Teleradio-Moldova (TRM)
The Public Institution "Teleradio-Moldova" Company (TRM) is the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Moldova, operating in accordance with the regulations stipulated in the Audiovisual Media Services Code of the Republic of Moldova.
The "Teleradio-Moldova" Company was founded by Parliament and operates under its control.
The budget of the national public media service provider consists of subsidies from the state budget and its own revenues. In 2023, the share of state subsidies was 88.3%.
The public company produces radio and television programs and multimedia content through two television channels it manages: Moldova 1 and Moldova 2, and three radio stations: Radio Moldova, Radio Moldova Tineret, and Radio Moldova Muzical. Each of these media institutions has its own website where news and programs are published.
The activities of the public company are overseen by the Supervisory and Development Board. The Board consists of seven members appointed by Parliament for a single six-year term. Three members are proposed by parliamentary factions, reflecting the proportional representation of the majority and the opposition. Four members are proposed by representative civil society organizations.
The Board approves the statute of the public company, operational and organizational regulations, budget amendments, and proposes a candidate for the position of general director of the company to Parliament.
The company is managed by a general director elected by Parliament. The general director is appointed for a seven-year term, which cannot be renewed. The operation of the national public media service provider is ensured by the Management Committee, led by the general director.
This legislation was adopted in November 2021 by a Parliament dominated by a single political party, the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS). The legislation reinstated parliamentary control over the TRM company, as it was before 2019. In 2019, the legislation had been amended so that "Teleradio-Moldova" was under the control of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council, and the general director was chosen through a competitive process.
Following the amendment of the legislation in 2021, the mandates of the then-members of the Supervisory and Development Board, the general director of "Teleradio-Moldova," and the deputy general directors were terminated. Thus, the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), which was in power at the time, was able to change the leadership of this public institution.
This change was criticized by 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 procedure for selecting and appointing members of the Supervisory and Development Board, as well as the management of TRM. She argued that "when the law was changed, the situation was drastic."
Over the years, the public company "Teleradio-Moldova" has been dominated by ruling parties, which could control the editorial policy of the public television and radio station. For example, in a study published in 2008 by media experts Olivia Pîrțac and Eugeniu Rîbca, it was noted that: "IPNA 'Teleradio-Moldova' reflects events with bias in favor of central authorities, and through the quality of its programs, it is not a truly public institution."
During the period when the Democratic Party, controlled by Vladimir Plahotniuc, was in power (2016-2019), "Teleradio-Moldova" awarded Vlad Plahotniuc's foundation, "Edelweiss," an honorary diploma (2017), and the television channels controlled by Plahotniuc had collaboration contracts with Moldova 1 (2018).
The Public Institution "Teleradio-Moldova" was founded in 2004. At that time, the television and radio stations it manages were transformed from state institutions to public institutions. Previously, it was a state institution called "Teleradio-Moldova" State Company (1994-2004), before that - National Radiotelevision (1990–1994), and during the Soviet period, it was called the State Committee of the MSSR for Television and Radio Broadcasting (1958–1990).
IP "Teleradio-Moldova" is a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1994. The company has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with DW (Deutsche Welle) and agreements with EuroNews, TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation), TVR (Romanian Television Society), SRR (Romanian Radio Broadcasting Society), State Radio and Television of Belarus, Public Radio and Television of Ukraine, BNT (Bulgarian National Television), and LRT (Lithuanian Radio and Television Company).
Key Facts
| Business Form | State-funded |
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| Legal Form | Public Institution |
Ownership
| Individual Owner |
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Media Outlets
Other Media Outlets
| Other TV Outlets | Moldova 2 |
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| Other Radio Outlets | Radio Moldova Tineret Radio Moldova Muzical |
| Other Online Outlets | trm.md moldova1.md radiomoldova.md |
Facts
| Founding Year | 2004 |
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| Founder | The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova serves as the founder of the Public Institution "Teleradio-Moldova" Company (TRM), the national public broadcaster. In this capacity, the Parliament approves the company's annual budget, appoints the members of the Supervisory and Development Board, and elects the General Director based on the Board's proposal. The Parliament's role as founder was reinforced in November 2021 through legislative changes that restored parliamentary oversight of TRM, replacing the previous system where the broadcaster was under the control of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council. This arrangement gives the Parliament significant influence over the public broadcaster's governance structure and strategic direction. |
| Contact | str. Mioriţa, 1 MD-2028 Chişinău Moldova, Republic of |
| Revenue | MDL 161,7 mln / USD 9,11 million (2023) |
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| Operating Profit | MDL– 8 million / USD – 450,958 (2023) |
| Advertising (in % of total funding) | MDL 10.8 million / USD 608,793 (6% of total revenue) (2023) |
| Supervisory Board | 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. |
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