The public must know who keeps the media organizations in Moldova under control so that they understand the viewpoints supported by the media. The ideas were presented in the tenth annual conference “Access to information and transparency in decision-making: legislation, reality, perspective”, IPN reports.

Attending the event, U.S. Ambassador to Moldova William Moser said the journalists’ role in a healthy democracy cannot be overestimated. For the media to do their duty, they must be independent from the state and from excessive political influence. Any country must be very attentive when considering restrictions of any kind on the mass media, which limit the fundamental right to information.

According to the ambassador, there are certain problems in Moldova that worry him, especially the concentration of the mass media in a few hands and the lack of transparency as regards their financing. Sometimes the viewpoints are suppressed, which in the U.S. is vehemently condemned.

Tudor Darie, director of the news portal Unimedia, said the media in Moldova is politicized. They either defend the parties, or criticize them. “If you have to choose between the political interest and the people’s interest, you must choose the people,” he stated.

Journalist Lilia Zaharia, of the Independent Press Association, said that besides informing, the journalists must also respect the private life. That’s why the information provided to the public must be objective and correct.