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Media NGOs criticized the ruling party following several instances of restricting TV8 journalists from the party’s press briefings over the course of a few weeks. On October 2, access of Jurnal TV to press briefings was restricted as well. In response, eight media NGOs (Independent Journalism Center, Association of Independent Press, Association of Electronic Press, Center for Investigative Journalism, Press Freedom Committee, Association of Independent TV Journalists, ‘Acces-Info’ Center, RISE Moldova) released a statement, criticizing these actions as violations of both journalists’ and citizens’ rights. The NGO signatories also called on embassies and diplomatic missions in the Republic of Moldova to take notice of the ruling party’s conduct..
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On October 21, a number of journalists were prevented from covering a Democratic Party (PDM) rally in Chisinau. At the rally, a journalist from Agora.md approached Prime Minister Pavel Filip, Speaker of the Parliament Adrian Candu, and Vlad Plahotniuc, the PDM leader for an interview. The journalist was physically “pulled away” from the officials by Acting Director of the State Protection and Guard Service Anatolie Golea and other security officers, citing “necessary security measures.” At the same rally, journalist Viorica Tataru from Ziarul de Garda and journalist Stefan Grigorita from Europa Libera Radio were assaulted by troops, who forced them to cease filming and drove them away from that area. Media NGOs condemned these abuses as violations of Moldovan law and journalists’ rights, calling on the General Prosecutor's Office to take action and to hold responsible persons responsible.
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In protest to the Democratic Party's decision to restrict the access of TV8 and Jurnal TV journalists to party press conferences, the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJM), Anticoruptie.md and reporter Constantin Grigorita of the Association of Independent Press (AIP) chose not to cover the PDM National Assembly on October 21. Journalists also justified their protest as a response to wider negative trends under PDM leadership, including a decrease in access to information of public interest and an increase in cyberattacks against journalists on social media (including hacking and identity theft). In a joint statement, the journalists decried the fact that professional journalists and media outlets in the country are facing increasing pressure, while guilty parties have not been held accountable.
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Information on persons who have declared assets according to the new Law on Voluntary Compliance and Tax Incentives (known as ‘Tax Amnesty Law’) will be provided only at the request of those persons in question, the National Integrity Authority (NIA), and the Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering (OPFML). Importantly, media outlets will no longer have access to this taxpayer information, which had previously been provided under the Tax Code. According to Tatiana Puiu, lawyer and expert in mass-media law, the provisions of the new law contradict the rights of journalists to access information. The Law on Voluntary Compliance and Tax Incentives was adopted on July 27 and entered into force on August 17. Also known as the ‘Tax Amnesty Law,’ the law allows individuals to declare any assets and funds that have not been declared and/or taxed previously. Voluntary declaration of assets began at the date of the law’s enactment and will conclude on February 1, 2019.
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After Vlad Plahotniuc and Igor Dodon, Orhei Mayor Ilan Shor is the latest politician to build a media conglomerate – new TV stations Orhei TV and Central Television (previously Euro TV) are affiliated with Shor, and several of the channels’ new television programs will be moderated by his close associates. For example, Ilan Shor's wife will moderate the show ‘Soul Conversations;’ his Deputy, Diana Memet, will likely lead the shows ‘Local Time’ and ‘Mayor's Hour.’ According to official statements, these new TV stations were funded by ‘loans made by several individuals and legal entities.’ Both TV stations are managed by Dumitru Chitoroaga, a ‘proxy representative’ of the Shor Party.
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Since July 2016, APO prosecutors have kept a close watch on the LTD Exclusive Media Company, founded by Member of Parliament from PSRM, Corneliu Furculita. The Company owns both the NTV television broadcaster and ‘Argumenty i Fakty’ (Arguments and Facts) newspaper. Previously, the Company was mentioned in an investigation of RISE Moldova, regarding its involvement in a criminal case involving large-scale money laundering. The case has remained at the criminal prosecution stage for more than two years, as prosecutors are awaiting responses from Swiss authorities regarding the Company’s financial transactions abroad.
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Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) programs are no longer broadcast on the Vocea Basarabiei (VB) radio station. After 17 years of collaboration, the new VB management decided not to extend the contract for transmission of RFE/RL programs. This was reported by MEDIA-azi.md, the online news portal of the Independent Journalism Center. Head of RFE Moldova Oana Serafim told Media-azi.md that VB management informed her that it no longer wished to extend the broadcasting agreement; they refused to provide her with any official explanation. Several attempts of Media-azi.md reporters to request more information from VB regarding the reasons for the termination of the contract have gone unanswered.
