The private broadcasters will be obliged to annually publish and present a report containing the name and nationality of the media outlet’s owner to the Broadcasting Coordination Council by May 1. Such a provision is contained in a bill with amendments to the Broadcasting Code that was put forward by the Liberal Democratic Party. The bill was drafted in concert with the Independent Journalism Center, IPN reports.

During the hearings held by the Parliament’s commission on culture, education, research, sport and mass media, one of the authors of the bill Chiril Lucinschi said the information about the owner of the media institution must be public. He admitted that he has owned a media company since 2005 and does not hide this fact.

Independent Journalism Center director Nadine Gogu said that this project is important for ensuring plurality of opinions. “The media market has witnessed a media concentration trend. We hope that when the bill is approved, this concentration will diminish,” she stated.

Attending the discussions, chairman of the Broadcasting Coordination Council Marian Pocaznoi said that such a bill is needed for ensuring transparency on the media market of Moldova. “The people must know the owners so as to see if they are manipulated or not,” he added.

The bill provides that the members of the Broadcasting Coordination Council can ask for additional information about the owners and their legal relations with the affiliated persons.