Moldova 1
Moldova 1, also known as National Television, is the public television station with national coverage, operating under the Public Institution "Teleradio-Moldova." The station broadcasts 24 hours a day and has a generalist editorial policy, featuring a range of programs including entertainment, news, educational, journalistic, and analytical shows.
Notable programs include "Mesager," the main news bulletin of the day; "Bună Dimineaţa," a cognitive and entertainment morning show; "În Context," an analysis and debate show; "Scaner," a Russian-language analysis and debate program; and "Dimensiunea diplomatică," which focuses on foreign policy issues. Moldova 1 also broadcasts news in Russian and offers programs for national minority languages, as well as content related to the European integration of Moldova.
The history of the station dates back to 1958 when Moldova was part of the Soviet Union. Then known as Televiziunea Moldovei, it was the first television station in Moldova, established under the State Television and Broadcasting Committee. The inaugural broadcast aired at 19:00 on April 30, 1958, hosted by actresses Constanţa Târţău and Ariadna Kazanskaia.
For nearly four decades, Televiziunea Moldovei was the only local TV station in the current territory of the Republic of Moldova (then the MSSR) and the sole broadcaster in Romanian, which the Soviet regime referred to as "Moldovan." It operated under the Soviet state structure known as the State Committee of the MSSR for Television and Radio Broadcasting (1958-1990), making it ideologically and propagandistically subordinate to Soviet authorities. Following Moldova's declaration of independence, it became part of the National Radiotelevision (1990-1994) and was incorporated into the State Company "Teleradio-Moldova" in 1994.
In 2004, Moldova 1 transitioned from state to public television, with the State Company "Teleradio-Moldova" becoming the National Public Audiovisual Institution "Teleradio-Moldova." This decision was influenced by widespread protests demanding the institution's public status and recommendations from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
The editorial policy of the public broadcaster has often been influenced by political parties and government leaders, leading to frequent changes in management.
For instance, a 2008 study by media experts Olivia Pîrțac and Eugeniu Rîbca concluded that "IPNA 'Teleradio-Moldova' Company reflects events in a biased manner, favoring the central authorities, and is not a truly public institution." At that time, Moldova was governed by the Communist Party.
A 2010 report by the Electronic Press Association indicated that the Communist Party and its leader, Vladimir Voronin, received the most coverage on Moldova 1, being favored over other political figures.
During the Democratic Party of Moldova's (PDM) control under Vladimir Plahotniuc (2016-2019), a monitoring report by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) regarding the 2016 presidential election campaign noted that while Moldova 1 was relatively balanced, it heavily favored PDM candidate Marian Lupu in terms of visibility. Additionally, "Teleradio-Moldova" awarded an honorary diploma to Vlad Plahotniuc's foundation "Edelweiss" in 2017, and TV stations under Plahotniuc's control had collaboration contracts with Moldova 1 in 2018.
In the 2019 parliamentary elections, which employed a mixed electoral system, Moldova 1 provided equal coverage to representatives of the ruling PDM and the opposition ACUM Electoral Bloc. However, Vladimir Plahotniuc and Pavel Filip from the PDM were most frequently highlighted among candidates in single-member constituencies, according to another IJC report.
A monitoring report from August to September 2020 revealed that then-President Igor Dodon, a Socialist, had the highest presence in Moldova 1 news, predominantly portrayed in a positive light. During the November 2020 presidential election campaign, he was slightly favored, as indicated by another IJC report.
A December 2023 monitoring report by the IJC showed that Moldova 1 provided neutral and fair coverage of opposition parties and politicians, although the ruling Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) received slightly more frequent news coverage. Additionally, representatives of extra-parliamentary parties were largely absent from the news.
Several reports by the IJC monitoring the coverage of the electoral campaign for the presidential elections and the referendum on October 20, 2024, indicated that President Maia Sandu was presented neutrally, though the tone of many reports regarding the Executive's activities was positive.
Moldova 1 has exclusive rights to broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest and the FIFA World Cup within the Republic of Moldova. The public broadcaster also organizes, develops, and promotes social campaigns.
