Media in Transnistria
Encyclopedia
The media in Transnistria
, the breakaway territory within the borders of Moldova
, features both state-owned or supported outlets and opposition media. The publishing languages reflect the ethnic makeup of the country, with Moldovan
, Ukrainian
and Russian language
publications. English
media is also available. Allegations of propaganda
have emerged internationally.
”, founded in 1941 in Tiraspol.
OSCE claims that the media climate in Transnistria
is restrictive and that authorities of both banks of Dniester
engage in efforts to silence their respective opposition.
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.
However, several opposition newspapers exist in Transnistria. They include Rybnitsa-based “Dobry Den”, “Chelovek i ego prava” (Man and His Rights), “Novaya Gazeta” from Bender
, “Profsoyuznye Vesti” and “Glas Naroda.”
“Tiraspol Times” was an English-language website. Article from it are always featured in the official website Pridnestrovie.net.
Newspapers published by the government or in favour of the government include “Trudovoi Tiraspol
”, “Pridnestrovye”, “Novy Dnestrovskiy Kuryer”, “Gomin” (in Ukrainian
), "Adevărul Nistrean” (in Moldovan
, but in Cyrillic alphabet
). Evet though Moldovans
represents the largest ethnic group in Transnistria
, "Adevărul Nistrean” is the only newspaper available in moldovan language
(Romanian language
) in the republic
.
114 journalists currently work fulltime in 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, “TSV” (Television of Free Choice) was started. Cable network operator “MultiTV” carries 24 television channels for its "premium" package and 5 channels for "social" package. Moldovan TV stations from outside Transnistria are not available through cable but can be seen via an aerial
. However ProTV and NIT, two private channel based in Chişinău, was introduced to on most cable networks in Transnistria from September 2009 and 1 November 2007 respectively.
"PMR News", part of Lenta PMR, produces an English-language version with daily news, as does the Press Service of Transnistria's parliament.
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). 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, Pridnestrovie.net and Visitpmr.com. The latter two are both described as "propaganda sites for Transdniestria". pridnestrovie.net and visitpmr.com have acknowledged help from the ICDISS
. The ICDISS email is run by someone self-named Ms Stephenson, also interviewed in tiraspoltimes.com.
The council is credited with producing a report in support of Transdniestrian independence. All but one of the alleged authors of the report has since denied involvement in the study. The case has provoked suspicions among Western officials like Louis O'Neill, the head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.
Journalist Edward Lucas, who wrote the original "Economist" story about the organization, says he could find little information about the think tank.
"What's really remarkable is that nobody's been able to produce any credible proof or verifiable proof that they have any existence," Lucas says.,
The websites quote a number of Westerners marvelling at Tiraspol's new football stadium or saying Transdniester is the French Riviera compared to Moldova proper.
Quotes from the site:
It has a free market economy, 200% growth, and a multi-party democracy with the opposition in control of parliament.
Quotes from the site:
Returning visitors call it "Europe's hidden jewel"
Once you have been to Pridnestrovie you will want to come back…
Compared to Moldova, this is "like the Riviera"
. It published an online newspaper, a free news feed service, and, according to its own site, a weekly colour magazine and a print newspaper in tabloid format available at "select locations" in Transnistria, but not abroad and with no subscription available. It professed to be "committed to the truth." and whose content was largely dedicated to effusive praise of the government or endorsing independence.
Online texts by the Tiraspol Times were licensed as freely distributable. Articles from it have been reprinted by UNPO and by the United Nations
' Global Action on Aging, as well as various news organizations.
Tiraspol Times has been criticised as being strongly biased in favour of the Transnistrian authorities and Transnistrian independence. A report in the Economist described it as part of a concerted online campaign to promote Transnistria through expertly produced websites, saying that its background and funding were largely undisclosed..
The Radio Free Europe
claims that its content was "largely dedicated to effusive praise of the government or endorsing independence"., while the Economist associates them with ICDISS, which it alleges is an astroturfing
attempt. Economist also names Tiraspol Times an online magazine produced "expertly, but mysteriously, in support of the authorities".
