawyers, and civil society, the SCM accepted an alternative regulation on the publication of rulings, proposed by the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), instead of its own version.
The new provisions of the Broadcasting Code on protection of linguistic, cultural, and national heritage entered into force on October 1st. Broadcasters are required to air domestic products for at least 8 hours of the daily broadcast volume, and fully in prime time, of which at least 4 hours are to be in the Romanian language. Also, broadcasters who transmit program services of foreign radio and television stations without dedicating 8 hours to domestic product will not be allowed to air commercials.
Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) Chairman Dragos Vicol postponed the meeting on October 20th because of lack of quorum. The agenda included several issues, including the request for transfer of the broadcast license for the TV8 station from the company Analitic Media Group to the public association Media Alternativa. In order for the meeting to be valid, at least six BCC members should have been present, but there were only five. In their turn, TV8 representatives who were present in the room told Media Azi that “the lack of quorum was related to the request for transfer of the TV8 broadcast license.”
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The Parliamentary Commission for Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sports and Mass Media chose on Wednesday, October 11, three candidates for the vacant positions in the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) and one candidate for the position of member in the Supervisory Board (SB) of the public broadcasting company Teleradio-Moldova. 12 persons competed for membership in the BCC, one of whom withdrew from the contest, and two persons competed for membership in the SB. According to the Broadcasting Code, candidates for membership in the BCC are selected by the parliamentary commission specializing in the media and by the Parliamentary Commission for Legal Issues, Appointments, and Immunities, which then forwards the candidates for confirmation to the parliament.
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On October 12th Freedom House participated in a meeting of a subgroup on access to information and protection of personal data organized by the Council of Europe. During the meeting, the draft law on personal data protection and the draft law on access to information were presented and discussed.
On October 13th Freedom House in Moldova held a meeting with Dumitru Lazur, an adviser to the speaker of the parliament and a representative of the Council of Europe. The discussion focused around the support of the parliamentary subgroup on information security. On October 18th Freedom House met with Olesea Perean from OHCHR to discuss joint activities under Media-M project.
In October, Freedom House has also attended parliamentary subgroup meetings on financial and fiscal state aid to media, a brunch with Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu, a ”Stop fake” event on disinformation, and an event organized by IDIS Vitorul on secure information space in Moldova.
On October 30th Freedom House took part in a conference on how to attract investment in Moldova's media space through modern legislation. Freedom House in Moldova brought two Lithuanian experts - Džina Donauskaitė from the Lietuvos žurnalistikos centras/ LŽC and Ovidijus Lukosius from IQ/The Economist - to speak at the conference on legal aspects for attracting investments as part of the Internews in Moldova project MEDIA-M funded by USAID (USAID Moldova).
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The optional course “Media Education” has been introduced in 22 educational institutions in the country this fall. This initiative came from the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and it is a continuation of the IJC effort in recent years to promote media literacy. The lessons are taught by teachers who participated in the training programs organized by the IJC in July and September. The optional course “Media Education” aims to develop skills of analysis and critical thinking in connection with the messages delivered by the media, as well as the ability to see the difference between factual information and manipulation. Currently, the IJC is also implementing other initiatives aimed to contribute to the promotion of media literacy in society.
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How does the media cover gender issues and what can be done to encourage a professional and balanced approach to topics about men and women in journalistic materials? You can find the answer to these questions by watching the “Divided by Two” [Romanian “Împărțit la doi”] show. Another October edition of this cycle of shows aimed to examine the stereotype promoted by the media that women are interested only in fashion and makeup while men are obsessed with having a muscular body and an expensive car…
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How should journalists behave when they go to conflict zones or to protests or when they investigate cases of corruption? This issue was discussed in the 57th episode of the show “Media Azi” [Media Today] by Nadine Gogu, executive director of the Independent Journalism Center, and her guests – Alina Radu, director of Ziarul de Garda newspaper, and Zinaida Gheata, lawyer of the Independent Journalism Center. The lack of public authorities’ openness in relation to the media was discussed in the 58th episode by journalist Anastasia Nani as moderator and her guests – Victor Mosneag, investigative reporter of Ziarul de Garda, and Dumitru Alaiba, program director at the Center for Policy and Reform in Moldova. The topic of the 59th episode, discussed by journalist Nicolae Negru and his guest, journalist Mariana Rata of the Center for Investigative Journalism, referred to the alternative regulation on the publication of court rulings, proposed by the Superior Council of Magistracy. The journalists also explained why it is necessary for the media in Moldova to keep an eye on justice. The most frequent methods of manipulation were discussed in the 60th episode of the show by Nadine Gogu, executive director of the Independent Journalism Center, and her guest Viorica Zaharia, chair of the Press Council.
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