The Press Council of the Republic of Moldova chose the investigation weekly Ziarul de Garda as he winner of the contest for the National Journalistic Ethics and Professional Deontology Award 2017. The contest involved eight media outlets nominated by consumers of media products and a group of experts constituted by the Press Council, IPN reports.
The winner of the contest was chosen as a result of a voting procedure that consisted of several stages within which the public, experts and members of the Press Council voted. The finalists of the contest were decided by gathering together the score obtained by candidates from the public and the score from the experts and members of the Press Council. These were four media outlets, namely the website Agora.md, IPN News Agency and newspapers “SP” of Balti and Ziarul de Garda.
In a special meeting, the Press Council assessed the results of the contest and decided to offer the National Ethics and Professional Deontology Award 2017 to Ziarul de Garda. The award was handed over in the Journalists of 2017 Gala, which was the 23rd edition of the event. This was staged by the Independent Journalism Center and the Committee for the Freedom of the Press on December 14.
The National Journalistic Ethics and Professional Deontology Award was instituted by the Press Council of the Republic of Moldova in 2015 and is provided annually to promote the ethical and professional deontology principles and in recognition of the merits of media outlets in the field. In 2015, the award was offered to the Radio Free Europe Office in Chisinau, while in 2016 to the portal Anticoruptie.md.
Contacted by IPN, Ziarul de Garda director Alina Radu said the awards conferred by credible organizations are very important for an editorial office that deals with investigations and materials about human rights. “In such editorial offices, there are not many joys as this is the most difficult type of journalism for which we are “rewarded” with threats, harassment, lawsuits and we are seriously affected by the authorities’ indifference or lack of reaction to journalistic articles about acts of corruption. So, in such conditions, the two small joys of our reporters are: the appreciation of citizens, which is very valuable and special, and the few awards that are offered to investigative reporters,” stated the director of Ziarul de Garda.
