On July 5, journalist Nokta Slava Radulov became the target of insults and other aggressive manifestations by members of the People’s Assembly of the Gagauzia Territorial Administrative Unit (UTAG), forcing him to leave the public meeting of the authority with physical coercion.

In a joint statement, the IJC, the Media Guard Association, the Electronic Press Association, the Independent Press Association, the “Acces-Info” Centre and RISE Moldova condemned these actions, which, according to them, “undermine the freedom of expression of the press” and reminder that both the national legislation and the Gagauzia Regulation state that “the plenary sessions of the People’s Assembly are open”.

The signatories of the declaration said the actions of the person who physically restrained journalist Nokta constitute a violation of the right to bodily integrity of the person, individual freedom, and safety. Intentionally obstructing the work of the media or the journalist, as well as intimidating the media or the journalist for criticism, is an offense under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova.

They called for the accountability of those who, “defying the principle of transparency in the decision-making process and freedom of the press, resort to violent and inadmissible actions in a democratic society.”

At a press conference on July 12, Health Minister Ala Nemerenco berated the reporter of the SENS media portal, telling he that a question she had been asked was not to the point and that while journalists insist they are part of a SENS (sensible) publication, she would argue the opposite (“The question is not to the point, but you insist you are a sensible publication, I would argue the opposite.”).

In relation to the breach of the legal deadline for providing information, the minister invoked the increased workload that had arisen in relation to the refugee crisis, accusing the newsroom of “putting pressure on the ministry.”

In a joint statement, the Independent Journalism Center, the Association of Environmental Journalists and Environmental Tourism, the Electronic Press Association, the “Acces-Info” Centre and RISE Moldova reiterated that the state guarantees freedom of the press and the right of access to information of media representatives and no dignitary is in a position to decide for the journalist on the appropriateness of documenting subjects of public interest and the existence of “a sense” in filming in public spaces and institutions.

The signatory organizations described such behavior on the part of public office holders as improper, especially for those in the executive branch. They called on the Minister of Health to refrain from any form of expression that harms the professional reputation of the media in the future.

On July 6, the Government approved the draft decision on the creation of the Coordinating Council for Information Security. According to the document, this is a collective body with consultative and operational powers that will assess the threat level to information security at national level and propose solutions to resolve possible incidents.

The initiative is part of Moldova’s Information Security Strategy for 2019-2024 and aims to “ensure a high level of information and cyber security”.

The Coordinating Council’s work will be focused on four segments: (1) cyber, with the role of identifying and examining security incidents; (2) operational, aimed at identifying news that could affect the country’s information security; (3) media, with the role of assessing factors that could damage the institutional integrity of information media on virtual platforms; (4) civic-private, with several tasks, including presenting cases of human rights violations regarding free access to information resources.

The media panel will be made up of 10 representatives of several state and non-governmental entities, including the president of the Broadcasting Council (BC) or a delegated member, the general director of Teleradio-Moldova, the president of the Parliamentary committee, the advisor for public communication of the Presidency, representatives of the IJC, the Independent Press Association, the Electronic Press Association, the Press Council, the advocacy and public policy community WatchDog.md, the association TRIACTIV.

Among other things, based on the information gathered, the representatives of the media will have to present analyses, assessments, and solutions for the Coordinating Council, provide support to media outlets in obtaining information from public institutions in order to refute false or manipulative news.

The Coordinating Council’s decisions will be forwarded in an advisory capacity to the President of the country, the Parliament, the Government and other authorities or institutions.

On July 22, several representatives of media service providers, industry experts and other market players took part in a public debate about ensuring real pluralism in audiovisual media and promoting a diversity of providers. These imperatives and other objectives are included in the draft strategy for the development of the audiovisual sector for 2023-2027, which was drawn up by the BC.

“What we aim to achieve with this strategy is the diversity of media service providers, audiovisual media services and audiovisual programs within the same audiovisual media service, the presence of the views of the general public in audiovisual media services, especially linear ones, the presence of free, autonomous, economically and editorially independent media service providers and the access of the public to a wide range of views in audiovisual media services on a daily basis”, said BC President Liliana Vitu during the debates.

