Situation of press in Moldova discussed at mass media forum in Chisinau

Chisinau, 4 November /MOLDPRES/ - Journalists from all over Moldova today assembled to discuss the situation of press in the country, at the fifth issue of the Mass Media Forum, held in Chisinau during two days.   

The event is organized by the Press Council, in partnership with the Independent Press Association (API), Centre for Independent Journalism (CJI) and Electronic Press Association (APEL).

In the beginning of the event, the head of Moldova’s Press Council, Viorica Zaharia, has said that the limiting of the access to information, concentration and the dominant positions on the media market, as well as the monopoly on the advertising market make the press from Moldova being at the subsistence level, the true press not to find its way about without the help of foreign donors and the journalism as profession and product not to be able to develop.    

”Certainly, an under-developed journalism or at the beck and call of somebody is nothing but a hindrance to the democratic functioning. Also, the same factors made us worsen out position in the Press Freedom Index, compiled by the Reporters Without Borders organization and this year we even made a “leap” of ten positions and reached the position 91 in a ranking including 180 countries. The issue of ensuring a better access to information in the last months has been tackled by the state’s authorities along with the media editorial offices and organizations and we saw, at least at the beginning, openness and wish to start a dialogue,” the head of the Press Council said.   

Attending the event, Prime Minister Maia Sandu said that the situation of press continued to be dramatic in Moldova. “The free press during years has waged a terrible fight for survival in unfavourable legislative and economic conditions. The financial sources from advertising are artificially limited, through cartel agreements and monopoly included. The legal foreign financing sources are limited too and cannot but partially and temporarily cover the needs of the editorial offices. The public media financed from the money of citizens, my, your money, again fails to serve people, to provide information about the events in the country impartially and to produce content of public interest, with civic and educative character for all the age categories,” the PM stressed.         

According to the official, the main goals of the government in the relation with mass media deal with the support of the free press, creating conditions for it to exist without interferences and to be able to develop in Moldova. In this respect, the prime minister noted that more proposals of legislative amendments had been made, meant to bring clarity and responsibility in the work of media regulators and competition.  

In continuation, Ambassador of Sweden to Moldova Anna Lyberg and the head of the USAID Mission in Moldova, Scott Hocklander, took the floor. Afterwards, a discussion took place on the situation of the press in Moldova in 2019.    

The participants in the Mass Media Forum 2019 are to adopt a resolution due to point out the problems which hinder the development of mass media in Moldova and the requests to the authorities for improving the journalists’ working conditions and for ensuring media pluralism and independence.