The national public broadcaster Teleradio-Moldova (TRM) didn’t fully respect the business plan for 2012, shows a monitoring report produced by the Electronic Press Association (APEL). According to the Association’s experts, over the next three years TRM should make effort to narrow the gap by accelerating the pace of carrying out essential activities, IPN reports.
Aneta Gonta, expert for the monitoring project, said that though the company achieved most of the objectives set for 2012, there were identified a number of irregularities. “Some of the provisions were implemented partially or weren’t implemented at all. However, there were performed activities that weren’t included in the business plan and the progress report for 2012,” she said in a news conference.
According to APEL executive director Ion Bunduchi, last year Teleradio-Moldova didn’t manage to sufficiently strengthen the relations with the national independent producers. It thus lost an opportunity to strengthen its editorial independence and to diversify its products. The expert recommended the institution to devote increased attention to developing partnerships with national independent producers and not to broadcast donated media products only in order to fill the broadcast schedule. “There were a number of co-productions with state bodies. This does not increase their independence,” said Ion Bunduchi.
He also said that the APEL has monitored the situation at the TRM for many years and saw that, when the administration was changed, the quality of the news improved. “We almost every time centered on the content of the news and every time said that “Teleradio-Moldova” manipulates rather than informs, especially through the news programs. But the current administration invested in the news on the radio station and TV channel. The news of the news programs were the first to be reformed and they became ‘fit for consumption’,” stated Ion Bunduchi.
The experts recommended TRM to focus on promptness and quality on Moldova 1 and Radio Moldova, to increase the number of employees, and to implement a new pay grades system. As to the business plan, it must contain measurable objectives, while the progress report must coincide with the performed activities.
This is the fourth monitoring report on Teleradio-Moldova compiled by APEL, which is a nongovernmental organization that aims to contribute to the development of broadcasting in Moldova, based on democratic practices.
