Monthly Bulletin, November 2024
The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) has expressed its concern over the intensification of denigration and harassment campaigns against media outlets and journalists in Moldova. These harmful campaigns create a climate of hostility and intolerance towards independent media, seriously affecting the public’s right to fair and objective information. Moldovan law guarantees freedom of expression, protects the honor, dignity and safety of journalists and urges all journalists and media outlets targeted by such hostile campaigns to use all available legal means to obtain recognition and redress for the damages suffered. The IJC encourages the aggrieved media to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. Within available resources, the IJC provides legal assistance and advice to journalists and media organizations of good faith, supporting efforts to protect press freedom and defend the public’s right to be fairly informed, the IJC statement said. |
On November 15, Studio-L TV cameramen were detained by Tiraspol’s unrecognized security forces while carrying out their journalistic mission. Nine non-governmental media organizations, including the IJC, issued a statement strongly condemning the illegal actions of the Tiraspol separatist forces against journalists and pointing out the inadmissibility of tolerating such serious violations. The signatories of the declaration called on the legitimate authorities of the Republic of Moldova to intervene immediately to release the Studio-L reporters and to take the necessary measures to ensure the rights and freedoms guaranteed by law to the media. |
After TV Nord published a video in which it captured several councilors surfing social media during an April 2024 City Council meeting, Balti Mayor Alexandr Petkov approved a regulation which establishes a series of obligations and restrictions for journalists. Nine non-governmental media organizations, including the IJC, condemned Balti City Hall’s attempts to hinder the professional activity of journalists by establishing arbitrary rules for “organizing the conduct” of the press and “ensuring the security of the interaction of media representatives with the City Hall’s employees”. The media NGOs called for the immediate annulment of the regulation. At the same time, the signatories called on the territorial office of the State Chancellery to exercise legality control over the Balti City Hall’s act and to directly refer the matter to the administrative court to annul it. |
The mayor of Balti municipality, Alexandr Petkov, has repealed the regulation on press activity in the city hall after media NGOs condemned the document as “defiant” and “abusive. In a Facebook post on November 13, Mayor Alexandr Petkov wrote: “We have corrected a regrettable mistake. The recently approved regulation on press activity in the City Hall has been repealed. I apologize to all journalists”. |
Social networks are the main sources for spreading misinformation, as reported by citizens to the Information and Security Service (SIS), according to the institution, which has a special form on its website for reporting fake news. The Intelligence and Security Service has included the form for reporting fake news on its official website since 2021. According to a response to the Mediacritica portal, so far 195 links to fake news have been reported on topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, destabilization actions and Russian propaganda. According to the data, the main sources of distribution of this false information are social networks, including Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Telegram channels, but also some news portals. The SIS said in its response that it has taken actions in accordance with the institution’s work, ensuring the management of sensitive information in compliance with legal provisions. “SIS continuously carries out actions aimed at acquiring preventive information of a risky and threatening nature for the security of the Republic of Moldova, while respecting constitutional rights and freedoms,” the authority added. |
Dismissed in December 2023, Carmelia Albu, Teleradio-Moldova’s (TRM) Hearing Ombudsman, returned to work after Chisinau Court magistrates reinstated her in September this year. But the decision has been challenged in an appeal. Over the past year, Carmelia Albu was disciplined twice, and in December 2023 she was dismissed by the TRM management for repeated breaches of work obligations over the course of a year. Nine months later, in its decision of September 13, 2024, the Chisinau District Court annulled the disciplinary sanctions and the dismissal order. Moreover, the judges ordered TRM to pay Carmelia Albu the salary for “forced absence from work from the date of dismissal until September 13, 2024, taking into account the calculated average monthly salary”. According to the magistrate’s decision, TRM will pay an additional 20,000 lei as moral damages and 10,000 lei for legal costs. The general director of Teleradio-Moldova, Vlad Turcanu, claims that although Carmelia Albu has returned to her post, “because the decision is enforceable,” TRM has already challenged the court’s decision. According to him, the TRM ombudswoman had a negative evaluation in 2023. “Therefore, her dismissal was a natural reaction of the institution,” Vlad Turcanu added. |
