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Andrian Candu, the Parliament Speaker, assured the Media Policy Forum 2018 participants that the main issues related to media development have long been in the attention of MPs and the Parliamentary Working Group on Better Media Legislation: "In fact, for two - three years we are discussing a lot about access to media, independent media, media concentration, and many other elements," Candu said.
According to the speaker, the media sector faces great difficulties in the Republic of Moldova: “To make it a profitable business or at least to support the press, including the independent one, should have a market share, access to commercial market”, he stated. According to Andrian Candu, the Moldovan media market is about "9-10 million euro per year" and if we divide this amount “among 10 and 40 TV and radio channels " we see that "in fact, you cannot make television with that amount of money. " The Speaker of the Parliament preferred to adopt a legal framework which could improve the press situation, including by providing certain facilities for media business management.
During the talks, the AARM Advertising Agencies Association executive director Galina Zablovscaia stated she did not understand "where the 10 million figure came from" and that the data on the volume of the advertising market presented by officials doesn’t match the data owned by the agency he is leading. According to Galina Zablovscaia, in 2017 the Moldovan advertising market amounted to a total of 23 million euros, 13 million of which represented the volume for the audiovisual segment.
The USA Ambassador to Chisinau, James Pettit, present at the event, referred in his discourse to the media concentration issue and to the negative impact of this phenomenon on the limiting the accessing of citizens to diverse opinions, especially in the context of elections.
“The freedom of the press and media literacy are more important than ever in this election year. Healthy democracies need a prosperous independent press so that citizens can critically analyze candidates' positions. We all know the existing challenges: media and advertising sectors from the Republic of Moldova are concentrated in the hands of several persons. This situation is cutting the access to a wide range of opinions for the citizens of the country, preserves internal propaganda and cuts the access of independent channels to resources for survival“, stated the US diplomat.
At the same time, James Pettit stressed the need to adopt the new Audiovisual Code and added that the reaction to external propaganda should be observing the right to freedom of expression.
The European Union Ambassador to Chisinau, Peter Michalko, also reminded about the phenomenon of concentration in the media, emphasizing the barriers this phenomenon poses to investigative journalists. "It is important for the legislation from the Republic of Moldova to support the existence and work of journalists, including investigative journalism, because journalists are the ones who have to bring information to the citizens and for this to take place there shouldn’t be no obstacles in their work to access public databases, including financial hurdles”, Michalko stated.
The executive director of the Independent Journalism Centre (IJC), Nadine Gogu, referred to the “weak and monopolized media and advertising market” which impacts the independent press from the Republic of Moldova, and the influence of politics over these two important sectors. Concerning the cases reported by some TV stations on the involvement of politicians in the monopolization of the advertising market, Nadine Gogu was wondering: "How to achieve diversity in the media if not all actors, not all broadcasters have equal access to this advertising market?"
In this context, the CJI Executive Director concluded: "The good news is that we have donors, embassies which support the media, and the freedom of the press through various programs, and thanks to them we also have a few independent media institutions. (...) The others, are media outlets which ignore public interest but promote the agenda of politicians”, stated Nadine Gogu.
Local TV stations representatives have also attended the event. Ludmila Topal, the executive director of the “Canal Regional” channel noted that regional broadcasters are desperate and don’t know what awaits them in the future. Topal argues that regional stations have a very small share in the advertising market and that they survive due to "social advertising" and donor projects.
According to Ludmila Topal, during the current election year, regional radio broadcasters are facing various pressures from influential political parties which are trying to approach them in order to win their sympathy, in case some of the MPs will be elected in uninominal constituencies: "As the director of this TV station, I am interested in the fate of my colleagues from the regional channels. I know for sure that different politicians approach and offer them some funding, certainly, in exchange for other services - I could even say in exchange for independence”, Topal said.
The Forum was organized by Freedom House in Moldova in partnership with the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, Birn Balkans and Friedrich Naumann Foundation Southeast Europe, Internews in Moldova and USAID Moldova.
