The Press Council came together for a meeting in a new composition on November 24, IPN reports.
In the opening of the meeting, Petru Macovei, executive director of the Association of Independent Press, said that five representatives of media outlets were chosen as Press Council members as a result of a contest. These are: Dumitru Tira, of the group Realitatea; Viorica Zaharia, proposed by the Independent Journalism Center; Iulia Semionova, suggested by the community of Russian language journalists; Alina Țurcanu, of Radio Free Europe; and Ecaterina Jekova, on behalf of the media of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia.
The Press Council also includes four persons representing press consumers, namely Olga Manole, of Promo-Lex Association; Ludmila Andronic, of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences of the State University of Moldova; and Inga Burlacu and Vitalie Zama, who were also proposed by media consumers.
In the inaugural meeting, the Press Council elected as president well-known journalist and media expert Viorica Zaharia, who is appreciated for her newspaper, radio and TV reports, including on Radio Free Europe.
The new Press Council’s term expires in October 2018.
As the founding organization, the Association of Independent Press had the right to choose the Press Council’s secretary. In this regard, Petru Macovei reminded the goals set by the Press Council when it was founded on October 1, 2009. Among these is to mediate and help to swiftly reach amicable settlements over disputes between readers and media organizations, within two-three months. This way the Council can guarantee the quality of information, showing that the journalists are responsible and there is no need for the state to supervise the mass media.
The Press Council also defends and promotes the freedom of the media, lobbies for the amendment of laws on the media, and carries out research and opinion polls on media-related themes.
Petru Macovei noted the Council does not become involved in politics, reiterating that the objective is to contribute to improving the journalistic products proposed to the public and to make the journalists responsible for the disseminated information.
