There is a plurality of opinions in Moldovan mass media that should be encouraged, Kalman Mizsei

There is a plurality of opinion in Moldova despite a number of shortcomings, including: the politicians do not allocate sufficient funds to the public company “Teleradio-Moldova”, while some of the businessmen have a strong influence on TV channels and radio stations. The statement was made by the EU Special Representative for Moldova Kalman Mizsei in a program on Radio Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. The European official said the authorities should allocate sufficient financial resources to “Teleradio-Moldova”, which is a company that agrees its policy independently. “If the politicians do not allot enough money to “Teleradio-Moldova” they show that they do not like this channel, but it is their responsibility to allocate money to the national public broadcaster that plays a very important social role,” Kalman Mizsei said. The EU Special Representative believes that another problem faced by the public broadcaster is its management. “The composition of the Supervisory Board remained unchanged and the people are not sure that the members of this Board cannot be influenced by politicians. Consequently, it is important to make changes to its management,” he stated. The European official also said that the mass media in Moldova is influenced by some of the businessmen. He considers that very transparent rules are needed, which would regulate this influence. “The rules should prevent the businessmen from exerting excessive influence on the editorial policies of the TV channels and radio stations,” said Kalman Mizsei. He also said that the rules regulating the work of the mass media should be more permissive. But if they are laid down, they should be obeyed. “Before the elections, many channels start to agitate, do not always tell the truth and try to manipulate the public,” stressed the European official. Kalman Mizsei said that despite the mentioned deficiencies, there is a plurality of opinions in the Moldovan mass media that should be encouraged.