The independent candidate for Chisinau mayoralty Silvia Radu is intensely favored by six of the ten most popular TV channels in Moldova, according to the last Public Opinion Barometer. These are: Prime TV, Publika TV, Canal 3, Canal 2, Moldova 1 and RTR. Another two candidates, Andrei Nastase and Ion Ceban, are favored in the newscasts of Jurnal TV and NTV Moldova, respectively. The conclusions were included in a monitoring report compiled by the WatchDog.MD Community association. This covered the period between March 22 and 28.
In a news conference at IPN, expert Valeriu Pasa said there were monitored the main news bulletins of the day that are broadcast in prime time. Of the total of 77 news articles about persons who later became election runners , 39 were about Silvia Radu, 15 about Ion Ceban, 13 about Andrei Nastase, 4 about Reghina Apostolova, 3 about Vasile Costiuc and 3 about Valeriu Munteanu.
Of the 39 news items about Silvia Radu, 22 appeared at the four channels of General Media Group (Prime TV, Publika TV, Canal 3 and Canal 2), all in a positive context. Another 10 appeared on Moldova 1 and RTR. Of the 13 news articles about Andrei Nastase, 7 appeared on Jurnal TV, absolutely all presenting this in a favorable light. In the case of Ion Ceban, 11 of the 15 news items about him appeared on NTV Moldova and all presented him in a positive light.
“The channels of GMG presented only positive news about Silvia Radu. They periodically broadcast news items about other candidates, exclusively in a negative context. The news articles created a negative image to the other candidates. The same is true about Jurnal TV, but this intensely favored Andrei Nastase and presented the other candidates in a negative light. NTV Moldova presented Ion Ceban in a positive context, while the other candidates in a neutral or a negative context. Moldova 1 treats all the candidates neutrally, except for Silvia Radu, who is favored in some of the newscasts. TV8 and Pro TV presented the candidates neutrally or even neglected these,” stated Valeriu Pasa.
The experts identified three types of behavior at TV channels in the period. The channels that form part of General Media Group (Prime TV, Publika TV, Canal 3 and Canal 2), Jurnal TV and NTV Moldova were evidently biased. Moldova 1 and RTR Moldova were partially biased, while TV8 and Pro TV were neutral.
Valeriu Pasa said all the TV channels that are biased or partially biased in favor of Silvia Radu broadcast no news item about the earlier presented National Agency for Energy Regulation report that featured Silvia Radu. By non-informing, they misinform and the free formation of the voting options is thus out of the question.
The experts of WatchDog.MD notified the Broadcasting Coordination Council, requesting this to penalize the TV channels that break the law.