Key Facts
| Audience Share | 3,73% |
|---|---|
| Ownership Type | Public |
| Geographic Coverage | National |
| Content Type | Free |
| Active Transparency | company/channel informs proactively and comprehensively about its ownership, data is constantly updated and easily verifiable |
| Media Companies / Groups | Teleradio-Moldova (TRM) |
Ownership
| Ownership Structure | Moldova 1 is part of the Public Institution "Teleradio-Moldova" Company (TRM), founded by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. The activities of the public company are overseen by the Supervisory and Development Board, which consists of seven members appointed by the Parliament for a single six-year term. Three members are proposed by the parliamentary factions, reflecting the proportional representation of both the majority and the opposition. The remaining four members are nominated by representative civil society organizations. The Council is responsible for approving the company's statute, operational regulations, budget amendments, and for proposing candidates for the position of general director to the Parliament. The company is managed by a general director who is elected by the Parliament. This director serves a non-renewable seven-year term, with operational oversight provided by the Management Committee, led by the general director. This governance structure was established by legislation adopted in November 2021, when the Parliament was dominated by a single political party, the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS). The legislation reinstated parliamentary control over the TRM company, as it had been prior to 2019. In 2019, the law had been amended to place "Teleradio-Moldova" under the oversight of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council, with the general director selected through a competitive process. Following the legislative amendments in 2021, the mandates of the existing members of the Supervisory and Development Council, as well as the general director and deputy directors of "Teleradio-Moldova," were terminated. This allowed the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), then in power, to change the leadership of the public institution. This shift has faced criticism from some media experts. PAS deputy Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, president of the parliamentary committee for mass media, stated that by the end of 2025, the parliamentary majority would revise the procedures for selecting and appointing members of the Supervisory and Development Council, as well as the management of TRM. She remarked that "when the law was changed, it was a drastic situation." |
|---|---|
| Individual Owner |
Media Companies / Groups
Facts
| Founding Year | 1958 |
|---|---|
| Founder | State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting The State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting was an institution from the Soviet era, established in 1946 under the Council of Ministers of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR). |
| CEO | Vlad Țurcanu Vlad Țurcanu is a journalist by profession who has also been involved in public service and political activities. In December 2021, he was elected as the general director of the Public Institution "Teleradio-Moldova" (TRM) Company. For a single seven-year term, he was nominated by TRM's Supervisory and Development Council and approved by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. He began his journalistic career at Radio Moldova in 1992, which was then a state radio station and is now a public broadcaster. During his time there he worked as a reporter, editor and editor-in-chief of Youth Reaction. Since 1994, he has been a presenter and producer of entertainment programmes on Moldova 1. From 2000 to 2004, he worked as a reporter for Radio Europa Liberă. From 2006 to 2008, he was a member of the Audiovisual Coordination Council. From 2010 to 2011, he was deputy director of MIR TV, an international television network created in 1992 by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). From 2011 to 2012, he was editor-in-chief of Radio Chisinau, а media outlet of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Society. Vlad Țurcanu was Nicolae Timofti's adviser and spokesman from 2012 to 2016. He resigned in January 2016 following the swearing in of a new government led by Pavel Filip, which took place without prior announcement. Țurcanu later stated that he had misinformed the media, not being aware of the facts. After resignation, he returned to journalism at Radio Chisinau from 2016 to 2019 as a political commentator. During this time, he also served as a project coordinator and media content evaluator at the Soros Moldova Foundation. In 2019, Țurcanu became the leader of the Liberal Reform Party, which was later renamed the Romanian People's Party, advocating for the union of the Republic of Moldova with Romania. He ran for mayor of Chisinau in 2019 but garnered only 0.81% of the vote. He resigned as party leader at the end of the year. He then joined the National Unity Party (PUN) as a member and first vice-president, but he left the party and withdrew from politics in November 2020. Since then, he has made several public and media appearances as a political commentator. He holds a degree in Journalism and Communication Sciences from the State University of Moldova. Corneliu Durnescu Corneliu Durnescu is a journalist and TV producer. He was appointed director of Moldova 1 public television and deputy director of Teleradio-Moldova in December 2021. Durnescu previously worked at Radio Moldova and held several positions at television stations, including news director at Jurnal TV and Pro TV Chisinau. He also produced television projects such as Prime's Factory of Stars. In recent years, he served as a producer at Radio Free Europe. In January 2024, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova awarded Corneliu Durnescu the "Nicolae Milescu Spătarul" Medal for his successful managerial activity and valuable contributions to the promotion of science and culture at both national and international levels. He graduated from the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts in Chisinau. |