The site published few ads and its funding sources are not known. Edward Lucas
, a journalist for Economist, suggested it could have received its funding either from the government, from Vladimir Antyufeyev's State Security Committee or from one of the Transnistrian companies.
Tom de Waal, a London-based journalist and author, was outraged to see an article under his name appear on the "Tiraspol Times" website.
"I've certainly never been to Pridnestrovie, Transdneister, or Moldova, and I am certainly not arguing, as is written under my name, that Pridnestrovie has a better case for independence than Kosovo," de Waal says.
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
, the breakaway territory within the borders of Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, features both state-owned or supported outlets and opposition media. The publishing languages reflect the ethnic makeup of the country, with Moldovan
Moldovan language
Moldovan is one of the names of the Romanian language as spoken in the Republic of Moldova, where it is official. The spoken language of Moldova is closer to the dialects of Romanian spoken in northeastern Romania, and the two countries share the same literary standard...
, Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
and Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
publications. English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
media is also available. Allegations of propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
have emerged internationally.
Press
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. The oldest newspaper is the “Dnestrovskaya PravdaDnestrovskaya Pravda
Dnestrovskaya Pravda is a Russian-language newspaper from Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria. It was founded by the Tiraspol City Council of popular deputies in 1941. This is the oldest periodical publication in the region...
”, founded in 1941 in Tiraspol.
OSCE claims that the media climate in Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
is restrictive and that authorities of both banks of Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
engage in efforts to silence their respective opposition.
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.
However, several opposition newspapers exist in Transnistria. They include Rybnitsa-based “Dobry Den”, “Chelovek i ego prava” (Man and His Rights), “Novaya Gazeta” from Bender
Tighina
Bender or Bendery, also known as Tighina is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under de facto control of the unrecognized Transnistria Republic since 1992...
, “Profsoyuznye Vesti” and “Glas Naroda.”
“Tiraspol Times” was an English-language website. Article from it are always featured in the official website Pridnestrovie.net.
Newspapers published by the government or in favour of the government include “Trudovoi Tiraspol
Trudovoi Tiraspol
Trudovoi Tiraspol is the main newspaper of the largest city of Transnistria, the breakaway region of Moldova. It is Russian for Working Tiraspol. It appears in its capital Tiraspol. It is normally not available in the rest of Transnistria, with the exception of Bender, the region's second largest...
”, “Pridnestrovye”, “Novy Dnestrovskiy Kuryer”, “Gomin” (in Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
), "Adevărul Nistrean” (in Moldovan
Moldovan language
Moldovan is one of the names of the Romanian language as spoken in the Republic of Moldova, where it is official. The spoken language of Moldova is closer to the dialects of Romanian spoken in northeastern Romania, and the two countries share the same literary standard...
, but in Cyrillic alphabet
Romanian Cyrillic alphabet
The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet was used to write the Romanian language before 1860–1862, when it was officially replaced by a Latin-based Romanian alphabet. Cyrillic remained in occasional use until circa 1920...
). Evet though Moldovans
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
represents the largest ethnic group in Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
, "Adevărul Nistrean” is the only newspaper available in moldovan language
Moldovan language
Moldovan is one of the names of the Romanian language as spoken in the Republic of Moldova, where it is official. The spoken language of Moldova is closer to the dialects of Romanian spoken in northeastern Romania, and the two countries share the same literary standard...
(Romanian language
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
) in the republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
.
114 journalists currently work fulltime in Transnistria.
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, “TSV” (Television of Free Choice) was started. Cable network operator “MultiTV” carries 24 television channels for its "premium" package and 5 channels for "social" package. Moldovan TV stations from outside Transnistria are not available through cable but can be seen via an aerial
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
. However ProTV and NIT, two private channel based in Chişinău, was introduced to on most cable networks in Transnistria from September 2009 and 1 November 2007 respectively.
