The Coalition for Free and Fair Electrons rendered the first media monitoring report in the election period, compiled by the Independent Press Association (API), the Independent Journalism Center (CJI) and the Electronic Press Association of Moldova (APEL). The general conclusion is that the Moldovan mass media continues to selectively cover the election campaign depending on sympathies and antipathies typical of every outlet. The report was presented in a news conference at IPN.
Within the project, there were monitored 35 media outlets – 8 newspapers (Jurnal de Chisinau, Komsomolskaya Pravda v Moldove, Moldova Suverana, Nezavisimaya Moldova, Panorama, Timpul, Ziarul National, and Vesti Gagauzii), 10 online portals (Moldova.org, Moldova24.info, Unimedia.info, Jurnal.md, Deschide.md, Politik.md, Realitatea.md, Noi.md, Omg.md, and Newsmaker.md), 12 TV channels (Accent TV, Canal 2, Canal 3, Canal Regional, GRT (public television of Comrat), Jurnal TV, Moldova 1, N4, Prime TV, ProTV Chisinau, TV7, and Publika TV) and 5 radio stations (Vocea Basarabiei, Radio Plai, Radio Noroc, Radio Plai, Radio Moldova, and Russkoe Radio).
According to the report, none of the newspapers respected the norm concerning the plurality of sources in the case of conflict-containing articles, the lowest score being obtained by Nezavisimaya Moldova, which didn’t present the second source or opinion in any of the 29 conflict-containing articles published. Nezavisimaya Moldova favored the Communist Party (PCRM), Panorama and Vesti Gagauzii – the Party “Motherland”, Moldova Suverana and Ziarul National – the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM), Timpul – the Democratic Party (PDM), Jurnal de Chisinau – the PLDM, while Komsomolskaya Pravda sympathized with several election runners, including the Party of Socialists, the Democratic Party and the Party “Motherland”.
As to the electronic media, most of the portals didn’t ensure impartiality and the plurality of sources. According to the API director Petru Macovei, newsmaker.md covered the election campaign impartially, while Moldova24.info was evidently biased in favor of the Party “Motherland”. Jurnal.md disfavored the PDM and slightly the PLDM and the PCRM. Realitatea.md, Unimedia.info and Deschide.md covered the election campaign most actively, without obviously favoring somebody.
As regards the TV channels, these broadcast 760 news items of electoral interest, 27.3% of which were conflict-based. Accent TV and N4 presented 70% and, respectively, 45% of the conflict-containing news without providing several sources and opinions. Moldova 1 and GRT were the most impartial TV channels, while Jurnal TV was the most biased one. According to Petru Macovei, the television trust known to be owned by the first deputy chairman of the PDM Vlad Plahotniuc directly and indirectly favored the Democratic Party by the frequency and contexts in which this party was mentioned in news and programs.
Unlike the other media outlets, the radio stations broadcast more electoral education materials and were less partial. “This refers to news items and not only. On the radio, the authors in general state their opinions less frequently than in the print and electronic media,” said CJI director Nadine Gogu. However, Radio Moldova presented more often the PLDM and PDM in a positive or neutral light, Vocea Basarabiei favored massively the PLDM, while Radio Plai favored slightly the PDM.
The monitoring was performed within a project financed by the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy, the U.S. Embassy in Moldova and East-Europe Foundation with the funds allocated by the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (DANIDA).