Journalists, experts from the country and abroad, representatives of public institutions and regulatory authorities, people interested in strengthening editorial independence and promoting quality media are expected to attend the Press Council’s annual Media Forum in early December. Experts from abroad will lead discussions on topics from fact-checking in elections and wartime to effective ways of promoting journalistic products and ensuring diversity in the media. On the first day of the Forum, the Press Council will present this year’s National Journalistic Ethics and Deontology Award. Several special events will also take place: the launch of the “Black Book of Waste of Public Money 2024”, the announcement of the results of the “Journalistic Investigations of the Year 2024” contest and the awarding of prizes to the winners of the third edition of the national contest “Journalists for Diversity and Inclusion”. On the second day of the Forum there will be a debate on how the election campaign for the presidential elections and the referendum was reflected in the media. The Media Forum of the Republic of Moldova is organized annually by the Press Council, in partnership with the Independent Press Association (API), the Independent Journalism Centre (IJC) and the Association of Electronic Press (APEL). The ninth edition is organized with the support of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (Germany), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Sweden and the Soros Foundation Moldova. |
The Council of Europe (CoE) has adopted a new action plan and support measures for Moldova for the period 2025-2028. With an estimated value of €30 million, the plan involves providing assistance to our country in several areas, including the media. According to a CoE press release, the new action plan will further strengthen freedom of expression and promote the alignment of national practices with European standards in the field of media and the internet. Other major objectives are to promote the alignment of national legislation, including the Audiovisual Code, with EU requirements and directives, as well as with the recommendations of the Venice Commission. The national public broadcaster, Teleradio-Moldova, will receive support to diversify its programs and content on human rights and social issues. The Center for Strategic Communication and Combating Disinformation will also be assisted, together with the Audiovisual Council, to increase media literacy and strengthen society’s resilience to disinformation campaigns, a major challenge for Moldova with the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. This is the CoE’s fourth action plan in Moldova since 2013. |
On October 19, 2024, Ana Revenco’s term as director of the Center for Strategic Communication and Countering Misinformation, which was established a year ago, expired. However, she remains in the post as the competition to select a head of the institution for the next five years has not yet been organized. Ana Revenco was appointed by the Parliament as director of the Center for Strategic Communication and Combating Disinformation on October 19, 2023, for a provisional term of one year, as stipulated by the Law on the Center for Strategic Communication and Combating Disinformation. |
Media Legislation |
The Court of Appeals rejected the appeals filed by Igor Dodon, against the alleged violations of the public TV channel Moldova 1 on the day of the second round of the presidential elections. The judgment was issued on November 13. On November 5, Igor Dodon, the President of the Party of Socialists, lodged two complaints with the Central Electoral Commission, which were subsequently forwarded to the Audiovisual Council (AC), in which he requested recognition of the fact that on November 3, during the second round of the presidential elections, the public TV channel Moldova 1 broadcast two interviews allegedly electioneering. These were interviews with the Bi-2 singer Egor Bortnik and the Latvian singer Laima Vaikule. Because the two artists spoke about the benefits of EU membership, the PSRM considers that they were agitating in favor of candidate Maia Sandu, “which gave her considerable advantages”. In a decision on 8 November, the AC rejected Igor Dodon’s challenges, arguing that “no name of a competitor was given in those programs”. On November 11, dissatisfied with the AC’s decision, Igor Dodon went to court. In their ruling, the judges of the Court of Appeals considered that the broadcast interviews “are of a general nature and their content does not contain appeals, statements or information dissemination actions aimed at persuading voters to vote for one or other electoral contestant”. |
Media Monitoring |
