Internews in Moldova PROJECTS
Internews, an international media development organization set up 40 years, works to ensure access to trusted, quality information that empowers people to have a voice in their future and to live healthy, secure, and rewarding lives. It has worked with citizens and local media in more than 100 countries. Together with local partners, Internews has supported the development of thousands of media outlets worldwide, including radio and television stations, newspapers, mobile news networks, and online news sites.
Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova (MEDIA-M)
In 2017 Internews began a new project in the Republic of Moldova called “Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova” (MEDIA-M), funded by USAID and UK for a period of five years, with a two-year extension until 2023. This program aims to promote the development of an independent, professional media that gives citizens access to a variety of perspectives, and to create a media sector that is more resilient to political and financial pressures.
MEDIA-M works with independent media outlets in Moldova to help them increase the quality of their content across a variety of traditional and digital platforms in rural and urban areas, and to create a more informed citizenry that understands the value of fact-based, credible journalism. By focusing on the supply of and demand for objective information, MEDIA-M strengthen the ability of independent media to fulfill its role as a watchdog over the government and serve as a space for citizens to engage in public policy dialogue. In addition, MEDIA-M is focusing on the legal enabling environment to reinforce existing protections for freedom of speech, facilitate better implementation of laws, and advocate for media sector legal frameworks in accordance with international norms.
The major partners in this program are Freedom House and the Independent Journalism Center-Moldova.
MEDIA-M implementation results:
• Based on OCA tool, the key partners improved the institutional capacity on:
• More than 750 journalists were trained during the 77 training sessions, held both on-line and in person.
Media Literacy
In 2022, the course has reached all districts and municipalities of the country:
• The legal environment of media was reinforced with the support of implementing partner Freedom House, amending the Audiovisual Code and the Law on Attracting Investment for Film and Other Audio-visual Works Production.
Supporting Independent Media and Information Resilience (SIMIR) in Moldova
The “Supporting Independent Media and Information Resilience (SIMIR) in Moldova” project is implemented by Internews and funded by the European Union. SIMIR contributes to stability in Moldova through improved resilience to disinformation by strengthening independent media and promoting local voices.
The project supports professional independent media and develop the critical thinking skills of citizens by:
Providing emergency support to up to 20 Moldovan media to stay afloat and produce uninterrupted credible content for the public. This support helps the outlets face the financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and the current economic crisis in the country.
Supporting up to 6 civil society and media organisations to improve audiences’ skills in identifying and recognizing disinformation. Internews supports initiatives that help Moldovans navigate the complex information environment and learn to tell facts from fakes.
Also, the project aims to increase the Audiovisual Council of Moldova’s technical capacity to contribute towards the EU’s efforts to counter disinformation. In this regard, Internews will upgrade and modernise this key institution for regulating the information environment in Moldova with software and equipment necessary to improve its media monitoring and better react to gaps in publicly-important disinformation in programming.
Project implementation period: 24 May 2022 – 23 November 2023
SENSE / NORMS
Newsroom Organizational Resilience Models and Strategies (NORMS)
In June 2022, Internews started the Newsroom Organizational Resilience Models and Strategies (NORMS) project, supported by the US Embassy in Moldova, which aims to develop a vibrant, sustainable, independent media sector at the regional level in Moldova that can increase access to relevant, diverse information for Moldovan citizens outside Chisinau. To accomplish this goal, the project will provide comprehensive long-term support to five independent regional media outlets to build their managerial, business, and editorial capacity. As a result, the outlets will improve their overall organizational capacity, financial sustainability, and editorial quality and reach.
The project will also commission detailed audience research to give partners a clearer idea of their audiences’ information demands and help create content of interest, build relationships with their audiences, and explore new opportunities to generate and diversify their revenue.
Supporting Expanded Newsroom Sustainability and Engagement (SENSE)
In September 2021 Internews launched a new two-year project in Moldova focused on local media: Supporting Expanded Newsroom Sustainability and Engagement (SENSE).
The goal of this project is to strengthen regional independent media in Moldova outside Chisinau by helping newsrooms improve their financial sustainability and expand the reach of fact-based, locally relevant, and engaging content.
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Strengthen Key Partner Regional Media Outlets: Under this project five competitively selected regional media Key Partners – Nokta, TUK, Bas TV, Studio-L, and Observatorul de Nord – will receive long-term support to ascend to the next stage in their development. We will co-create plans for assistance with them to promote systemic change based on the findings and recommendations provided by regular capacity assessments. Goals will be accomplished through intensive, on-site and online training and mentoring combined with grant support.
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Foster networks and skills development to encourage resource sharing among regional media: We will train up promising Moldovan talent, focusing specifically on regional journalists, photographers, editors, managers, and others with in-demand skills, and develop a network through which they can offer their knowledge and expertise to other outlets.
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Support “Passion Projects”: To engage promising or influential media outlets that are not Key Partners but are still interested in improving their content or business and engagement strategies, Internews will offer small grants to advance a specific initiative that is driven by the outlet’s internal priorities.
Following Internews’ extended, intensive capacity development approach, supported media outlets are anticipated to increase their organizational, business, and editorial capacity; expand production of quality content; increase their audience size and improve audience engagement across multiple platforms; and start to diversify their revenue streams to lead to long-term sustainability.