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The IJC Launches the Press Situation Index in Moldova: The State of the Media Was Severe in 2020

15 February 2021
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La CJI
The state of the media in the Republic of Moldova was severe in 2020; the same status of the press was registered for the fifth consecutive year. The political instability combined with the economic crisis and coinciding with the pandemic crisis had a direct impact on the media activity, according to the 2020 Press Situation Index in Moldova (PSIM) presented by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) on Monday, February 15.

The document prepared for the fifth consecutive year represents the state of things for the press as a whole, specifying both problematic issues and key achievements of the media in the Republic of Moldova. According to the research, last year, the state of the local press reached an anti-record: the 14 assessors have given it the lowest score so far.

The report demonstrates, among other things, that the media and journalists did not have full security. In 2020, journalists were faced with threats made by politicians or functionaries, as well as with limited access to information at the height of the pandemic crisis, whereas inefficient law enforcement only aggravated that phenomenon.

The national media activity legislation was not supplemented with any provisions necessary for the sphere in question or adjusted to the needs of the sector, according to the experts involved in assessing the situation of the press. The document also explains why the amendments to the Broadcasting Code made in late 2020 were inappropriate, dangerous, and contradicted the community standards.

The PSIM also reveals the way certain political, economic, and professional events influenced the media in 2020.

The PSIM methodology includes seven indices relevant to the media realities in the Republic of Moldova: the regulatory legal framework; the political context; the economic environment; the professional environment; the quality of journalism; the information security regarded from the media perspective; the security of journalists.

This methodology allows assessing the press as a whole, examining each aspect separately and detecting the areas where interventions are required to improve the working conditions of the media and make it able to cope with its commitments. The yearly implementation of the Index demonstrates the evolution or, as the case may be, the involution of the situation in the long run.

The author of the document, media expert Ion Bunduchi, suggests implementing a set of recommendations to improve the current situation.