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Reporters Without Borders: Concentration of Ownership and the Lack of Editorial Independence Are Still Major Challenges for Moldovan Media

22 April 2020
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The Republic of Moldova maintains last year's position in terms of freedom of the press in the 2020 report by Reporters Without Borders, issued on Tuesday, the 21st of April. Our country ranks 91st in among 181 countries that are monitored every year.

According to the report, the media outlets from the Republic of Moldova are diverse, but ‘highly polarised’ like the country itself – marked by ‘chronic political instability and by the negative influence of oligarchs’. According to the study, “the editorial policy of the main media outlets is closely linked with political interests and business interests of their owners, an issue that is emphasized especially during the election campaigns”.

The authors of the paper note that the media empire of the former leader of Democrats, Vlad Plahotniuc, who lost his influence, was replaced with a media group affiliated with the Party of Socialists. Thus, according to RSF, the concentration of media ownership and the lack of editorial independence and quality journalism are still the main problems the Moldovan media faces.

The organization is also concerned about the fact that the broadcasting regulator is not independent at times of media fights in a highly politically polarised climate.

The Secretary-General of RSF, Christophe Deloire, believes that the decade that has just started is a decisive one for journalism at the global level, and the current crises will impact the future of this industry. “The coronavirus pandemic illustrates the negative factors threatening the right to reliable information and is itself an exacerbating factor. What will freedom of information, pluralism, and reliability look like in 2030? The answer to that question is being determined today”, Christophe Deloire stated, cited in the report's press release.

Norway, Finland and Denmark still rank among the first in the annual ranking of RSF, which has been issued since 2002, while North Korea and Turkmenistan rank at the bottom.