Media in Transnistria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 Press
2 Television
3 Radio
4 Internet media
5 Public diplomacy
6 See also
7 External links
8 References

[edit] Press

Newspapers for sale in Tiraspol, Transnistria's capital.

Transnistria has 14 newspapers, including several daily papers. Some print media does not have a large circulation, and only appears on a weekly or monthly basis.

A seminar organized by the British Embassy and Moldova's Foreign Policy Association in September 2006 concluded that a relatively free press exists which is independent from authority.^[1]

This conflicts with an earlier report by OSCE which claims that the media climate in both Moldova and Transnistria is restrictive and that authorities of both banks of Dniester engage in efforts to silence their respective opposition.^[2]

In 2005, according U.S. Department of State, authorities harassed independent newspapers when they criticized the Transnistrian government. Most Moldovan newspapers did not circulate widely in Transnistria, although they were available in Tiraspol^[3].

However, several opposition newspapers exist in Transnistria. They include “Novoe Vremya” (The New Time), Rybnitsa-based “Dobryi Deni”, “Celovek i ego prava” (Man and His Rights), “Novaya Gazeta” from Bender, “Profsoiuznyie Vesti” and “Glas Naroda.”

The newspaper “Dnestrovskaya Pravda”, while not an opposition newspaper, also publishes editorials highly critical of the government. Its editor, Nadesha Bondarenko, is an opposition candidate in Transnistria's December 10, 2006, presidential election. The region's only English-language newspaper, “Tiraspol Times”[1], has also published articles critical of the government but is not openly affiliated with an opposition political party.

Newspapers published by the government or in favor of the government include “Trudovoi Tiraspol”, “Pridnestrovye”, “Novyy Dnestrovskiy Kuryer”, “Gomin” (in Ukrainian, "Adevarul Nistrean” (in Moldovan).

In addition to the local press, Moldovan newspapers are available in Transnistria although the opposite is not the case in Moldova.^[4]

114 journalists currently work fulltime in Transnistria.

[edit] Television

There are four TV channels in Transnistria. Two of them are local (to Tiraspol and Tighina/Bender), while two of them cover all of Transnistria.

Television in Transnistria was for a long time dominated by the public service company “TV-PMR” (Television of Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica, now called the First Republic Channel). In 1998, Transnistria's first commercial channel, “TVS” (Television of Free Choice) was started^[5]. Cable network operator “MultiTV” carries 24 television channels for its "premium" package and 5 channels for "social" package^[6]. TV from Moldova is not availabe through cable but can be seen via an aerial.

[edit] Radio

A stateowned radio station, “Radio PMR”, broadcasts both via FM and on frequency 5910 khz shortwave, 49 meter band. Four privately owned commercial radio stations broadcast on FM from Transnistria. They are: “Inter FM”, “Dynamite FM”, “EnergyRadio.FM”, “Frequence3”. The owners of opposition newspaper “Novaia Gazeta” plan to establish an independent radio station.^[7]

[edit] Internet media

Internet media is both stateowned and privately operated. In English, the websites include Pridnestrovie.net (political and general information), VisitPMR.com (travel information) and Transdniestria.com (news aggregator). In Russian, the websites include Lenta PMR (news agency], Olvia Press (official state news agency), Tiraspol Info (news aggregator), Pridnestrovie.info. Many political organizations and government departments also have their own news services and online news pages, not listed here.^[8].

"PMR News", part of Lenta PMR, produces an English-language version with daily news, as does the Press Service of Transnistria's parliament.

[edit] Public diplomacy

In 2006, The Economist reported that an alleged propagandistic campaign, aimed at English-speaking audience had been underway. This was done through an agency entitled the "International Council for Democratic Institutions and State Sovereignty" (ICDISS).^[9]

It was claimed in The Economist that the ICDISS had links to a number of English-language websites that were all pro-Transnistrian but had very few details about how and where they are produced. In particular, it highlighted the Wikipedia article on the group,^[10] Pridnestrovie.net and Visitpmr.com. The latter two are both described as "propaganda sites for Transdniestria".^[11]