The IJC released on November 5 its fifth media monitoring report on the presidential election campaign, the last in this series. It covers the period from October 21 to November 1, 2024, the interval of the second round for the presidential elections held on November 3, 2024. At the launch of the latest monitoring report, Nadine Gogu, executive director of the IJC, said that unlike previous election campaigns, the current election did not see massive favoring or disfavoring of certain contestants. She emphasized that some candidates have emerged in negative or positive contexts, but not so much so that it could be said that certain positions have heavily promoted one candidate or another. “We urge colleagues to read the reports carefully and where certain shortcomings are found to draw attention to them so that during the next campaigns we will have fewer such cases,” Gogu added. The IJC monitored ten TV stations – Cinema 1, Exclusiv TV, Gagauziya Radio Televizionu (GRT), Jurnal TV, Moldova 1, N4, Pro TV Chisinau, TV8, TVC21 and TVR Moldova. The monitoring took place within the framework of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, of which the IJC is a member. The monitoring was made possible by the generous support of the American and British people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UK. The content is the responsibility of the Independent Journalism Center and does not necessarily reflect the views of UK, USAID or the United States Government. |
Pluralism of opinion and gender balance were not fully ensured in the electoral campaign for the presidential elections and the republican constitutional referendum, the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (CALC), a network of non-governmental organizations with expertise in the electoral field, said in a public statement. In the statement, CALC underlines the progress made by most media outlets in presenting the election campaign in a balanced manner but points out that there are still major shortcomings in terms of pluralism of opinion and gender balance, as well as bias of some media outlets towards certain electoral contestants, as observed in some broadcasts. Also, the regional public TV station Gagauziya Radio Television failed to inform the electorate correctly and fairly, the signatory organizations report. The coalition also noted the lack of genuine electoral debates. At the same time, the online environment has proved to be an amplified source of misinformation, attacks on independent media and polarization, thus fueling public distrust in the electoral process. Among other things, CALC notes that the integrity of the electoral process has been undermined by external interference, illicit campaign financing and voter corruption, respectively, member organizations assess the October 20 and November 3, 2024 polls as only partly free and partly fair. |
The Media Azi Show |
The guest of the November edition of the Media Azi show is civic activist, Master of Social Sciences and consulting psychologist, Olga Afanas. In the conversation with journalist Anastasia Nani, she addresses a range of issues facing groups with special needs. The program was launched in the framework of the project “Promoting Social Cohesion in Moldova by Fostering Inclusion and Diminishing Discrimination” carried out by the Independent Journalism Center in the framework of the program “Joint Equal Opportunities Initiative – Phase II”, implemented with the support of the Government of Switzerland. |
IJC Updates |
The IJC and the Ministry of Education and Research, in partnership with DW Akademie, have announced the winners of the 4th edition of the “Media Literacy – Priority in My School” contest. During the event, which took place on November 16 in Chisinau, 17 participating institutions presented their activities to their peers and jury members. In the end, three winners were selected. For categories I and II, two winning institutions were selected: the “Emil Nicula” Theoretical Lyceum, Mereni village, Anenii Noi district (with Romanian language teaching) and the “Al. Pushkin” Lyceum, from Falesti (teaching in Russian). For category III, one winning institution was designated: the “Mihai Eminescu” Theoretical Lyceum, from Cimislia (Romanian language). The winning institutions were awarded 3 prizes – one media education corner, purchased with the resources provided by Deutsche Welle Akademie and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The institutions selected in the main round (categories I and II), except for the winners, were awarded 2,000 lei each, provided by MEC. The institutions selected in the main round (category III), with the exception of the winning institution, were awarded 2,000 lei per institution from Deutsche Welle Akademie and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Present at the event, Ina Grejdeanu, Director of Strategic Development at the IJC and member of the jury, congratulated the teachers participating in the contest for their efforts to be part of the process of promoting media literacy among students. The contest is organized by the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova and Independent Journalism Center in the framework of the project “Strengthening Media Education Skills in the Republic of Moldova”, implemented by the IJC and the Ministry of Education and Research, supported by Deutsche Welle Akademie and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. |