She also referred to some decisions on the reorganization of the authority, such as the strengthening of monitoring capacities and the establishment of a function that will deal with public policy and analyze the field, including media market trends. Also issues relating to the calculation of local product hours at suppliers, as well as new concepts in legislation such as disinformation, will be addressed in autumn.

Several media executives drew attention to a common problem in broadcasting – competition between local TV stations and those retransmitting content from abroad. N4 representative Valentin Afteni and TV8’s general director Svetlana Buzu addressed this issue. The deputy director of Jurnal TV, Cristina Pohilenco, highlighted some problems related to audience measurement and the situation on the advertising market. Pohilenco believes that the development of the local media market should be encouraged in Moldova so that “money stays in the country, not goes to other countries.”

Teleradio-Moldova Director General Vlad Turcanu said it was important for the BC to be able to carry out its functions so that there is free competition in the market. According to him, there is a reconfiguration of the audiovisual market coming up and it will probably be a complicated period for many players. “There can’t even be competition in the true sense of the word, between the public broadcaster and other broadcasters,” said Vlad Țurcanu, who added, “We are thinking of cooperation with the commercial area because the interest is public.”

Petru Macovei, executive director of the Independent Press Association, called for the introduction of sanctions in cases where there is a lack of transparency about the financing of suppliers. “It is important to do much more work on transparency of funding sources,” Macovei said.

The chairwoman of the parliamentary committee, Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, who was in attendance, said MEPs were open to supporting the field.

According to a press release of the BC, for the first time, as of July 18, 2022, data on TV channels in Moldova have been included in the Mavise register. The authority states that this was done following discussions between the BC Chairperson, Liliana Vitu, and representatives of the EAO in May.

Mavise is a free-access database of audiovisual services in 41 European countries and Morocco, which allows interactive searches in the registers of European audiovisual regulatory authorities and/or ministries. It provides, where feasible, information on the ultimate owner of the service provider, as well as on the country of jurisdiction of TV channels, on-demand services and video-sharing platforms available in the European Economic Area.

The database is updated regularly, that is, every two months after any changes are recorded in the national registers.

Only sixteen percent of respondents to the July Socio-Political Barometer believe that the media situation has improved under the current government. The number of those who think the media situation has worsened is twice as high, at 36 percent. The survey was conducted by the sociological company IMAS on behalf of Public Media, and the data was released on Wednesday July 20.

At the same time, 32 percent think that the situation in the media has not changed and sixteen percent of respondents did not want to answer the question or did not know what to answer.

Negative perceptions were expressed about the transparency of decisions taken by those in power, as 53 percent of respondents said the situation had worsened and fourteen percent said it had improved. Similarly, when asked about the authorities’ communication with citizens, 56 percent of respondents think it has worsened and eleven percent think it has improved.

The survey was conducted between July 6 and July 18 among a sample of 1007 people in twelve administrative-territorial units. The maximum sampling error is ±3.1 percent.

Businessman Ceslav Ciuhrii has become the owner of Noroc Media, which owns Radio Noroc and music channel Noroc TV, Newsmaker.md reports.

Ceslav Ciuhrii is the president of the National Tennis Federation of Moldova and the president of a foundation that deals with various social projects. Ciuhrii recently launched the real estate project “German Village”. In the past, he was the owner of the Cactus and Mi Piace restaurants in Chisinau, and a few years ago, his company bought the Guguta café in the centre of the capital. He is also known for investing in pharmaceuticals and helping to bring the retail company Kaufland to Moldova.

Previously, Noroc Media was owned by Doinita Topala, the daughter of former liberal municipal councillor Iurie Topala, former director of the railway company. Iurie Topala was detained in mid-January by the Belgian authorities and was to be extradited to the Republic of Moldova.

