The mass media in Moldova continue to be politically controlled and the people in the election campaign were presented only particular views so that not everyone had equal and balanced access to information. Even so, media experts consider there are yet independent media outlets that work impartially and in a balanced way, including in the election campaign, says the fifth and last report on media monitoring in the election campaign prior to the February 24 parliamentary elections. This was compiled by the Association of Independent Press and the Independent Journalism Center within the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections and covers the period between February 17 and 24.
In a news conference at IPN, Independent Journalism Center director Nadine Gogu said they monitored 12 TV channels in evening hours. The PDM’s candidates in the national constituency principally benefitted from a positive tone in newscasts, programs and debates, being followed by those of the PSRM and the Shor Party. The electoral bloc ACUM appeared most often in a negative light, being followed by the PSRM. Among competitors in single-member constituencies, Vladimir Plahotniuc (PDM), Vasile Costin (PDM), Constantin Țuțu (PDM), followed by Zinaida Grecheanyi (PSRM), Alexandr Odințov (PSRM) and Vlad Batrîncea (PSRM) were most often favored. Mihail Popșoi (ACUM), Elena Bodnarenko (PCRM) and Andrei Năstase (ACUM) were most often presented in a negative light.
The PDM, PSRM, ACUM, the Shor Party and the PL had the greatest visibility by the frequency and length of appearances in images and live broadcasts. NTV Moldova, Accent TV, Pro TV and Televiziunea Centrală (Central Television) ensured the greatest diversity from thematic viewpoint. When producing reports, the monitored TV channels used different social sources, primarily the citizens, who were followed, at a big distance, by representatives of the CEC and civil society.
Analyzing generally the behavior of the media in the election campaign and the identified violations, Nadine Gogu said that despite the imposed penalties, the situation remained unchanged. “This shows that we have an Audiovisual Council, but do not have efficiency in the work of this Council during the election campaign. This should impose penalties that would be efficient too,” said the director of the Independent Journalism Center.
Petru Macovei, director of the Association of Independent Press, spoke about the monitored 16 online papers and portals. The activities of the PDM, the PSRM, the bloc ACUM and the Shor Party in the national constituency were most broadly covered during the last week of the election campaign and the tone was neutral most of the times. The Democratic Party and the Party of Socialists were mainly presented in a negative context. The PDM also appeared most often in a positive light.
Among candidates who ran in single-member constituencies, Vladimir Plahotniuc (PDM), Maia Sandu (ACUM), Andrei Năstase (ACUM) and Ilan Shor (PPȘ) were presented most often. Vladimir Plahotniuc, followed by Ilan Shor had most of the appearances in a positive context. Vladimir Plahotniuc, Maia Sandu, Andrei Năstase and Ilan Shor appeared most often in a negative light. These had almost the same number of negative appearances.
Polina Panainte, secretary of the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, said that even if some of the election runners enjoyed a massive presence on TV channels and online, they didn’t gain a seat in Parliament. This makes her think that the people started to make a difference between manipulative information and impartial reports.