The three high schools that won the “Media Literacy – Priority in My School” contest and were awarded with a media literacy corner have recently set up these rest and communication spaces for students and teachers. At “Al. Pushkin”, city Falesti Media Education is taught by teachers Gabriela Diaciuc and Tatiana Filipova. The subject is studied by 130 pupils from grades 7 to 10. The students claim that this media corner will help them find answers to the most difficult questions together. And teacher Luminita Gilca, from “Emil Nicula” Theoretical High School, Mereni village, Anenii Noi district , says that this media education corner is the best gift for students studying this subject at the high school. The third winner, “Mihai Eminescu” Theoretical Lyceum in the city of Cimislia also set up the media education corner. Ludmila Stepanov, the teacher who teaches media education, says that the pupils were deeply impressed by the games, books and furniture provided and said that the space creates a sense of well-being and predisposes them to productive communication and cooperation. The media literacy corners were purchased from the resources of the project “Strengthening Media Education Skills in the Republic of Moldova”, implemented by the IJC and the Ministry of Education and Research, supported by Deutsche Welle Akademie and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. |
The implementation of the actions included in the Interministerial Plan on Information and Media Literacy, a document approved by the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Culture in May 2024, was discussed with the employees of the National Institute for Education and Leadership (INEL). The consultations took place during a workshop organized by the IJC on November 19. Angela Vacaru, the expert who, together with the IJC, coordinated the elaboration of the Inter-ministerial Plan for the Integration of Information Literacy and Media Literacy actions, explained that the aim of the document is to increase the level of critical thinking of Moldovan citizens. During the discussions, Viorica Andritchi, Director of INEL, emphasized the importance of this initiative. “The public institution National Institute for Education and Leadership appreciates as timely and relevant the strategic direction of information and media literacy of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.” This activity was organized in the framework of the project „READ – Responding, Expanding and Acting on Disinformation”, implemented jointly by International Media Support (IMS) and the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), with the financial support of the European Union. |
Twenty students from the Free International University of Moldova, faculty of International Relations, Political Science and Journalism, participated on October 30 in a training workshop on media literacy. The participants analyzed examples of fake news, learned to recognize misinformation and manipulation through images and video footage, countered anti-referendum and anti-EU narratives, which have been circulating intensively online, especially recently. The event was organized by the IJC. Victoria Tataru, program coordinator at the IJC, reminded the students that, as future journalists, their responsibility is to ensure the public’s right to receive truthful, verified and complete information. As part of the activity, participants were urged to be guided by the Journalist’s Code of Ethics and to maintain their integrity in whatever situation they find themselves to be a bastion of ethical and responsible journalism. The media education workshop was organized in the framework of the project „READ – Responding, Expanding and Acting on Disinformation”, jointly implemented by International Media Support (IMS) Denmark and the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), with the financial support of the European Union. |
The IJC, in partnership with DW Akademie, organized a new training for teachers from 11 educational institutions implementing the Program on the integration of media education content in the subject of English Language in the 10th grade in the 2024-2025 school year. The training took place in Chisinau on November 22-24, 2024, with the agreement of the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova. Cristina Leva, DW Akademie’s project officer in Moldova, emphasized the importance of promoting quality education. Together with trainer Natalia Griu and Lithuanian Media Education project manager Arminas Varanauskas, the teachers learned and experimented with different media content, creatively capitalizing on available educational resources. Working in groups, they identified the most effective media methods, content and products to meet the expectations and interests of the 10th graders. Both theoretical and practical sessions aimed to help teachers to effectively infuse media literacy content into English language lessons in grade 10. The training program is part of the project “Strengthening media education Skills in the Republic of Moldova”, implemented by the IJC and the Ministry of Education and Research, supported by Deutsche Welle Akademie and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.” |
