As the media in Moldova does not have enough incomes to remain independent, the state should provide certain benefits such as VAT exemptions and tax concessions, said Lina Grau, project coordinator at the Foreign Policy Association and co-author of the study “State of the media – between editorial independence and financial dependence”.
“When you do not have money to make a product equidistant and balanced, you start to search. The politicians who pursue certain goals in the business sector are usually those interested in controlling the information. As a result, the media becomes dependent on political interests or economic groups. Things worsen in Moldova because the state is not interested in supporting the media. If there had been such an interest, things would have been different,” Lina Grau said in a news conference at IPN.
According to Lina Grau, the financial assurance for the independent media should be increased by different projects from the western partners of Moldova. On the other hand, the media outlets financed from the West, which are equidistant and professional, should strengthen their teams in Moldova and extend the broadcast schedule.
Lina Grau underlined that the government should be more active in supporting the independent media as those who are in power can be in the opposition tomorrow. What remains is democratic mechanisms that must be yet ensured. “The politicians haven’t yet become mature enough to realize the necessity of truly democratic mechanisms. Such mechanisms can be used when they are in the opposition and it is thus in the politicians’ interest to create a balance on the mass media market,” she stated.
The author recommends the authorities to adopt in the final reading the law on media ownership transparency and to remove the existing imbalance in favor of the Russia media sources.
