“Moldovan’s media is diverse but highly polarized, like the country itself, which is characterized by chronic political instability and excessive influence of its oligarchs. The editorial line of media leaders is closely correlated with the political and business interests of the owners, an issue that is particularly striking and visible during election campaigns.” The conclusion was made by Reporters sans frontieres (RSF) in the context of the presentation of the report on the Media Freedom Index in the World in 2020.
Although the media empire built by former Democratic Party leader Vladimir Plahotniuc has lost its influence, the RSF writes that it was quickly replaced by a media group affiliated with the rival of the Democratic Party, the Party of Socialists that is pro-Russian. “The concentration of the press and the lack of editorial independence and quality journalism are therefore major challenges for the Moldovan media. As the media struggles with each other in a climate aggravated by political polarisation, the lack of independence of the broadcasting regulator continues to be a source of concern,” the report says.
In the last seven years, according to RSF reports, the Republic of Moldova has fallen into the world ranking scan from 55th place in 2013 to 91st place in 2019. Thus, in 2014 Moldova ranked 56th out of a total of 180 countries, in 2015 our country recorded the biggest fall in seven years, 72nd place, in 2016 the 76th place, in 2017 the 80th place, and a year later it registers a new fall, in 81st place. During 2019, Moldova loses ten positions and has reached 91st place. The position in 2019 is also retained for the current year. Moldova currently ranks 91st in the report on the World Press Freedom Index 2020.
At the top of the leaderboard is Norway, Finland is second and Denmark in third place. China, Eritrea, Turkmenistan and North Korea were at the bottom of the world rankings. The neighbor of the Republic of Moldova, Romania has lost a position in the last year. Thus, in 2019 it is ranked 47th and currently ranks 48th. As for Ukraine, it has climbed six positions from 102 in 2019 to 96 in 2020. It is the first time in seven years that Ukraine ranks below 100 in the world rankings.
The index stands at 180 countries and regions depending on the level of freedom available to journalists. It is an image of the situation of media freedom, based on an assessment of pluralism, media independence, the quality of the legislative framework and the safety of journalists in each country and region. The degree of freedom available to journalists in the 180 countries and regions is determined by combining the experts’ responses to a questionnaire prepared by Reporters sans frontières. This qualitative analysis is combined with quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period evaluated. The criteria used in the questionnaire are pluralism, media independence, the environment and self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency and the quality of the infrastructure that supports the production of news and information.