Media News - Friday, May 30, 2008

Moldova: Concern about government harassment of independent news media

Reporters Without Borders is worried about repeated harassment of journalists and news media in the past two months by the Moldovan authorities. The biweekly Moldavskie Vedomosti is threatened with closure by an investigation into alleged corruption while the body that allocates broadcast frequencies has been accused of favouring pro-government radio and TV stations. The Moldovan public prosecutor's office last month opened an investigation into allegations that Moldavskie Vedomosti overcharged a company called Soroca Stone Quarry for advertising. Anti-corruption investigators have carried out several inspections of the newspaper's financial records at its headquarters. Moldavskie Vedomosti editor Dmitri Ciubasenco said he was convinced that 'the public prosecutor's investigation is political' and that it was designed to put pressure on the newspaper and lead to its bankruptcy. A number of NGOs and news media issued a joint statement criticising the way the Broadcasting Coordinating Council allocated radio and TV frequencies during a two-day session on 7 and 8 May. 'The decisions of Moldova's Broadcasting Coordinating Council are favouring media concentration by assigning frequencies above all to pro-government radio and TV stations,' the statement said. (Reporters Without Borders)

Bookmark this : | Listen to this article | Sphere: Related Content

• Home |
• Seminars  |
• Events |
• Media Landscape |
• Newsroom|
• Media News|
• Resources

Terms of service and Privacy policy.

Copyright © 1992-2007 European Journalism Centre. All rights reserved.

Valid XHTML and CSS.

European Journalism Centre

Sonneville-lunet 10
6221KT Maastricht
The Netherlands

Tel. : +31 43 325 40 30
Fax : +32 2 400 42 20

E-mail: info[at]ejc.net