The IJC continues its series of workshops related to the implementation the Inter-ministerial Plan for the Integration of Information and Media Literacy actions. On November 8, during the second online workshop, the IJC discussed the actions in the document with more than 15 representatives of youth centers across the country. Marcel Marin, head of the Youth and Sport Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Research, said that the intention of the document is to join efforts to intervene on the topic of information and media literacy, critical thinking and consumption of qualitative information. Angela Vacaru, the expert who, together with the IJC, coordinated the elaboration of the Interministerial Plan for the Integration of Information and Media Literacy actions, explained that the document aims, through the proposed actions, to increase the level of critical thinking among different categories of citizens. Representatives of youth centers participating in the discussion expressed their willingness to contribute to the implementation of the actions included in the plan. The workshop was carried out in the framework of the project „READ – Responding, Expanding and Acting on Disinformation”, implemented jointly by International Media Support (IMS) and the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), with the financial support of the European Union. |
Twenty-nine legal professionals strengthened their knowledge of media law in order to be able to provide quality and timely legal services to journalists in Moldova. The participants, legal professionals and lawyers, benefited from two trainings in the field of access to information and freedom of expression, held on 29 October and 1 November 2024, respectively, as part of a program organized by the IJC in collaboration with the Lawyers Training Center in Chisinau. During the training on November 1, lawyers and trainee lawyers explored the legislation and case law on freedom of expression. The trainer Vadim Vieru, lawyer and program director of Promo-Lex Association, explained to the participants the particularities of the process of defending journalists in defamation litigation, highlighting the specific guarantees enshrined by the legislator for the press. “The IJC provides legal assistance and legal advice to journalists and independent press, as they often find themselves targeted in defamation litigation or face difficulties in accessing information of public interest,” said Cristina Durnea, manager of the Media Policy and Legislation program at the IJC. The workshops were organized in the framework of the project „READ – Responding, Expanding and Acting on Disinformation”, implemented jointly by International Media Support (IMS) and the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), with the financial support of the European Union. |
Analyses |
In an analysis published by the Media Azi portal, journalist Victoria Tataru tackled the issue of the involvement of church leaders in supporting and promoting electoral candidates, as well as spreading false news and narratives discrediting the European Union and the referendum. Several media outlets (such as Deschide.md, TVR Moldova, Ziarul de Garda, TV8, Newsmaker.md, Nordnews.md, Radio Free Europe, etc.) published journalistic investigations and documented materials with photos and video footage from the first source about the organization of “free pilgrimages” for hundreds of priests and parishioners of the Moldovan Orthodox Church (part of the Russian Orthodox Church) with the alleged purpose of training them “to propagandize against Maia Sandu and the constitutional referendum”. In return, they were allegedly promised to receive on their return “gifts and MIR cards, on which money would be transferred to them for the upkeep of their churches”. Another part of the press, with a pro-Russian editorial policy, omitted the subject of the priests’ departure to Moscow and the purpose of their trip, or presented it one-sidedly. The material is part of the project “Get the trolls out!”, the fifth phase of a program to encourage young people to fight religious discrimination and intolerance in Europe. As part of this project, the IJC is monitoring several media outlets on how they cover religious topics. |
The IJC’s Media Azi published a commentary on the conditions under which independent journalists work in the Gagauz autonomy. The author of the article, Elena Celac, a freelance journalist, writes that in the region, those who try to provide the public with truthful information and refute falsehoods are treated with hatred and called traitors. She gives some examples of the problems her colleagues face. Anna Altiparmak, from Ava.md, which analyzes events in Gagauzia, became the target of a wave of hatred that escalated during the election period. “No matter how much I tried to convey my opinion to the Gagauz people, everything was perceived with hostility: I was also called anti-Gagauz because of my stance against Shor and bribing voters; and a lesbian because I supported EU membership,” Anna recounted. Another case is that of journalist Mihail Sirkeli, founder of Nokta. Shor’s supporters have called for his and his relatives to be harassed and to spread “popular hatred” against Mihail Sirkeli, whom they call a traitor. Journalist Vitalie Gaidarji, director of the information portal Laf.md, also claims that during the elections and the election campaign, the website faced a number of serious problems, including cyber-attacks, security threats and manipulation. Independent journalist Petru Garciu notes that hate speech against journalists comes from politicians and then spreads further. Editor of Laf.md Oxana Posmac, who had to leave the public broadcaster GRT because of censorship, says that the Gagauz leadership’s attacks on the free press in the region have never stopped. “In our programs and materials we analyze and invite guests who talk about the inaction of the Gagauz authorities, about how Gagauzia was captured by Shor. Of course, the Executive Committee and some deputies in the People’s Assembly do not like this and attack us.” The material was published by the generous support of the American and British people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UK. The content is the responsibility of the Independent Journalism Center and does not necessarily reflect the views of UK, USAID or the United States Government. |
