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Summary: ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM The Independent Journalism Center Vlad BERCU ISSN 1857-002x 1 The second source is as important as the first one, isn’t it? Director: Nadine GOGU THE AUDIOVISUAL CODE Eugen RÎBCA 5 Why is a new audiovisual code necessary? Published with the support of Delegation of the European Union through the Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. LETTER OF THE LAW The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect Ion BUNDUCHI the opinion of the IJC and donors 8 Responsible journalism: an alternative to regulations Contributers: MEDIA IN ELECTIONS Victor GOTIŞAN Vlad BERCU, Eugen RÎBCA, Ion BUNDUCHI, Victor GOTIŞAN, Ludmila BOGHEANU, Lana RAIAN, Maria ŢURCAN, Silvia POJOGA, Maia SADOVICI, Tudor IAŞCENCO, Georgeta STEPANOV 12 The media in the election campaigns of 2009 and 2010:Tendencies, Changes, Characteristics Editor-in-Chief: Ion MAZUR PRESS MONITORING Ludmila BOGHEANU, Lana RAIAN, Maria TURCAN Editor: Carolina BUDESCO 17 Domestic mass media institutions still need to improve their editorial policies Translation: Liliana URSU MASS MEDIA PERFORMANCE DURING CRISES Editing: Judy GOLDMAN; Susan COUGHTRIE Silvia POJOGA 21 Reporting on the events of April 7, 2009 in domestic and foreign newspapers: A case study Cover: Prizewinners of Ten Journalists of the Year, 16th edition REGIONAL PRESS Photos: Lucas FARCY Maia SADOVICI 32 The press and European integration in Gagauzia Inside photos: The Independent Journalism Center MEDIA AS A BUSINESS Layout: Alexei RACU Tudor IAŞCENCO 34 The weekly newspaper Cuvantul turns 15 Printing: “T-PAR” SRL Please send your opinions, suggestions, and contributions to the following address: EXPERIENCES Ludmila TOMAC The Independent Journalism Center 37 Interview with Alina Radu, director of Ziarul de Gardă (The Guard Newspaper), the only entire ly investigative publication Str. Şciusev, 53, 2012, Chişinău, tel: (+373 22) 213652, 227539 BOOK REVIEW fax: (+373 22) 226681 Georgeta STEPANOV e-mail: [email protected] 39 The Practical Television Manual by Jonathan Bignell and Jeremy Orlebar http:www.ijc.md December 2010 Ethics and professionalism The second source is as important as the first one, isn’t it? Journalism has rules that one cannot neglect, otherwise there estimated at 1.1 billion dollars accumulated from commerce in is a risk of being incorrect and even of misleading readers, natural gas, petrol and power. The fifth Moldovan billionaire is misinforming them and causing confusion. One of the rules the former deputy chairman of the Russian company LukOil, is the second source rule. It requires thorough verification of Nicolae Chiornyi, who owns properties worth one billion dol- information, particularly information that from the start raises lars. Oleg Voronin, the son of the former Moldovan president, question marks because of how sensational it is. It is none- did not make the list of the five richest Moldovans. His fortune theless true that newspapers and particularly TV and radio is estimated at 0.7 billion dollars,” Rosbalt reported. stations or news agencies want to be the first to inform and urge reporters to write the news as fast as possible even if they To add credibility to this “news item,” Rosbalt referred in the don’t manage to get a second opinion about the story because article’s title to the prestigious magazine Forbes, in which data time is too short or simply because the request for information about the fortunes of the richest Americans are authentic as are was refused. data about Russian and Ukrainian billionaires. Rosbalt could have also pointed out that the number of rich people in all CIS Most of the time a sensational news story makes journalists countries increased after the crisis. work under pressure. In this situation, most journalists prefer to go with what they have with the promise to come back to Spreading the rumors the subject later. Others do not find this important as long as they are first and only a few will try to get genuine information The Chisinau press immediately picked up this sensational that will dispel rumors. news although there were dozens of other sources including Forbes, whose web site could have been accessed at any time, This is precisely the difference between real professionals and that could have been consulted to see at least how much of the amateurs, who are probably less interested in journalism’s valu- text was true and how much was fabrication. Instead, the Mol- es and instead prefer that their breaking story will be discussed dovan press was complicit in violating journalistic principles at length until people find out what really happened or until a and starting an information war. press institution or an official denies it. “See the top five richest people in Moldova!” Publika TV Let us consider an example that is particularly relevant in this hastened to inform us on July 20. “Premier Vlad Filat is