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The editorial staff of television channel 10TV announced their joint resignation in protest to 10TV management’s decision to prohibit the broadcast of a controversial news report. The report in question covered a critical statement by a Member of the European Parliament regarding the Chisinau authorities’ decision to extradite Turkish nationals. Anatol Ursu, anchor of talk show ‘Sfatul Tarii,’ was among the first to announce his resignation on Facebook; he was soon followed by four journalists and three studio technicians. 10TV owner and manager Silviu Tanase refused Media-azi.md’s requests to comment on the incident. Ursu explained that the editorial team chose to resign in solidarity with their colleague – journalist Alina Panico, who was ‘sacked’ for producing the controversial report. “We also left as an act of solidarity because we were not willing to accept the conditions in which we were forced to work,” Ursu added.
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On October 9, the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) unanimously approved the Regulation on the Organization and Conduct of Tenders for the Selection of an Audience Measurement Company. This marks the first time in the Republic of Moldova in which the process of procuring a company to measure audiences will be regulated. The Tender Committee, a collegial body made up of 15 voting members and two non-voting members, will be responsible for company procurement and selection. The BCC developed this new regulation document on the basis of the Broadcasting Code. The law states that the audience must be measured at least once every five years by a company selected on the basis of a transparent tender.
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TV stations and advertising companies affiliated with the Democratic Party (DP) and Party of Socialists will be heavily represented in the Tender Committee tasked with selecting the company of audience measurement. Representatives of the following TV broadcasters are among those nominated for membership: Prime, owned by leader of DP Vladimir Plahotniuc, Canal 3, owned by Plahotniuc advisor Oleg Cristal, and Exclusiv TV, owned by the Socialist MP Corneliu Furculita. Casa Media Corp and Exclusiv Sales House, often criticized for monopolizing the advertising market, will also be represented in the Committee. The Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) approved 15 voting members of the Committee. Two BCC members - Veronica Cojocaru and Artur Cozma - were also appointed as Committee observers.
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BTV Channel from Balti was sanctioned by the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) for broadcasting a piece of news without including information from a secondary source. BCC members issued a public warning against the BTV Channel for failing to observe the principle of providing multi-source information in reporting on conflict-related subjects. According to a BCC monitoring report, the BTV coverage allowed a person to name a company for an alleged illegal act and failed to provide the company with an opportunity to respond.
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On October 11, Parliament adopted in the first reading the draft Law on Advertising, which adapts national legislation on advertising to European standards. Plenary debates were heated – several MPs proposed excluding the document from the agenda, while others were skeptical that the draft would be capable of adequately addressing the issue of monopoly on the advertising market. Legal expert and coauthor of the draft law, Eugeniu Ribca, responded to MP questions. The document’s informational note states that the law’s adoption and implementation will help to protect both the national advertising market and the flow of free information in national media, thereby contributing positively to the media environment according to the norms of democratic states.
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“Blurring” is a new manipulation technique used by certain TV channels in the Moldova to confuse and distract audiences’ attention from truly important events. In addition, certain media outlets are also combining various manipulation techniques to enhance the public image of their favored political parties. These findings are laid out in the report published by the Independent Journalism Center on October 10, entitled “Elements of Propaganda, Information Manipulation, and Violations of Journalism Ethics in the Local Media (1 July – 30 September 2018).” Channels that were flagged as utilizing manipulation techniques most often included Publika TV and Canal 2, which favored PDM, as well as Accent TV, NTV Moldova and to a certain extent Sputnik.md, which favored PSRM. Jurnal TV has also periodically favored PPDA in its reporting. In comparison, the report indicated that other media outlets monitored by IJC (TV8, Pro TV Chisinau, and Unimedia.info) covered socio-political topics in a largely correct and neutral way.
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One in two media consumers from the Republic of Moldova prefer to obtain information on socio-political events primarily from television, while 25% prefer online sources. 17% prefer social networks, and a mere 6% prefer the radio. Additionally, media consumers believe that the most common sources of information manipulation are politicians (44%), media (37%) and the church (9%). One third of interviewees reported that they do not trust any media source. These findings are reported in the IJC study ‘Media consumption and consumers’ perception of media manipulation,’ based on surveys conducted between August-September 2018 by the Civis Sociological Center.
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A group of journalists from several Moldovan media outlets participated in the training “Press, Democracy and Elections. Why Media Matters?,” on October 4-5. Led by Italian researcher Giuseppe Milazzo and Nadine Gogu from IJC, the training aimed to bolster journalists’ skills in reporting on election campaigns. Specific topics of training included: the role of journalists on election day, how to avoid negative public perceptions of journalistic bias in reporting on opposition parties, under what conditions the media can accept publicity from political candidates, and what election monitoring indicators should be considered in reporting. The training was organized by the IJC under the project ‘Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova’ (MEDIA-M) , funded by USAID and implemented by Internews.
