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According to Ludmila Andronic, Chair of the Press Council and organizer of the Forum, participants gathered at this event to diagnose the current situation of mass media in Moldova. In this context, the leaders of the main media organizations – Petru Macovei (Association of Independent Press, AIP), Nadine Gogu (Independent Journalism Center, IJC), Ion Bunduchi (Association of Electronic Press, APEL) – proposed for discussion the main problems that hinder proper functioning of the media and needed to be solved for years.
Petru Macovei (AIP) spoke about the course of reforms in mass media through the prism of public interest and private interests. The phenomenon of so-called Berlusconization of mass media, i.e. concentration of mass media in the hands of some political personalities, was discussed by Nadine Gogu (IJC). “The greater concentration is, the more professionalism decreases,” IJC director said, adding that Moldovan media have become an “owners’ watchdog.” Ion Bunduchi (APEL) mentioned the role of media pluralism in the functioning of democratic institutions.
Participants in the Forum had the opportunity to hear how representatives of authorities see the problems of the media. Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu said: “Sometimes I feel that mass media copy the patterns, debates, conflicts that exist in political life. In addition to the reforms that are necessary in the justice sector, in the fight against corruption and the banking system, the media sector needs reforms as well.” As for the journalists’ campaign for free access to plenary Parliament meetings, the speaker said that it “was not an easy decision” (the one not to allow journalists’ access to plenary meetings), but that MPs are open to improving working conditions for the journalists accredited to the Parliament, for example, by offering them coffee or parking lots for bicycles…
Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet, in his turn, said that “we haven’t learned to digest the reactions of the media” and that “there have been clear attempts to exercise political control over the media by influencing editorial policies.” He urged both politicians and journalists to abide by the rules of professional ethics. “I wouldn’t make any difference between a lying politician and a lying journalist,” Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet said.
Pirkka Tapiola, the Head of the EU Delegation, asked journalists to become aware of the responsible role that they play as creators of opinion, because freedom of expression is a key pillar in a democratic society. Jose Luis Herrero, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Moldova, addressed a similar appeal to participants: “Freedom of the press and pluralism are very important in democracy, just like free elections, functioning institutions and independent justice. Very often we focus our external support on other things and forget about mass media, although their role is very important, as well as the proper work of institutions,” the European official said.
The problems and eventual solutions found by journalists will appear in a Resolution and a Roadmap, which will be adopted at the first Media Forum organized in Chisinau on October 27-28. According to organizers, the event gathered about 150 journalists, editors, media managers and other representatives of the country’s media outlets.
The Media Forum has been organized by the Press Council of Moldova in partnership with the Association of Independent Press, the Independent Journalism Center, the Association of Electronic Press and the Young Journalist Center.
