BCC guarantees public interest, not political interest in broadcasting: chairman

“The Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) is a guarantor of the public interest, not of the political interest in broadcasting,” said the BCC chairman, Gheroghe Gorincioi, on Tuesday, at a news conference in Chisinau, where he presented the BCC's activity report for 2007, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Certainly, in broadcasting, important economic and political interests intersect, and there are attempts on behalf of political parties, companies, broadcasters, service distributors to influence decisions of the BCC,” Gheorghe Gorincioi said. According to him, the BCC decisions are made in public and democratically, as every BCC member has the opportunity to express his/her view. Gorincioi has pointed out all the frequency contests are organized in accordance with the Broadcasting Code. “Certainly, the subjective human factor cannot lack, but we try that these decisions are in the interest of broadcasters, of the Moldovan broadcasting and in conformity with the Moldovan legislation,” he said. The chairman says the BCC decisions cannot be predicted and he is not aware of political interference with making decisions within the BCC. According to Gheorghe Gorincioi, the BCC has received appreciations for its activity in 2007 from the civil society. He meant 11 media NGOs under the aegis of the Broadcasters Association APEL. At the same time, the NGOs noticed drawbacks in organizing frequency contests, in reasoning the decisions and in presenting quarterly activity reports. “Although most of the recommendations bear a critical character, they are highly appreciated by the BCC because they objectively point to some drawbacks in the BCC's work,” Gheorghe Gorincioi said. In 2007, the BCC's main tasks were to implement the new Broadcasting Code and to encourage the harmonization of the Moldovan broadcasters with the EU standards. This year, the BCC prepares to switch from analogous to digital television – a very serious test for the Moldovan broadcasting, says Gorincioi. The switch is to be realized in 2008-2015. This will particularly enable every district to have its own TV studio. “Each channel will be able to air 4-8 programs and thus the problem of distributing frequencies will automatically disappear,” the BCC chairman has said. Gorincioi says considerable money is necessary to pass from analogous to digital television, as only a household decoder is $100. The report was endorsed by the Parliament on July 4. Opposition MPs criticized the BCC's work, accusing it of remaining a political tool against the media non-engaged with the Communist rule. According to opposition MPs, the BCC transforms the frequency contest into a political farce, as the decisions are taken long before “by the representatives of the Communists and their satellites within the BCC.”