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Рy04 May 2017
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Lack of funds, financial and/or political dependency, and lack of qualified personnel are the main problems currently faced by the Moldovan media. They are followed by the lack of press freedom, unfair competition, unfair advertising and issues related to access to information, according to the study on the needs of the media, released by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) on May 4.
The financial/material needs of the media prevail, being common for 70% of the responding outlets, and they are followed by professional needs (39%), while only a fifth of the outlets mentioned legislative needs or problems.
As regards financial needs, the majority of respondents pointed to the lack of funds to pay salaries to employees and purchase new equipment.
From the professional point of view, the biggest problem for media outlets is the lack of competent employees (58% of the outlets named a professional problem) and poor training of staff (15%).
Legislative needs are very diverse. In particular, respondents mentioned the desire to amend the Broadcasting Code, improve access to information and improve legislation in order to encourage the development of the press, including by means of support from the State.
In addition to the needs and problems common to the majority of media outlets, there are also particular needs/problems: for newspapers and magazines - high cost of printing, while for television and radio – insufficient advertising.
The study on the needs of the media has included several types of research, each responding to certain objectives, as follows:
The financial/material needs of the media prevail, being common for 70% of the responding outlets, and they are followed by professional needs (39%), while only a fifth of the outlets mentioned legislative needs or problems.
As regards financial needs, the majority of respondents pointed to the lack of funds to pay salaries to employees and purchase new equipment.
From the professional point of view, the biggest problem for media outlets is the lack of competent employees (58% of the outlets named a professional problem) and poor training of staff (15%).
Legislative needs are very diverse. In particular, respondents mentioned the desire to amend the Broadcasting Code, improve access to information and improve legislation in order to encourage the development of the press, including by means of support from the State.
In addition to the needs and problems common to the majority of media outlets, there are also particular needs/problems: for newspapers and magazines - high cost of printing, while for television and radio – insufficient advertising.
The study on the needs of the media has included several types of research, each responding to certain objectives, as follows:
- The census of the media was aimed at identifying all the media outlets in Moldova and at gathering general data about their activities. Overall, the census of the media included 474 media outlets.
- The survey on the needs of the media covered 200 media outlets and was aimed at assessing the situation from the perspective of needs in human resources; technical, material, financial and management aspects; training and other needs.
- The qualitative study included four focus groups with the representatives of major categories of the media: television, radio, newspapers/magazines, and online portals. In addition, ten interviews with representatives of the media took place, mostly outside of Chisinau, to analyze the situation regionally. The purpose of the qualitative study was to identify the problems faced by the media, as well as the needs for the development or maintenance of their activities.
The study is available here.
The study was conducted by the iData company at the request of the Independent Journalism Center, with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency through the Swedish Embassy in Chisinau.
The launching event has been possible due to the generous aid of the American people offered through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The opinions expressed belong to authors and might not reflect the position of the USAID or the U.S. Government.
