Fewer people believe in existence of free mass media in Moldova

Only 22.3% of the respondents of the Public Opinion Barometer consider that the mass media in Moldova is free to report news and commentaries without censorship on the part of the government, the survey says. Their number has decreased compared with the results over the past two years, when over 30% of the respondents considered that there was no censorship. At the same time, 50% of the respondents think that the mass media is not free. Some 27.4% of the respondents consider that the media has freedom to openly criticise the government. This figure is also lower than in the previous surveys (over 30%). Half of the respondents do not believe in the existence in Moldova of the freedom to openly criticise the government. About 84% of the participants in the survey said they watch TV daily, over 58% listen to the radio and 11% read newspapers. Comparing the present results with the results of the previous surveys, it was found that the number of people reading papers has decreased and the number of those that watch TV and listen to the radio remained practically the same. The TV remains the most important source of information for over 86% of the population and the most trusted source for 55%. The television is followed by the radio, newspapers and family. The Public Opinion Barometer is conducted with support from Soros-Moldova Foundation and has been published two times a year since 1998.