| Editor-In-Chief | Corneliu Durnescu See above |
| Other Important People | Arcadie Gherasim Arcadie Gherasim, the president of CSD, is a journalist by profession. He began his career in 1979 as a correspondent for the then state-owned "Teleradio-Moldova". Over the years, he has served as section head, deputy editor-in-chief and editor-in-chief of the news department at Radio Moldova. From 1999 to 2000, he was Director General of TV Moldova. From 2001 to 2006, he was the general producer of Euro TV Chisinau, a public channel owned by the municipality of Chisinau and later privatised. From 2008 to 2011, he was deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Timpul", and from 2015 to 2016, he was programme director at the television station "Vocea Basarabiei". He is also a lecturer at the Department of Journalism and Communication at the State University of Moldova. Sergiu Stanciu Sergiu Stanciu, the CSD secretary, has held several management positions in public and media institutions. He was the general director of Radio Chisinau from 2011 to 2013 and served as deputy minister in the Ministry of Youth and Sports from 2013 to 2015. Later, he became the director of the Labor Institute, an educational center of the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova. Since 2019, he has been the general director of the General Directorate for the Administration of Government Buildings of the Republic of Moldova and, since 2021, the deputy director of the National Museum of Literature "Mihail Kogălniceanu." Additionally, since 2019, he has served as an interim administrator at Arena Chisinau, and in September 2024, he was elected as the director with a full mandate following a competition held by the Public Property Agency. In the local elections of 2023, he ran for mayor of the Municipality of Orhei on behalf of the ruling Action and Solidarity Party. He holds a bachelor's degree in graphic design from the University of Art and Design Cluj-Napoca in Romania. Corneliu Popovici Corneliu Popovici served as the Minister of Education, Culture, and Research in the government led by Ion Chicu from 2019 to 2020. During his tenure, he became the subject of jokes after slurring his speech at a meeting with students and addressing judges, prosecutors, and lawyers. Additionally, when employees from several theaters complained about not receiving their salaries, Popovici remarked, "The artist must be hungry." Before and after his ministerial role, Popovici worked as an advisor on education, culture, and research for former President Igor Dodon. He was also a member of the Supreme Security Council and the president of the National Heraldic Commission during Dodon's administration. Currently, he serves as the vice-rector at the "IMI-NOVA" International Management Institute and as a commentator with anti-European messages for the websites noi.md and moldovenii.md, owned by Vasili Chirtoca. Aurelian Dănilă Aurelian Dănilă is a former diplomat of the Republic of Moldova and the former USSR, a habilitated doctor in the study of arts, a university professor and musician. He is currently a researcher at the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. Between 1988-1992 he was a cultural attaché at the Soviet Embassy in Bucharest and Consul General of the USSR in Iași. He served as ambassador of the Republic of Moldova in Bucharest from 1992 to 1994, in Austria from 1994 to 1995, and in Germany from 1997 to 2001, while also covering Sweden and Denmark. Between 2015 and 2016, he was the First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Kyiv. He was president of the Union of Musicians from Moldova from 2012 to 2017 and taught at the Academy of Music, Theater, and Fine Arts. Loretta Handrabura Loretta Handrabura was Deputy Minister of Education from 2009 to 2015 and Minister of Youth and Sports from 2015 to 2016. She was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party while in power and previously belonged to the Social Democratic Party, on whose lists she was elected as a municipal councilor in the Chisinau Municipal Council in 2007. She is a university teacher and curriculum designer, co-author of laws and reform strategies for the education sector, and has developed textbooks and didactic materials for general, vocational-technical, and higher education. Handrabura participated in negotiating the RM-EU Association Agreement as the coordinator of various working groups on education, science, audiovisual media, and sports in the Moldovan government (2010-2016). Irina Maţenko Irina Mațenko is a journalist and deputy editor-in-chief at the economic magazine "Logos Press," where she has worked since 1998. She has also been teaching at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the State University of Moldova since 2003. Maria Şleahtiţchi Maria Şleahtiţchi is the Director General of the National Museum of Romanian Literature, subordinate to the Ministry of Culture. She is a writer and a scientific researcher in the field of philology, holding doctoral and post-doctoral studies. She is a member of the Writers' Union of the Republic of Moldova and the Writers' Union of Romania. |
| Contact | IP Compania „Teleradio-Moldova" str. Mioriţa, 1 MD-2028 Chişinău anticameratv@trm.md 022 723 380, 022 739 470 |
| Revenue | Missing Data |
|---|---|
| Operating Profit | Missing Data |
| Advertising (in % of total funding) | Missing Data |
| Market Share | Missing Data |