Media audience study: television is losing popularity but remains the most trusted source of information
Social networks are the main source of information for the public in the Republic of Moldova, according to the Media Audience Study released by the Independent Journalism Centre (IJC) on Tuesday, 17 June. According to the survey, almost 80% of respondents say they get their information from social media, while television ranks second in terms of popularity.
According to the research, television also remains an important channel for information consumption, watched by 76.9% of those interviewed, of whom 45% watch it daily. News websites rank third, accessed by 60.8% of respondents, but only 31.2% of them access them daily. Radio is listened to by 39.1% of respondents, while print media has a much smaller audience. On the other hand, only 25.7% say they read newspapers or magazines, of which 1.8% do so daily.
In terms of trust in media sources, television ranks first – 31.9% of respondents say they trust TV stations. Social networks rank second in terms of trust (22.1%), followed by news websites (11.8%). A significant percentage (28.6%) of respondents say they do not trust any media source.
The study reveals that 81% of respondents access the Internet daily, mainly for communication, socialising and information. The user profile is balanced in terms of gender, dominated by people aged between 18 and 49, with higher education, living in urban areas, especially in the central region and the municipality of Chișinău.
FACEBOOK, THE LEADER IN SOCIAL NETWORKS
Facebook is the most popular social network, used by 89.3% of respondents, of whom 68.7% access it daily. The platform is mainly used by women in rural areas, aged between 18 and 49, with higher or technical education.
YouTube ranks second, used by 85% of survey participants, in equal proportions of young women and men (aged 18-24), who are professionally active and have incomes above 12,000 lei. TikTok ranks third, accessed by 63.8% of respondents, predominantly young men from rural areas.
Instagram is mainly used by women aged 18 to 34, who are professionally active, have secondary or higher education, and come from urban areas, especially Chișinău. The platform is popular among both people with lower incomes, below 2,000 lei, and those with higher incomes, over 12,000 lei.
And 44.9% of respondents use Telegram, mainly men aged between 18 and 34, professionally active, with higher education and incomes above 12,000 lei. Most of them live in urban areas, especially in Chișinău.
MEDIA CONSUMPTION: TELEVISION DOMINATES, PRINT MEDIA LOSES GROUND
The best-known TV stations are Moldova 1, Jurnal TV, ProTV Chișinău, TV8 and Moldova 2. In the radio segment, Radio Noroc, Hit FM, Radio Plai, Radio Moldova and Kiss FM are the most popular stations.
In contrast, news portals are much less well known: 63.5% of respondents say they do not know any news websites. However, Protv.md and Stiri.md are the most frequently mentioned, followed by Jurnal.md, Point.md and Zdg.md.
As for the print media, only one-third of newspaper readers and three-quarters of magazine readers can name local publications. Among the best known are Ziarul de Gardă, Makler and Komsomolskaya Pravda, and among magazines – Florile Dalbe, Monitorul Oficial and VIP Magazin.
The study was conducted between 9 and 14 April 2025, based on data collected by the sociological company iData, commissioned by the Independent Journalism Centre (IJC). The research analyses media consumption behaviour among the population of the Republic of Moldova at the national level, providing relevant data on media audiences.