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This year, a number of teachers and professors trained by IJC began to teach courses in media education; their involvement and enthusiasm are strong indicators that such education is necessary. More than 1,500 pupils from grades III-IV and VII-VIII are studying this subject, whether as part of required coursework or voluntarily. 45 teachers teach media education in primary schools in 11 districts, in the Chisinau municipality, and in two towns on the left bank of Nistru River. As many as 20 teachers from 10 districts and the Chisinau municipality chose to teach the optional course in secondary schools. All teachers and pupils involved in this process benefit from free textbooks provided by IJC.
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IJC launched the first edition of Media Education Week, held between October 22-28. The purpose of this initiative is to promote critical thinking and conscious information consumption among pupils, parents and teachers. The activities were organized with the assistance of teachers who conduct the optional “Education for Media” course. During Media Education Week, IJC held a forum with journalist Diana Railean, which was attended by students and teachers from the Theoretical Lyceum ‘Alexandru Ioan Cuza’ in Chisinau. IJC also held a training on media education with the participation of Russian-language teachers. Finally, IJC announced a video contest for students on the topic of: “What do I know about media education?” The event was organized under the project “Strengthening Freedom of Opinion in the Republic of Moldova,” implemented by IJC with the support of Deutsche Welle Akademie and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
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As part of its “Media Forward” policy brief series, Freedom House has selected three authors to publish briefs analyzing media and the parliamentary elections. Authors will focus specifically on the expected role and demonstrated behavior of Moldovan media institutions in relation to the upcoming elections. Freedom House is proud to announce that its analysts for this theme will be: Olga Gututui, Member of the Audiovisual Coordinating Council of Moldova; Igor Fomin, journalist of Logos-Press and Editor-in-Chief of MyBusiness.md newspaper; and Ludmila Nofit, Program Coordinator of the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova. The briefs are expected to be published by early February 2019.
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Recently, IJC produced its second “Education for Media” textbook, this time for secondary schools. The textbook was developed by experts Loretta Handrabura and Natalia Griu, and it is a continuity of efforts made by IJC to cultivate critical thinking skills among students, so that they become responsible media consumers as young adults. The textbook, intended for teachers and pupils from the seventh and eighth grades, offers tools to help them discern between truth and untruth and between information and misinformation, as well as to develop skills of analysis and information synthesis. Starting with the 2018-2019 academic year, the optional “Education for Media” course for secondary schools was studied in 14 schools from 10 Moldovan districts and in the Chisinau municipality. The course is taught by 18 teachers; an additional two teachers teach it as an optional workshop.
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On October 18, the Parliament voted the new Code of Audiovisual Media Services of Moldova in the final reading. The new Code contains amendments related to the financing of the Teleradio-Moldova Company and the Audiovisual Council and the volume of local audiovisual programs. The document was drafted by national and international experts, as well as representatives of civil society within the Working Group on the Improvement of Media Legislation. Freedom House, Council of Europe and the OSCE provided their expertise and legal analysis on the Draft Code of Audiovisual Media Services of Moldova.
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| In the struggle for survival, many media outlets in the Republic of Moldova are forced to support themselves with grants obtained from various Western. Does this mean that Western donors influence their editorial policy? This topic was discussed by journalist Irina Gotisan-Sotnic and her guest Ana Gherciu, the editor-in-chief of Moldova.org portal, on the Media Azi talk show.Can crowdfunding save independent journalism in Moldova? How does crowdfunding work in a small market like Moldova? This was discussed during a new edition of the Media Azi program by journalist and moderator Nicolai Paholnițchi and fellow journalist Dumitru Stoianov, founder of RISE Moldova.
In the next campaign for parliamentary elections, parties with support from private TV stations rely on massive political advertising. But how do you win elections if you aren’t rich and don't own a TV station? How do we provide all candidates equal access to media? These issues are discussed on the talk show Media Azi by journalist Nicolae Negru and his guest, Dragos Vicol, Chairman of the Broadcasting Coordination Council.
It happens more and more often that reporters from media outlets that are independent or inconvenient to the ones who hold the power and to certain political parties are aggressed during public events. How can a journalist defend when being pushed by some politician’s bodyguard or when law enforcers hit the camera? Find out about it while watching a new edition of Media Azi talk show, moderated by journalist Anastasia Nani.
The Media Azi show is produced within the framework of the MEDIA-M project, implemented by Internews with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). |
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