Sexist discourse was a major problem in the 2024 presidential campaign in Moldova, according to a report published by the Platform for Gender Equality. The document highlights discriminatory manifestations that undermine women’s participation in politics and affect the quality of democracy. The monitoring covered televised debates, election broadcasts on Moldova 1, ProTV Chisinau, N4 and TVC 21, as well as the content distributed by candidates on their social media pages. Thus, the Platform for Gender Equality identified 70 cases of sexist language and two cases of sexist behavior. Most of these cases were committed by men, with women candidates being involved in a smaller proportion. The main perpetrators of discriminatory speech were candidates Renato Usatii, responsible for 28 cases, Vasile Tarlev with four cases and Alexandr Stoianoglo with three cases, as well as Natalia Morari, Ion Chicu and Andrei Nastase, with minor contributions. The Platform for Gender Equality recommends the adoption of an electoral code of conduct that explicitly bans sexist language and holds media outlets accountable for its use. |
Some pro-Russian editorial websites continued to spread falsehoods about the results of the presidential elections held on Sunday, November 3, writes the IJC’s Mediacritica.md. The portal gives some examples of false information published on Russian-language websites. On November 4, Moldova24.online published opinions by political scientists who “predict a civil war in Moldova”. Dmitry Soin, a so-called deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the unrecognized Moldovan republic of Transnistria, says that “the problem is that a geopolitical rift is taking place in Moldova. This could lead to a new civil war”. And another text, published on the same website, quotes political scientist Aleksandr Prokopenko, who says: “I expect the opposition to be hit. (…) A window of opportunity is opening for the current regime to eliminate those who opposed it.” The website Evedomosti.md, which published an article on November 5 with the headline: “The West will soon start appointing presidents in countries like Moldova,” takes a similar approach. Another text, also published on November 4, reads: “As soon as the diaspora is forced to pay taxes, it will immediately stop supporting the government”. And the Mejdurecie.md website published on November 4 the headline: “Expert forecasts bleak future for Moldova after presidential elections”. The article quotes Ian Lisnevski, the director of the sociology company Intellect Group, as saying that “Moldova expects four years of conflict and poverty after the elections.” |
The photo and illustration exhibition #narativ was launched on November 6 in Balti, in the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Psychology and Arts of the State University “Alecu Russo”. It reflects various aspects of human rights through the prism of material produced over the past few years in the annual Tulip Press Awards competition. Rector Natalia Gatsitoi said that it is an honor for the university to host this exhibition, which focuses on important topics for society, such as children’s and women’s rights, and bullying in schools. His Excellency Fred Duijn, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Chisinau, said that this is an exhibition created by Moldovans for Moldovans. The works on display are the work of dedicated journalists who had the courage to write stories with impact. Deputy Director of the IJC, Anastasia Nani, said that the exhibition of photos and illustrations once again emphasizes the importance of respect for human rights in our country. The exhibition is organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Chisinau in partnership with the for Independent Journalism Center, Piko Creative Agency and the State University “Alecu Russo” in Balti. |
On November 13, the #narativ photo and illustration exhibition dedicated to human rights was launched at the State University of Comrat. The launch event was attended by students of the Faculty of Law, who were urged by the rector Sergei Zaharia to analyze the exhibited works from the perspective of (dis)respect for human rights. “As future lawyers you must insist that human rights are respected in our country,” said the rector. His Excellency, Fred Duijn, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Chisinau, said that for the diplomatic mission he represents, human rights and their respect are an important objective. Executive Director of the IJC, Nadine Gogu, emphasized that the IJC has been supporting the independent press for 30 years through various initiatives, including competitions for journalists. “You see the result of such a contest today. For the last four years we have been running the Tulip Press Awards competition dedicated to human rights. We thought it was appropriate to present some of the work submitted to this competition to the general public, because human rights are, in fact, the rights of each and every one of us,” said Gogu. The exhibition is organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Chisinau in partnership with the Independent Journalism Center, Piko Creative Agency and Comrat State University. |
