Broadcasting Regulator knocked in Parliament for work in 2007

The Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) presented its activity report for 2007 in the Parliament on Friday. The BCC's work has been criticized both by the opposition MPs and by the committee in charge with media issues. The Parliament has decided that the BCC is to consider the deputies' proposals and to come up with a program within 2 months to improve its activity and the work of all Moldovan broadcasters, Info-Prim Neo reports. The BCC chairman, Gheorghe Gorincioi, has said, in 2007, the main tasks of the BCC were to implement the new Broadcasting Code and to “encourage the harmonization of the Moldovan broadcasting-related entities to EU standards.” For this purpose they organized public sittings, frequency distribution contests, issued broadcasting licenses, monitored programs, punished broadcasters, etc. The media committee has assessed that the BCC makes some effort to defend the democratic values, the political-social balance and pluralism, the free reception of programs. “However there are aspects ignored so far by the BCC,” said chairman Vladimir Dragomir. He referred to the Strategy on covering the national territory with program services (2007-2009), developed following the BCC's report for 2006, the contents of which bear “a declarative character mostly.” The BCC should start having a more serious stance as to the quality of the programs, starting from the ones produced by the public company Teleradio-Moldova and ending with the local ones. The BCC is applying more and more sanctions, as broadcasters go on breaching the law. Too little is done to protect copyrights and neighboring rights, the committee finds. Opposition parliamentarians have accused the BCC of servicing the ruling party. “The BCC remains a political tool to fight all the media thinking otherwise than the Communist rulers,” said Moldova Noastra Alliance MP Leonid Bujor. “The BCC transforms the frequency distribution contest into a political farce, the decision being long in advance taken by the representatives of the Communists and their satellites within the BCC. Even more serious is the fact that the BCC does not clearly establish the selection criteria for applicants and does not reason its decisions,” the Liberal-Democratic leader, Vlad Filat, said. In response, Gheorghe Gorincioi, has said “the BCC is not politically influenced and does not make the game of any broadcasters.” “In 2007, sanctions were applied for lack of political pluralism to Moldova-1, Radio Moldova, NIT, Antena C, but not to Radio Vocea Basarabiei, considered as democratic by the opposition, although the same derogations were found there, too,” the BCC chairman said. As of January 1, 2008, 267 broadcasters were working in Moldova. Out of 30 TV stations,six are based in Chisinau, 21 in district centers and three in villages. Out of 29 local radios, 18 broadcast in Chisinau and 11 in other areas.