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The BC Launched the First Monitoring Report in the Current Election Campaign. Certain Members of the Council Regard the List of the Monitored Channels as ‘Selective and Limited’

09 October 2019
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During its meeting held on 8 October, after reviewing the first monitoring report covering the period between 20 and 29 September, the Broadcasting Council (BC) warned all TV and radio stations that it monitors during the current election campaign – Moldova 1, Moldova 2, Prime, Canal 2, Radio Moldova and Radio Moldova Youth – to comply strictly with the electoral and broadcasting law.

According to the report, the public TV and radio stations fairly reflected the campaign during this period. The report found a violation at Prime TV channel, and two problematic materials at Canal 2, in all cases lacking the view of the party in opposition.

Thus, a piece of news presented the opinion of the former Prime Minister Pavel Filip on the work of the Government headed by Maia Sandu during the first 100 days, without containing the reply of the Executive. Another piece of news presented the opinion of the election candidate Vlad Turcanu about the socialist candidate Ion Ceban, without the latter’s reply.

During the BC meeting, the representatives of both TV stations stated that they approached the communication officers from both the Government and PSRM, but the latter did not answer to the phone calls.

In addition, during the public meeting certain BC members were displeased that the broadcasting regulator does not monitor in the current election campaign other TV channels too.

Corneliu Mihalache stated that the monitoring of only four TV channels could be called selective, limited and not reflecting the whole situation in the media. BC member Veronica Cojocaru recalled that she submitted a notification to the Council’s Chancellery regarding the monitoring of more channels and requested the Monitoring Directorate to review it.

BC Chair Dragos Vicol explained that a similar notification was also submitted by BC member Olga Gututui, who wasn’t present at the meeting of 8 October, which is why both notifications were to be discussed during the next BC meeting.

Vicol said that the new monitoring method the BC opted for in the current election campaign, namely to monitor only the national TV channels, complied with the election law and that the mechanism for notifying the BC regarding the channels that violate the law was kept. According to Dragos Vicol, until now the regulator was not notified in this regard.
 
Note that IJC notified the BC, by sending it the first report monitoring 10 TV channels in the current election campaign and asking the BC members to monitor the NTV Moldova, Accent TV, and Central Television broadcasters. According to IJC report, these channels infringed the law during the monitoring period of 20-27 September. In its official answer, the Council mentioned that it would take into account the results of the IJC monitoring and, if needed, would review it.

Also read: ‘Is BC Slipping From a ‘Democratic Political Hand’ to a ‘Socialist One’? How the BC Comments on its Decision to Monitor only Certain TV Channels in the Election Campaign