Public broadcaster complains of Parliament΄s interference in editorial policy

The national public broadcaster Teleradio-Moldova (TRM) says that the Parliament΄s decision of August 28 runs counter to the legislation. The Alliance for European Integration voted to ask the public broadcaster to provide one hour of airtime on the public television channel Moldova 1 on the same day, during prime time, and to broadcast live the Parliament΄s sittings from September 2. In a statement quoted by Info-Prim Neo, Teleradio-Moldova says that this is interference in the company΄s editorial policy and demands that its subordination to the legislature be reviewed. The statement says that the Parliament obliged the TRM to immediately modify the broadcast schedule and to indicate the format, length and broadcast hour of the programs. “By such an act, the Parliament openly violates the editorial independence of the public broadcaster, interfering brutally in its program policy,” the statement reads. The TRM describes the decision as attempt to endanger the freedom of the press in Moldova. The administration of the TRM stresses that the implementation of such a decision requires the modification of the activity plan and the broadcast schedule, which are approved annually by the Supervisory Board and the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC). Furthermore, the company will not be able to cover the costs incurred. For these reasons, the national broadcaster suspended the live broadcast of the Parliament΄s meetings three years ago. During the electoral campaign, the parties that later formed the Alliance for European Integration said that Teleradio-Moldova must be restructured so that it observed its status of public broadcaster. According to the member of the new legislature, immediately after the parliamentary commission on culture, science, education, youth, sport and mass media is constituted, they will analyze the work of the TRM and the BCC. The first vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party Alexandru Tanase stated for Info-Prim Neo that the persons loyal to the former government will be laid off because a public institution must not be politically biased in favor of the government.