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Moldova is the new leader of the Media Freedom Index in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) states, according to the results of the latest monitoring, which were presented during a press conference in Chisinau by representatives of the Independent Journalism Center and Moldovan media experts.
Georgia fell to second place this past trimester, while Belarus is still last on the podium. Moldova gathered six out of seven possible points overall in the Index put together as part of the ENP Media Freedom Watch project, although media experts say there are still problems to be solved. According to them, Moldova has to further evolve when it comes to censorship and self-censorship, as well as to the relation between journalists and their audience.
As for the four sections of the Index, Moldova gathered 175 points out of 240 in the Politics chapter, taking third place after Georgia and Armenia. The result was justified by the fact that government recently decided to cease live streaming its sessions online. Another negative aspect was the chairman of the Supreme Court of Justice’s statement that he would promote reinstating slander as a criminal offense.
When it comes to Practice – evaluating the role of the state in guaranteeing rights and freedoms for the press – Moldova took 846 points and first place. Media expert Alina Radu, present at the press conference on Tuesday, said the greatest achievement here is that Moldovan courts don’t allow exorbitant compensations to be requested from members of the press being sued.
On the other hand, the experts criticized the state’s initiative to raise taxes for journalists trying to obtain information from public institutions in a timely manner. Also, they indicated towards the low level of communication between press offices in ministries and journalists. Another problem is the monopoly held by Moldova Post on the media distribution market – experts say the public company has inexplicably high prices.
As for Broadcasting, Moldova was number one again with 125 points. Still, the authors of the Index found it difficult to evaluate the success of the transition from analog to digital television, because government has not yet approved the Program to finalize the process.
Moldova maintained leadership in the Internet & New Media chapter as well, gathering 140 points out of 150. Experts noticed one of the country’s biggest problems is breaking copyright, though. “Many people believe the information on certain online resources belongs to no one and can be used as they please. That’s why this segment is self-regulating and not always in the best way,” said Vladimir Soloviov, editor in chief of Kommersant.md, who was also present at the conference in Chisinau.
The project “EaP Media Freedom Watch” is implemented in Moldova by the Independent Journalism Center with support from the European Union.
