Moldova tops Press Freedom Index

Moldova ranks first place among the Eastern Partnership states in terms of press freedom, according to findings of the Press Freedom Index. The survey was carried out in July – September 2013 and presented by the Independent Journalism Centre (CJI) November 12.

The Press Freedom Index shows that the Moldovan media is partly free, with some progress and regress on certain segments. With a six-point index out of seven, Moldova is on the first position in the Eastern Partnership space, going up by one position against March-June 2013. Moldova outruns, with a small difference in points, Georgia, that is followed by Armenia and Ukraine.

The study reveals that, among the drawbacks faced by Moldovan media, there are self-censorship, monopoly on the distribution of the written press, taxes imposed by the authorities for providing public interest information.

The positive aspects, highlighted by the study, refer to the ceasing by law courts’ of the practice to set high fines calumny, development of the Internet and new media.

The Press Freedom Index is a study worked out on the basis of the assessments of 10 independent media experts. The survey is made with the European Union’s assistance within a project titled: „Eastern Partnership Media Freedom Watch”. The report presented today is the second Freedom Press Index elaborated by the CJI quarterly.

Adapted from Moldpres