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Posted by: Bogdan Nigai

News / Social

26 Aug. 2022 / 15:10

Radio Moldova: The evolution of the mass media since the proclamation of the Independence of the Republic of Moldova (AUDIO)

During the 31 years of independence in our country, a mass media took shape, which oscillated between extremes, influenced by the political regimes. However, for three decades, it was not possible to assert a free and especially independent press, journalist and former director of the national radio station, Alexandru Dorogan, said in an interview for Radio Moldova.

According to the journalist, after independence, the media processes became much more complicated, a press divided into barricades took shape, and in some places, the mass media became much more responsible. "We have a great freedom for the press, but we do not have a free press, because, in my opinion, I see the dependence of certain means, especially audiovisual media service providers and certain agencies. You open them and see who they depend on. That's sad. After so many years of independence of the Republic of Moldova in which, however, I categorically state that conditions for a free press, from the point of view of the law, have been created, and from the point of view of the responsibility of journalists, I believe that we have a lot to learn", said Alexandru Dorogan.

During these years, there were no prosperous periods for the press, as there were several challenges, and the press always oscillated between extremes, according to the executive director of the Center for Independent Journalism, Nadine Gogu.

The expert concludes that for over three decades it has not been possible to create a legislative and economic environment that would allow media institutions to become truly financially sustainable and not depend on political actors. "The status of freedom of the press fluctuated in these years, from unfree press to partially free, then we returned to the status of unfree press and in the last 10 years we can talk about stagnation. Any change in political regimes in the Republic of Moldova usually results in changes in the media landscape as well. Challenges exist constantly, day in and day out. We have come to the point in recent years that we have too little quality journalism. The diversity of opinions is not what we would have liked and we have a press that is still manipulated."

One of the problems in the media space in our country is the rush for the audience, and from the desire to be the first and without checking the sources, fake news is born, according to Alexandru Dorogan. "How credible is the service that informs you, on the other hand, it also depends on the consumer. In large part, we probably need to grow this consumer who chooses. The rush for the final product ignores the public interest. it only ensures the public interest. I want as many consumers as possible, while the public interest is the interest of the whole society. It is sadder when some media services intentionally direct their consumers, through the product they have, to fakes. They trap their consumers, they create an audience through fake news, the great result of unfair competition.

On the other hand, Nadine Gogu says that currently there is fair and balanced competition in the media market. The expert points out that recently credible institutions are taking shape, which face the challenges and manage to assert themselves. "I have noticed in recent years that several media sources that we can call independent have appeared, they managed to survive even if it was quite difficult, there were challenges, and here I mean the lack of access to information or the refusal civil servants to answer questions of public interest or even cases of court proceedings initiated by certain characters. However, they resisted, survived and competed on the market, it's a fair competition. After us, in the next 6-10 years we could be among the states with a free press".
 
Traditional means of information will not lose their competition, with the development of new media, as the quality of the product is paramount, says Alexandru Dorogan. The journalist specifies that the public's interest in radio will not disappear. "It's just that the radio product needs to be provided with different forms of distribution to reach the consumer through different channels. I listen to Radio Moldova, it is a station that can be listened to, I like the news, you have good news and Radio Moldova has a future."

The Republic of Moldova rose in the Press Freedom Index, developed by the international organisation Reporters Without Borders (RFF), from 89th place in 2021 to 40th place this year, out of 180 countries.

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