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.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 Dniester.Ru (news agency), 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.."PMR News", part of Lenta PMR, produces an English-language version with daily news, as does the Press Service of Transnistria's parliament.
Transnistrian propaganda
In 2006, The EconomistThe Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
reported that an alleged propagandistic campaign
Public diplomacy
In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is the communication with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence. There is no one definition of Public Diplomacy, and may be easier described than easily defined as definitions...
, 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). It was claimed in The Economist that the ICDISS had links to a number of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-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
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
article on the group, Pridnestrovie.net and Visitpmr.com. The latter two are both described as "propaganda sites for Transdniestria". pridnestrovie.net and visitpmr.com have acknowledged help from the ICDISS
. The ICDISS email is run by someone self-named Ms Stephenson, also interviewed in tiraspoltimes.com.
International Council for Democratic Institutions and State Sovereignty
The council is credited with producing a report in support of Transdniestrian independence. All but one of the alleged authors of the report has since denied involvement in the study. The case has provoked suspicions among Western officials like Louis O'Neill, the head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.
Journalist Edward Lucas, who wrote the original "Economist" story about the organization, says he could find little information about the think tank.
"What's really remarkable is that nobody's been able to produce any credible proof or verifiable proof that they have any existence," Lucas says.,
Pridnestrovie.net
The websites quote a number of Westerners marvelling at Tiraspol's new football stadium or saying Transdniester is the French Riviera compared to Moldova proper.
Quotes from the site:
It has a free market economy, 200% growth, and a multi-party democracy with the opposition in control of parliament.
Visitpmr.com
Quotes from the site:
Returning visitors call it "Europe's hidden jewel"
Once you have been to Pridnestrovie you will want to come back…
Compared to Moldova, this is "like the Riviera"
Tiraspol Times (tiraspoltimes.com)
Tiraspol Times was a short lived (2006-2008) English language news provider focused on TransnistriaTransnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
. It published an online newspaper, a free news feed service, and, according to its own site, a weekly colour magazine and a print newspaper in tabloid format available at "select locations" in Transnistria, but not abroad and with no subscription available. It professed to be "committed to the truth." and whose content was largely dedicated to effusive praise of the government or endorsing independence.
Online texts by the Tiraspol Times were licensed as freely distributable. Articles from it have been reprinted by UNPO and by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' Global Action on Aging, as well as various news organizations.
Tiraspol Times has been criticised as being strongly biased in favour of the Transnistrian authorities and Transnistrian independence. A report in the Economist described it as part of a concerted online campaign to promote Transnistria through expertly produced websites, saying that its background and funding were largely undisclosed..
The Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
claims that its content was "largely dedicated to effusive praise of the government or endorsing independence"., while the Economist associates them with ICDISS, which it alleges is an astroturfing
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
attempt. Economist also names Tiraspol Times an online magazine produced "expertly, but mysteriously, in support of the authorities".
The site published few ads and its funding sources are not known. Edward Lucas
Edward Lucas (journalist)
Edward Lucas is a British journalist.Lucas is International Editor of The Economist, the London-based global newsweekly and also oversees the paper’s political coverage of Central and Eastern Europe. He has been covering eastern Europe since 1986, and was the Moscow bureau chief from 1998-2002,...
, a journalist for Economist, suggested it could have received its funding either from the government, from Vladimir Antyufeyev's State Security Committee or from one of the Transnistrian companies.
Tom de Waal, a London-based journalist and author, was outraged to see an article under his name appear on the "Tiraspol Times" website.
"I've certainly never been to Pridnestrovie, Transdneister, or Moldova, and I am certainly not arguing, as is written under my name, that Pridnestrovie has a better case for independence than Kosovo," de Waal says.
External links
- Media Guide of the Republic of Moldova 2008 (also covers Transnistria. List of publishers, news agencies and broadcasters, in Romanian and English.)
- Transdniester in Cyberspace Radio Free Europe