Advertising in the mass media sector is monopolized, while the excessive concentration of the advertising budgets in Chisinau dooms the regional mass media to disappearance. According to a number of media organizations of Moldova, the current law on advertising is confused and contains many inexactly defined notions. This fact enables the media outlets financed with public money to work on the advertising market under the same conditions as the private mass media, IPN reports.

According to the study “Reforms in the mass media sector in 2009-2013: between promises and facts”, presented by the Association of Independent Press, advertising in the mass media is in parts mixed up with sponsorship, even if philanthropy and sponsorship are regulated by a separate law. The current law also does not hamper the ‘infiltration’ of foreign advertisements into the national market, does not define ‘state advertising’ and does not ensure the transparent and balanced distribution of adverts.

Furthermore, the mass media experts said the advertising legation does not stimulate the extension of the national information products and the development of the official language. There is no regulatory or self-regulatory authority that would identify and classify the social messages and calls transmitted by the mass media according to their public interest character.

Among the recommendations formulated by the media organizations for remedying the situation are to review the national advertising legislation and to extend the number of areas classed by law as of social and state interest so as to offer more possibilities of promoting messages of public interest, etc.