Graduates of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences of the State University of Moldova (USM) and of the Faculty of International Relations, Political Science and Journalism of the Free International University of Moldova (ULIM) have signed the Code of Ethics of Journalists, pledging to adopt a dignified and responsible professional conduct.  The event took place on June 30 and July 1, 2022, during the ceremony of awarding diplomas of graduation, writes Consiliuldepresa.md.

Press Council member Natalia Porubin stressed the importance of respecting the Code and urged young people to consult it whenever they have editorial dilemmas. “Newsrooms need professional, fair and honest journalists, and respecting the rules of ethics will help you become the best in your profession”, said Natalia Porubin.

Currently 142 media institutions and associations have signed the Code of Ethics of Journalists in Moldova on the Press Council website.

As of July 3, legislative amendments to Act No 301 on the regulation of bias-motivated offenses came into force. In an interview for the Independent Journalism Centre’s Media Azi portal, Irina Corobcenco, who is responsible for monitoring hate speech at the Promo-LEX Association, argues that incitement to violent action on grounds of prejudice, which involves preconceived ideas based on race, color, ethnic origin, etc., is punishable under Article 346 of the Criminal Code by a fine of 500 to 600 conventional units, equivalent to 25,000 to 30,000 lei (EUR 1,250 to 1,500), or by unpaid community service for 180 to 240 hours, or by imprisonment for 1 to 3 years.

Propagation of genocide and crimes against humanity, which is a form of hate speech, will be punishable by a fine in the amount of 25,000 – 50,000 lei (1250- 2500 euro)) or by imprisonment from one to three years for individuals and by a fine in the amount of 100,000 – 250,000 lei (5000 – 12500 euro), with deprivation of the right to exercise a certain activity for a period of one to five years or by liquidation for legal entities.

A new Article 70/1 “Incitement to discrimination” has been added to the Code of Offenses. Intentional actions, public incitement, dissemination of information or other forms of information to the public, including by means of the mass media, in written form, drawing or image, or by means of a computer system, aimed at instigating discrimination on grounds of prejudice will be punished by a fine of 20 to 80 conventional units (1. 000 – 4,000 lei (equivalent to 50 – 200 euro) for individuals and 120 to 210 conventional units (6,000 – 10,500 lei, or 300 – 525 euro) for persons in positions of responsibility.

The BC sanctioned four TV stations at its meeting on July 8 for various violations in their coverage of the subject of the case against former President Igor Dodon and his wife Galina Dodon. Exclusiv TV and Accent TV were publicly warned, NTV Moldova was fined 25,000 lei (€1250) and First in Moldova 10,000 lei (€500).

The monitoring of Exclusiv TV and Accent TV channels was carried out following the self-reporting of BC member Ruslan Mihalevschi on several TV channels. NTV Moldova and Primul in Moldova were monitored on the basis of a complaint filed by the WatchDog.md organization.

According to the report, Exclusiv TV violated the provisions on ensuring a clear distinction between facts and opinions. Also, Exclusiv TV news bulletins were taken over from NTV Moldova without this fact being properly marked. Accent TV took footage from other TV channels without mentioning this. At the same time, Accent TV aired a story about prosecutor Petru Iarmaliuc, who is investigating Igor Dodon’s case. Four people have exposed his insufficient experience to investigate such cases, but the prosecutor’s reply is missing from the news.

Another topic examined by the BC members concerned the news about Galina Dodon’s case. According to WatchDog.md, both NTV Moldova and Primul in Moldova aired a similar story on June 13 about Galina Dodon’s summons to the Prosecutor’s Office.

The results of BC monitoring attested that the targeted news on NTV Modova lacked the Prosecutor’s Office’s reply. BC confirmed that exactly the same material was also broadcast by Primul in Moldova, but without a source. Similarly, the news did not present the position of President Maia Sandu, accused by Igor Dodon of involvement in the case.

Thus, the Council sanctioned the two stations for violations of not ensuring impartiality and balance by presenting the main opposing views. Primul in Moldova was also publicly warned for not indicating the source of the material broadcast.