Politics

MEDIA WATCHDOG TAKES NEW DECISION ON HOW MASS MEDIA MUST BEHAVE NOW

30 march, 2020

The Audiovisual Coordinating Council (ACC) has approved a new decision on how the mass media must behave in the conditions of a state of emergency.

According to the new ACC decision approved on March 27, all television and radio programs concerning the COVID-19 situation at home or internationally must abide by the principle of correct informing for an immediate reflection of official data and reports by the National Commission for Emergency Situations and other state power bodies.

“Such information is mandatory for presentation, including with the using of sign language or subtitles. Information providers must use exclusively authentic sources with the mandatory presentation of the official position of state bodies”, the Council wrote in its new decision.

The new decision became necessary after the previous Decision of March 24 proclaimed that in the state of emergency period, all program hosts, moderators and editors working on Moldovan TV channels must give up expressing their personal opinion and frivolous formation of free judgments concerning the coronavirus pandemic at the national as well as international level.

“The only trustworthy, wholesome and objective source of information on the COVID-19 issue are Moldovan governance bodies and international organizations (the National Commission for Emergency Situations, the Government of Moldova, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, the World Health Organization)”, maintained the Audiovisual Coordinating Council, substantiating its Decision with “the need to ensure a maximum-possible accuracy and full correctness of the information that must come from reliable sources, with an authentic and impartial approach to events”.

The document caused a wave of criticism by the representatives of the media, expert community and political parties. The Decision was characterized as unhappy even by President Igor Dodon and Prime Minister Ion Chicu, and they recommended canceling it.

Besides this, the Decision of March 24 was adopted with violation of the law: it was signed by ACC Chairman Dragos Vicol without convoking the Council, though the Chairman has no such authority because the Council is a collective body. So, already on the following day Dragos Vicol cancelled the Decision, after which convened an ACC meeting.

Add Comment

Add Comment

  • name
  • email
  • message
Thanks!
Your comment will be published after administrator approval.