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The president of the parliamentary Committee on media Chiril Lucinschi said on Friday, December 13th, at Media Azi, that he is optimistic about the adoption of the draft law on mass media ownership transparency, initiated by the Independent Journalism Center, but he said that it would be debated in the Parliament after the winter holidays. Lucinschi pointed out that there are currently other legislative priorities concerning the State budget.
Chiril Lucinschi said that “unfortunately, the draft law [on mass media ownership transparency] is at the same stage as it was two months ago.” The Member of Parliament reminded that the committee had approved the report on the draft law, so the latter is ready for examination and first reading vote. “The only problem is that it is a stormy time of the budgets of the National Health Insurance Company and of the National Office of Social Insurance, as well as the State budget and the budgets of other institutions subordinated to the Parliament. That is why I believe that the draft law will be discussed immediately after the winter vacation,” Lucinschi said.
He pointed out that there is consensus about this draft law in the committee and that he is optimistic about its future, as it is an “absolutely necessary” legislative document.
“I don’t think that it will solve all the problems with mass media, because media ownership transparency itself doesn’t ensure the trustworthy and unbiased nature of information. There are lots of examples when people knew who the owner of a media outlet was, but the true owner stayed in anonymity,” added the MP. Thus, he pointed out that the report included some “very important” provisions referring to the annual financial report of broadcasting media outlets, so as to make sponsors or financing institutions transparent.
Nadine Gogu, director of the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), said for Media Azi that problems might arise if the draft law on transparency is not approved or if its approval is delayed. “In the absence of transparency and free access to the information on media ownership, including information on the media holdings existing in Moldova, the trends of direct and indirect concentration of mass media might expand. Thus, the concentration of mass media will limit the pluralism of the media and opinion, as well as public access to pluralistic information,” the IJC director said.
She added that if the draft law is not adopted soon, masses will continue to be manipulated through the press, especially during election campaigns. “A significant number of media consumers outside Chisinau, according to surveys, mostly obtain information from television. Predominant access to the information presented from a single perspective will contribute to the manipulation of information and brainwashing,” Nadine Gogu added.
In September, the parliamentary committee for mass media organized public hearings on how the current legislation could be changed to ensure mass media ownership transparency. The hearings were attended by the members of the specialized parliamentary committee, members of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) and IJC representatives.
In Moldova, the issue of media ownership transparency is not regulated, and so televisions are not obliged to disclose the names of beneficiary owners, shows a study produced by the IJC with the financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Legislative ambiguities allow owners to manage their outlets through offshore companies. After the Alliance for European Integration came to power in 2009, politicians promised to solve these problems, but the situation still remains unchanged.
Source of photo: Wikimedia Commons