on the context: the news about Moldovan billionaires broadcast by the list. Though people have talked about the premier’s fortune, Moldovan media in the middle of July. nobody had officially ranked it so far, but today a Russian news agency reported that Vlad Filat ranks third.” There was no Rosbalt misinforms attempt to find out the premier’s opinion, and he could have easily been approached, or the opinions of other Moldovan On July 19, 2010, the Russian news agency Rosbalt published a business people who could readily estimate fortunes and who news story with the pretentious title “Forbes’ Lives of Oligarchs know very well the difference between millions and billions of after the Crisis,” which stated that Moldova had five US dollar dollars. billionaires. “Moldovan Premier on the list of Moldovan billionaires,” “The richest person in Moldova is Gabriel Stati, the owner Timpul newspaper wrote on July 21. The newspaper took the of Ascom Group Holding, whose fortune is estimated at 2.5 story from the Russian agency without seeking the opinion billion US dollars. He is followed by Vladimir Plahotniuc of the Prime Minister, who two months earlier has declared with 2 billion dollars. He runs businesses in four fields: petrol, a more modest fortune. “Vlad Filat is the third richest of the banking-financial, hotel and media. Premier Vlad Filat, an three richest Moldovans, the Rosbalt agency claims,” Unimedia associate of the multi-millionaire Dinu Patriciu from Roma- reported on the same day. “Moldovan billionaires are more nia, owns properties worth 1.2 billion dollars and ranks third numerous and richer than the Romanians,” flux.ro declared, on the list of Moldovan billionaires. He is followed by Valeriu highlighting that “In only a year, millionaire Filat became a Pasat, the former foreign affairs advisor to Anatoliy Chiubays, billionaire, multiplying his fortune 100 times.” head of the RAO EES Rossii Company, who has a fortune Analytical Bulletin 1 Ethics and professionalism December 2010 Some seemed to have been waiting to savor just this piece of The fortune of Vladimir Plahotniuc is estimated at 2 billion news. “In just a year, millionaire Filat became a billionaire, dollars, but he is not on the list of people worth $2 billion. multiplying his fortune 100 times,” Sergiu Praporscic wrote in The wealth of Vlad Filat is estimated at 1.2 billion dollars from his blog. The same could be read on the social.moldova.org running a joint business with Romanian billionaire Dinu Patri- site. ciu, but Filat is not on that list either. Romanian journalist Victor Roncea went even further in his Let us also look in alphabetical order. Stati is not on the list. conclusions, that were in fact built on this misinformation. “If Plahotniuc is not there. Filat is not there,” blogosfera.md wrote. Chisinau had an ANI (National Integrity Agency), Premier Rosbalt does not deny authoring the misinformation. The Vladimir Filat would have been shackled. Number 3 on the list Russian news agency that broadcast the news about Moldovan of Moldovan billionaires, Filat has established his fortune in billionaires did not reply to our request for its source after we only a year,” Roncea wrote. established that in fact, the Forbes list is developed in March and not in July and that the real one does not list any names of “Moldovan Premier Vladimir Filat is third, consolidating his Moldovan business people. position as a billionaire, in US dollars”. In other words, we can be proud of another of our Moldovans, a diligent guy originally Thus the claim that, “Oligarchs are growing rich during the from the countryside who went into the wide world, became a crisis, and Moldovan entrepreneurs multiply their fortunes premier, and after a year joined the world of the planet’s billio- a hundred times,” proved at the end to be nothing but a soap naires,” Moldova Suverana wrote. bubble. This was confirmed by Moldovan business people who Scalded dogs fear cold water stated that a few persons in Moldova have properties worth about 100 million dollars but not more than that. After blindly quoting the Russian agency, Unimedia came up with another news item: “Filat on the list of multi-millionai- Yet what was the target of the misinformation? res: fairy tales and gossip! I didn’t know I had 1.2 billion!” The premier says that in fact, “The list of billionaires published The fact that Rosbalt had launched a fake story about Mol- recently is a fairy tale.” Unimedia quoted a statement by the dovan billionaires to mislead and manipulate us could have premier made on TV Moldova 1 that had earlier broadcast a been easily proved by just accessing the Forbes site, which the news item with reference to Rosbalt. Russian news agency referred to in order to lend credibility to its “news item.” “A RUSSIAN FAKE: On the eve of elections, a Moscow news agency published a list of the richest Moldovans,” Jurnal de There was nothing special to find out apart from the fact that Chisinau wrote.