The presidential election campaign has brought back the issue of journalists’ integrity. Controversy on the subject culminated when the moderator of the presidential debate for the second round of the elections was to be decided, and some members of the profession rejected the candidacy of the journalist initially proposed, specifically on grounds of professional integrity. Journalist Ana Sarbu, the producer of the Podcast cuMINTE, tackled this topic in a discussion with the President of the Press Council, Viorica Zaharia. Both try to answer questions such as: What does a journalist of integrity mean? What are his professional responsibilities and what is he not allowed to do? Where is the line between his private life and the work he does in the public interest? Who sets those rules and who has the right to judge him? The cuMINTE Podcast is produced by the Independent Journalism Center with the support of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily represent those of IWPR or its partners. The cuMINTE podcast studio was created thanks to the regional project “Civil Society Resilience and Media Response to the War in Ukraine”, funded by the European Union/European Union in the Republic of Moldova and implemented in partnership with the Prague Civil Society Center and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee. |
In November, the actors of the Municipal Puppet Theater “Guguta” toured schools in the country with the children’s show PikPok.online@guguta. On November 5, in Edinet, some 240 primary school pupils from the “Vasile Suhomlinski” and “Dimitrie Cantemir” Theoretical Lyceums, both institutions with Russian-language teaching, were given an unusual educational lesson. Through the play, the children learned about some of the risks they can expose themselves to when surfing the Internet, as well as what rules of behavior they are obliged to follow to better protect themselves online. The performance lasts 45 minutes and is part of the repertoire of the “Guguta” Theatre, both in Russian and Romanian. In partnership with the IJC, the “Guguță” Theater launched the Romanian version of PikPok.online@guguță in November 2022 and the Russian version in February 2023. The show is realized in the form of an educational and entertaining story and is intended for kindergarten children as well as primary school students. |
Over 250 children from Balti watched the PikPok.online@guguta show in Balti on November 8. This time, the theatre team, in collaboration with the IJC, organized two free cultural events for pre-school children from Kindergarten No. 34 and primary school students from the “Vladimir Maiakovski” Theoretical High School in the municipality, with Russian-language teaching. The children watched the theater performance with interest, learning about the benefits of using the Internet, but also about some of the risks of communicating and interacting with virtual friends on social networks. Gabriela Lungu, theater director, drew the children’s attention to the fact that while in real life they have real friends, people they don’t know or who are malicious can end up among those on social networks. |
In Soroca, over 200 pre-school children from Kindergarten no. 16 “Izvoras” and students of grades I-V from the “Alexandr Pushkin” Theoretical Lyceum came to see PikPok.online@guguta. Actress Anghelina Codreanu, who introduced the main ideas of the performance to the children, said that this year the actors have performed the play 18 times during the tour of Russian-language educational institutions in the country. She urged the students to watch the theater performance carefully and become aware of the biggest challenges related to information technologies and the Internet. PikPok.online@guguta is an adaptation of the educational story “A Click of the Fangs or the Manipulative Wolf”, written by Solvita media researcher Denisa Liepniece from Latvia. The PikPok.online @guguta performance tour is organized within the framework of the project “Media education and literacy and optimizing newsrooms”. This project is financially supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moldova. |
IJC and Internews Updates |
The IJC invites media outlets from Moldova to participate in a small grants competition, through which the organization aims to contribute to managing the human resources crisis in the media. Three newsrooms will receive grants of 2,500 US dollars each, which will enable them to invite journalism students or people interested in journalism as interns. The newsrooms that will receive the grants will be responsible for selecting interns according to the specifics and needs of each media organization. The internship period suggested by the IJC is 1-3 months, and the subsequent hiring of interns is at the discretion of each newsroom. The grant competition is launched in the framework of the project “Media in Support of Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova” (MEDIA-M), funded by USAID, the British Embassy in Chisinau and implemented by Internews in Moldova. |
