Moldova lacks culture of communication in the case of state institutions, while society lacks culture of information consumption and mass media should show more responsibility. These are the conclusions of the participants in a public debate on the theme of “Electronic press and political culture: responsibility for the tamed”, organized by Info-Prim Neo news agency. Debate moderator Valeriu Vasilica, director of the agency, presented the example of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Chisinau in August, when information about her personal life, rather than about the political and other implications of her visit, made headlines. Valeriu Vasilica wondered about who was responsible for such demand of information. “Although it isn’t the only side to blame, the press does influence these preferences”, said the Info-Prim Neo director. Head of the TV channel Publika, Dumitru Tira, rejected any general models for conveying information or a political message. “The mass media’s goal is to inform. Essentially, the event of Mrs. Merkel’s visit was her arrival. Few people in Moldova have the culture of communication and there is a complete disaster as regards state institutions. The culture of information consumption is missing as well. Until a few years ago, people didn’t watch TV during daytime, they simply watched the evening news and that was it”, said Dumitru Tara. Euro TV director Ecaterina Stratan thinks the press should focus on presenting to the public the social problems. “I dislike when murders and accidents grab the headlines. People need positive information. We try to cover political events, but mainly the social ones the public needs”, said Ecaterina Stratan. Chief editor and political shows moderator at N4 TV, Gheorghe Gonta, says that people get only the information that journalists want them to know. “There is perhaps too much freedom of expression in Moldova lately. I think it would be better if we decided to sacrifice a bit of ratings and show the real situation”, he said. Andrei Cibotaru, director of the news desk at Prime TV, is skeptical about general models of how to present some information. “News isn’t like a lathe. You don’t give the size and everything is cut into identical pieces. For two years now, we’ve been breathing a different air. It seems there is more culture of communication, but considering we knew nothing two years ago, we hardly know anything know. We are captives of the dilemma: ratings or public interest? We do our job, we offer more information and people choose what they want”, explained Andrei Cibotaru. Head of IPNA TRM’s strategic development service Constantin Vulpe stressed the need for more mass media responsibility, especially for TV channels. “Once, people were formed by books and radio. Now, it’s TV. Gutenberg gave man the book, the TV took it from him. We must ensure the TV has the same goal as the book and rises to the same level”, said Constantin Vulpe. Chairman of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) Marian Pocaznoi thinks journalists are to blame for the public’s preferences. “I sometimes attend the Parliament meetings and in the evening, at the news, I see the quarrels and the insults, but nothing about the adopted laws and their impact. I understand mass media is a business, but the press is meant to inform. Almost all of our news bulletins begin with “X was raped”, “Y was killed”, etc.” Meanwhile, the law forbids any intervention, even from the BCC, in the editorial policy of broadcasters. Marian Pocaznoi said that in the end people had to decide what they watched and listened to. Chairman of Constitutional Court (CC) Alexandru Tanase finds that the press is more than the fourth power. “I’d rank it higher. It shapes and determines the behavior of the other powers. Sometimes, the three state powers don’t do what is needed because they are afraid of being lynched by the fourth. The press must choose between being a shepherd or a flock, but it cannot afford to be a flock, because more responsibility is demanded from the press”, he said. Vasile Spinei, chairman of the NGO Acces-Info, invited as an expert at the debate, wondered how there could be any freedom of expression with non-professionals. “You’d think only 3 or 4 people work in this country. I would forbid political statements made for image’s sake. It’s always the same parties, the same patterns, the same statements. But we also have scientists, innovations, we need to move things forward. We must dig deeper”, said Spinei. Permanent debate expert Igor Botan highlighted the important role of the media. “We have pluralism: more broadcasting institutions and competition among them. How do we make it useful for society? There is no answer. Society is an open system, an open competition. Today, we’re copying and importing models from the west. It’s important to adapt them to our realities”, said Igor Botan. The public debate “Electronic press and political culture: responsibility for the tamed” is the 11th event in the series “Developing political culture in public debates”, supported by the German Foundation Hanns Seidel.