NIT left without advertising

The TV channel NIT was deprived of the right to broadcast commercial advertisements for a period of three days. A decision to this effect was taken Friday by the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC), Info-Prim Neo reports. The Council argued that the channel did not ensure pluralism in the report about Romanian Foreign Ministry Teodor Baconski’s visit to Chisinau in September. According to the Democratic Party’s representative to the BCC Andrei Volontir, the NIT suggested that the Democrat leader Marian Lupu had met with the Romanian foreign minister, but this is not true. At the same time, the NIT asserts that they presented the opinions of all the sides involved in the conflict. It describes the BCC’s decision as attempt to deprive an inconvenient media outlet of license. “It is evident that the BCC aims to eliminate the only TV channel with an opinion that is different from that of the governors. Violating flagrantly all the democratic norms, the authorities create all the preconditions for bringing NIT on the verge of bankruptcy,” the channel says in a statement, seeking protection from international organizations. The ban on broadcasting commercial advertisements is a penalty imposed after public warning and fine. The next penalty is withdrawal of the license.