Media observers uncloak techniques used by Moldova 1 to distort messages

The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) uncloaks message distorting techniques used by Moldova 1 and other broadcasters with national coverage, in a new monitoring report compiled from July 13 to 19. At a news conference hosted by Info-Prim Neo on July 23, IJC interim director Nadine Gogu stated that the public stations Moldova 1 and Radio Moldova selectively apply the principles of impartial and balanced coverage of the electoral campaign. Nadine Gogu has backed her statements with an example. Moldova 1 aired materials from news conferences of two parties which back the PCRM in this race. Instead, when it aired materials about news conferences of other two parties, the message was distorted because the report does not mention that the two party leaders called on their voters to vote for the Liberal parties, Gogu said. The pluralism of info sources is insured by Moldova 1 and Radio Moldova in all the stories containing accusations against the PCRM. The Moldova 1 journalists offer the right to defense to the PCRM representatives, instead they do not ask for the opinion of the politicians accused by the PCRM, the expert says. Referring to the television NIT, executive director of the Independent Press Association Petru Macovei has stated: “Our researches show that NIT's newscasts violate absolutely all the ethical norms, the race coverage regulation adopted by the Central Election Commission, and very many articles from the Broadcasting Code.” The expert set as an example the material broadcast by this station, in which the reporter starts from anonymous sources on the Internet and tries to persuade that a non-Communist politician would allegedly like to continue the April protests. “My impression is that NIT pursues to fool viewers, not to inform them,” said Macovei. “NIT openly favors the PCRM, and the stories about the opposition are often denigrating. This station promotes the hate language,” reads a communique distributed by the monitors. “Certainly, the BCC's conduct as a regulating body is below any criticism in this race and the previous one,” Macovei said. With the financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy, the Independent Journalism Center monitors Moldova 1, Radio Moldova, NIT, Prime and Eu TV, in this campaign. The criteria according to which the monitors under the IJC's aegis selected the stations to be observed consist in wide territorial coverage and the fact that two of them are public.