TRM pronounces on changes made to broadcast schedule

In the process of reforming the national public broadcaster Teleradio-Moldova (TRM), the company’s administration takes into account viewers’ wishes and the duty of the broadcaster as well as the human resources and materials it possesses. The TRM’s stance was formulated in a communiqué issued following public interpretations of the decision to substitute the news program in Russian “Mesager” with three news bulletins, Info-Prim Neo reports. ”The company attentively follows the developments in the broadcasting sector of Moldova in order to ensure its competitiveness. The decision to modify the broadcast schedule of Moldova 1 was based on this and other reasons,” says the communiqué. In September, the Supervisory Board of the TRM approved the new conception of the news programs of the TV channel Moldova 1. Under it, there will be broadcast nine original news programs a day, between 7am and midnight, 32% of them being in Russian. The news program in Romanian “Mesager” is aired at 7pm, instead of the only newscast in Russian that was broadcast at 7pm. The new schedule contains three news bulletins in Russian. ”The changes to the broadcast schedule were made in strict compliance with the Broadcasting Code of Moldova. The new schedule offers the viewers of all ages and social categories more possibilities of informing themselves about the most important events in the country and abroad, in Romanian and in Russian. The changes form part of the reform of the TRM’s editorial policy and are aimed at increasing the public TV channel’s attractiveness and competitiveness,” reads the communiqué. According to the TRM, the study of the audience of the TV programs covering the period between October 10 and 20 shows that more people are watching the newscasts in Romanian and in Russian as a result of the made changes. The TRM regrets the attempts to interpret the administration’s initiatives and to use the changes taking place at Moldova 1 for political purposes, as well as the steps taken to intimidate and pressurize the company. The changes to the broadcast schedule of Moldova 1 were made on October 10.