The participants in the Media Forum called on the authorities to approve a national mass media development program for 2022-2025. This would help the media of a high quality to cope with the financial, human resources and other types of challenges that appeared or worsened together with the pandemic crisis and the war. Communication between the authorities and the media is defective and is detrimental to the joint efforts to manage and overcome the crises, says a resolution adopted in the Media Forum 2022, IPN reports.
According to the resolution, the intensification of foreign interference in the national media space caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has led to social antagonism, including inside the journalistic community. At the moment, information security is vulnerable and there are no real and efficient mechanisms for preventing and counteracting the threats posed by the information and hybrid wars, while the inefficiency of the actions to block/ban the transmission of propaganda news and feature programs of Russian TV channels in ATU Gagauzia continues to encourage war and aggression and to incite hatred.
Particular results achieved in the process of improving the media legislation, including in the electoral field, are not enough to ensure the development of the sector. The situation of print media has worsened continuously following the rise in newsprint prices and in charges for distribution services.
The journalists underlined the necessity of amending, adjusting or supplementing the national legislation for 2023 so that this ensures efficient and swift access to information and the transparency of public institutions of all levels and excludes the denial of the media’s access to information of public interest. All the cases of physical attack, intimidation and online harassment or any other kinds of attacks on journalists should be investigated and punished. The national producers of media content of public interest should be stimulated, while the development of the independent media should be supported.
The participants in the forum called upon the journalists and media outlets to demand that the authorities ensure the systemic development of the national media sector, to ensure and promote the transparency of the own activity and not to undermine the importance of ethical principles and deontological norms in daily activity, including in times of crisis.
The seventh Moldova Media Forum was staged by the Press Council in partnership with media NGOs during November 22-23.
