Moldovan media to educate voters

14 TV channels and 8 regional and local newspapers will teach the public about the importance of the election campaign and the participation in elections. During a year, the media institutions will provide programs and civic and electoral education articles that will promote participation in the polls. The action is part of the Media Actions for Electoral Education Project presented in Chisinau on January 29, Info-Prim Neo reports. Petru Macovei, executive director of the Independent Press Association (API), said that the media institutions engaged in the project will organize debates involving election contenders during the election campaign. The debates will be presented by two journalists – by one from television and from a newspaper. “The contenders will be asked the same questions, the politicians will be treated impartially and the public opinion will not be manipulated depending on the invitee,” Macovei said. TV channels and regional and local newspapers have been selected to implement this project so as to encourage the unbiased covering of the election campaign. The national press was not involved. According to the director of the Representative Office of Eurasia Foundation in Moldova Sorin Mereacre, during the previous elections campaigns it was noticed that the national mass media was more biased than the local and regional one. Ion Bunduchi, executive director of the Electronic Press Association (APEL), said that the local press is closer to the voters. Therefore, the local public administrations should be more responsible than the central ones. Victoria Miron, mass media programs director at Soros-Moldova Foundation, said that the local electronic press becomes more credible and professional and should be thus further supported. The newspapers and TV channels were selected according to the geographic criterion and the personnel availability criterion. The following newspapers accepted the invitation: “Cuvantul” in Rezina, “Observatorul de Nord” distributed in Soroca and Floresti, “Business-Info” in Cimislia, “Glia Drochiana” distributed in Drochia district, “Nord-Info” distributed in Edinet, Donduseni and Ocnita, “Gazeta de Vest” in Nisporeni, “SP” in the municipality of Balti and “Causenii” in Causeni. Among the TV channels are the public television in Balti, the televisions in Edinet, Glodeni, Soroca, Floresti, Nisporeni, Cimislia, Basarabeasca, and Comrat. The project is implemented by the API and the Representative Office of Eurasia Foundation in Moldova. It is financed by the European Union in concert with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the United States Agency for International Development. The project will run until December this year.