Four candidates advance in race to head Moldova public broadcaster

Moldova's public broadcaster supervisory board scheduled final candidate interviews for Sept. 22, setting the stage to elect a new director-general by late September following competitive evaluations.

Vetting clearance and rigorous scoring criteria

Four shortlisted contenders—Dorin Scobioala, Ecaterina Cheptanaru, Sergiu Sandulescu, and Andrei Zapsa—must present their seven-year institutional development strategies and address structured questioning from the Supervisory and Development Board.

The announcement comes after the board cleared Sandulescu and Zapsa to proceed on Sept. 2, having evaluated their explanations following integrity risk notifications submitted in August by the Information and Security Service (SIS).

Each contender will face identical questions covering audiovisual governance, European and national media legislation, critical thinking, administrative capacity, and proficiency in Romanian alongside English or French. Board members will score each answer on a scale from 1 to 10, in addition to evaluating a mandatory 15-minute presentation of the candidate's managerial plan. The winning contender must achieve the highest score, with a statutory minimum threshold of 7.0 points. In the event of a tie, the candidate with the highest managerial plan score will be selected.

Veteran journalists and media executives in the running

The candidate lineup brings together seasoned broadcast journalists, creative directors, and senior network executives. Dorin Scobioala is an investigative journalist and television producer with nearly three decades of experience in the media industry, previously serving as general producer at Moldova 1 and as a local correspondent for Reuters Television and Antena 3.

Ecaterina Cheptanaru, an experienced television journalist and documentary filmmaker with over a decade in media, previously served as TRM deputy director-general between April and July 2025. Sergiu Sandulescu, a film directing graduate and member of the Moldovan Filmmakers Union, has built an extensive portfolio spanning short documentaries, music videos, and television productions.

Andrei Zapsa currently serves as deputy director-general overseeing television operations, a role he took on in 2025 following his appointment in November 2023 as deputy director-general for corporate development.

Leadership transition triggered by post-Eurovision resignation

The leadership vacancy arose after former director-general Vlad Turcanu, appointed in December 2021, resigned on May 18. His departure followed public criticism surrounding the national jury selection and scoring decisions established under TRM auspices for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Turcanu and his current deputies will continue exercising managerial responsibilities until the new chief executive assumes office, within a statutory limit of six months from the declaration of the vacancy. Under Moldovan law, the director-general of Teleradio-Moldova is appointed for a single, non-renewable seven-year term.

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Four candidates advance in race to head Moldova public broadcaster

Nicoleta Borodin