Internews study // Audience measurement and lack of human resources – the biggest challenges for local media outlets in Moldova
Audience measurement, financial challenges and lack of human resources remain among the biggest problems faced by local media, especially in the audiovisual sector. Conclusions come from the national study of local media mapping in Moldova conducted by Internews Moldova.
According to the authors of the study, while for the media outlets present only online the focus was on identifying the number of monthly unique visitors, and for print media – the weekly and/or monthly circulation of newspapers, the local TV and radio stations have almost no accurate audience data reflecting their popularity at regional and/or national level or the profile of their audience.
Currently, there are no market studies or companies that measure the audience for local television and radio stations. TV MR MLD, the official representative of the international company AGB Nielsen in Moldova, is the only company that performs audience measurements in the national broadcasting sector. However, local TV stations cannot afford such measurements, mainly due to the monthly fee demanded by TV MR MLD and the lack of a local advertising market.
According to data collected by Internews, the most popular media outlets in the north of the country are Nordnews, with nearly 350,000 monthly unique visitors on the website, 97,000 followers on Facebook and nearly 15,000 subscribers on YouTube; SP, with about 350,000 monthly unique visitors on the website, over 33,000 followers on Facebook and nearly 3,700 subscribers on YouTube; Observatorul de Nord, with 200,000 monthly unique visitors and 24,000 followers on Facebook. In the case of print media, the largest circulation have the publications Observatorul de Nord, with 4,400 copies weekly, Glia Drochiană, with 3,600 copies weekly, and Patria Mea/Ziarul de Fălești, with nearly 1,500 copies weekly.
In the central region of the country, the most popular media sources, according to Internews, are Elita TV, with about 30,000 monthly unique visitors on the website, 15,000 followers on Facebook and nearly 5,000 subscribers on YouTube; Albasat TV, with 85,000 monthly unique visitors on the website and 4,500 followers on Facebook; Expresul, with 24,000 monthly unique visitors on the website and 9,500 followers on Facebook. In the case of print media, the highest circulation figures were declared by Unghiul, with 6,500 copies weekly, Opinia Liberă, with almost 3,000 copies weekly, and Expresul, with 2,000 copies weekly.
In the south region, Ziua de azi is the outlet with the largest audience – over 70,000 monthly unique visitors to the website, 38,000 followers on Facebook and 17,000 on lnstagram. Next come Studio-L TV, with 42,000 monthly unique visitors on the website, 27,000 followers on Facebook and 11,500 subscribers on YouTube; Bas TV, with almost 30,000 monthly unique visitors on the website, 4,300 followers on Facebook and 1,500 on lnstagram. The online platform Hâncești 24 has a Facebook community of about 71,000 followers, being one of the largest among all local outlets. In the case of print media, the newspaper Gazeta de Sud has the largest circulation – almost 2,000 copies weekly, followed by Curierul de Hâncești, with 1,500 copies per week.
The authors of the study recommend that media outlets make greater efforts to identify audiences and understand the needs and preferences of media consumers. Thus, they will gain a better understanding of the profile of their consumers and the type of content in which they should invest. In addition, relying on audience data, media outlets can develop financial offers that would allow them to sell advertising space more efficiently.
Lack of qualified human resources
According to Internews data, half of the 68 local media outlets have between one and five employees, including freelancers or volunteers; 12 outlets have between 6 and 10 employees; and in the case of 11 outlets, staff information is not accessible.
In addition, eight outlets have teams of between 11 and 20 people, and three others have a staff of more than 20 employees. The largest editorial offices of local media outlets are as follows:
– North region: SP (40 people), Nordnews (20), Observatorul de Nord (14);
– Central region: TV6/Orhei TV (62 people), Albasat TV (11), Elita TV (10);
– South region: Studio-L (13 people), Cahul Expres (7), Bas-TV (7);
– ATU Gagauzia and Taraclia: GRT TV & GRT FM (55 people), Nokta (15), Tuk (12).
Almost all managers of local media outlets noted that it is very difficult or even impossible to find and hire qualified personnel for their editorial offices.
