OSCE dialogue meeting for journalists discusses media coverage of the Transdniestrian settlement process
An online dialogue meeting focusing on reporting on the Transdniestrian settlement process, co-organized by the OSCE Mission in Moldova and the local NGO Independent Journalism Centre (IJC), was held on 24 September 2020. The event aimed at encouraging co-operation between journalists from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River, and contributing to media pluralism and advancing quality journalism.
During the event, the IJC presented results of their media monitoring, commissioned by the OSCE Mission, which assessed how media on both banks report on the settlement process.
“The monitoring showed that the Transdniestrian settlement process and related issues are not a priority for the bulk of mass media. The media does not analyze the process but rather releases occasional news stories with quotes from official press releases,” concluded Nadine Gogu, IJC Director. “In multiple cases, media reports on sensitive issues lacked balance and were biased towards one of the Sides.” She recommended that media outlets report on the settlement process in an accurate, inclusive and systematic manner.
Antti Karttunen, Deputy Head of Mission, noted in his opening remarks that “by providing access to factual and accurate information on the Transdniestrian settlement process for the people on both banks, journalists can contribute to the advancement of the negotiations.”
In course of the dialogue meeting, journalists from both banks learnt good practices in promoting media pluralism and collaboration from their counterparts in Cyprus.
In 2017, with the support of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot journalists’ unions signed a Memorandum of Co-operation, which laid the ground for networking, exchange of information and joint activities between the unions. This included professional exchange programmes and the creation of a glossary of commonly used, yet sensitive, phrases in the journalists’ respective languages. The glossary serves as a voluntary reference tool for journalists in their everyday work.
The presentations prompted a discussion about how media representatives from both banks can co-operate and build closer professional links. Among the initiatives voiced by the participants were producing joint media content about the life of people on both banks of the Dniester/Nistru.
“The journalists can report about things, which people on both banks have in common: joint business projects, cultural traditions, brave doctors fighting the pandemic,” said Luisa Doroshenko, a journalist from the left bank.
The dialogue meeting is part of the Mission’s project on promoting media ethics on both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River.