Twenty students have been accepted for the ten-month, graduate-level, certificate program in journalism offered by the newly-created Chisinau School of Advanced Journalism. A joint project of the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), the Missouri School of Journalism, Press Now from the Netherlands, and the Paris-based CFPJ v International journalists` training center, the school will offer practical training with emphasis on print and broadcast reporting. More than 50 persons had applied for participation in the program. The selection committee included an IJC representative, two leading Moldovan journalists, as well as a U.S. journalism professor and a New York Times editor v both on a Knight International Press Fellowship at the Center. A three-tier selection procedure had been designed including a review of CVs, references, motivation letters and writing samples, followed by a writing test and a personal interview. Classes will start in September and instruction will be provided in news and broadcast reporting, media law and ethics, online and computer-assisted reporting, business and economic reporting, as well as media management, visual and photojournalism. Students will also receive intensive English-language instruction. Those in need of brushing up their Romanian will be offered classes as well. School activities are supported by grants from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) from the U.S. and MATRA program from the Netherlands. Additional financial assistance will be offered by the OSCE mission to Moldova and the French Embassy in Bucharest. For more information, please contact Corina Cepoi at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (IJC).

In a 70 to 12 vote the Moldovan parliament adopted the new Audiovisual Code setting the framework for the activity of broadcasters in Moldova. The Code regulates the activity of the Broadcast Coordinating Council (CCA), the national public broadcaster TeleRadio-Moldova and also stipulates the transformation of the local public TV and radio stations into affiliates of the national public broadcaster. According to Victor Stepaniuc, chairman of the parliamentary media commission, some 80% of the Code articles have undergone amendments since the adoption of the document in the first reading in April. Nevertheless, some MPs complained about having to adopt the law in the final reading without actually seeing the text, while representatives of the civil society lashed out against the Code authors for failing to offer access to the final version. The MPs voted to maintain a nine-member CCA. However, unlike the previous Council composed of members assigned proportionally by the president, parliament and government, members in the new CCA will be delegated by non-governmental organizations, foundations, trade unions, religious groups and owners` organizations. A nine-person Observers` Council (OC) will serve as the governing body of the national public broadcaster. Under the new Code, the OC members will be approved by parliament upon recommendation of the CCA. Commenting on the new Code, Alexandru Dorogan, president of the Broadcasters` Association APEL, said the adopted version failed to take heed of the recommendations of international organizations, especially in what concerns the activity of the local public broadcasters. According to Dorogan, Euro TV and Antena C radio from the capital Chisinau have already proved their "use to the public" and have established themselves as independent broadcasters. He said that closing down these stations would be a "disservice to the public" (Infotag, Info-Prim Neo, Deca-Pres).

Some 100 investigative articles and in-depth stories have been published by "Ziarul de Garda" since the launch of the publication in 2004. Titled "Anti-exodus and anti-traffic," the project featured the plight of Moldovans forced to leave their country by dire economic straits. Results of the two-year endeavor were presented at the round table "Combating illegal migration through media," organized by the paper for journalists interested in the issue. Representatives of national and international trafficking-prevention projects and law-enforcement bodies, who took part in the event, praised the publication`s consistent effort to cover the problem and called on other news outlets to adopt a more pro-active stance in reporting about human trafficking and illegal migration. "Ziarul de Garda" is an independent weekly with a print run of 5,000 copies. For more information about its content and new initiatives, visit the Web site http://garda.com.md (published in Romanian and in English) (IJC).

Field trips organized by the Independent Journalism Center to specialized women support centers across the country continue to generate interest among journalists specialized in reporting about human trafficking. In July, the major highlight of the trip to the Regional Support Center (RSC) from the northern town of Balti was the round table aimed to strengthen rapport between non-governmental organizations, local public-administration bodies and business entities in an effort to offer alternatives to migration for at-risk women. Four RSCs currently operate under the auspices of the "New Perspectives for Women" (NPW) program. Their main goal is to help young women, especially from remote communities, find local alternatives for employment and/or small business creation. The centers offer trainings, internships, mentoring programs, targeted referrals to support services and special agricultural enhancement programs. At the round table in Balti, fourteen alumni of the training "Efficient business management" presented business plans and project ideas. NPW is administered by Winrock-International, a U.S.-based NGO, with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The IJC participates in the implementation of the project awareness-raising component. Journalists` field trips have been generating good news coverage in major media outlets. A trip to the RSC in the southern town of Comrat, as well as a visit to the new Center in the north of the country, are scheduled for the fall (IJC).

Review of the new Broadcast Code draft along with analysis of Moldova`s broadcast landscape and current challenges facing TV and radio journalists are among the major highlights of the most recent issue of "Mass Media in Moldova." Produced by the Independent Journalism Center twice a year, this analytical publication provides an insight into the key developments in Moldovan media sector. The June issue also covers such topics as the print distribution system in the country, questions raised by the privatization of two formerly state-owned national newspapers and ways of raising the sustainability of local print media. A special section is devoted to the media in Transnistria and the Gagauz autonomous region. Among other highlights are articles analyzing the state of photojournalism in Moldova, recent freedom-of-expression cases lost by Moldova at the European Court of Human Rights and problems with the implementation of the Law on Access to Public Information. The publication also carries an interview with a successful media manager on "media as business." The Romanian version of the magazine is available online at http://ijc.md/bulmm/ . Russian and English-language versions will be uploaded soon. The publication of the June issue has been made possible by grants from the German "Institut fuer Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA)" in the framework of "Media-Im-Pakt" program of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe and the British Government`s Russia-CIS Conflict Prevention Pool (IJC).

A round table exploring ways of transforming Moldovan publications into successful businesses marked the end of a comprehensive program on media management. More than 50 media managers, representatives of advertisers and advertising agencies, as well as press distribution companies and media development organizations discussed relations of Moldovan media with economic entities and political forces, problems of press distribution, along with prospects of creating an Audit Bureau of Circulations in Moldova. Along with the round table, the program has also included a three-day management training and a ten-day series of in-house consultations. The lead trainer was Cosmin Pacuraru, a media management expert from Bucharest (Romania). At participants` request, Pacuraru also held a brief seminar on "media sales." Along with representatives of 12 publications, program beneficiaries have also included the staff of the Association of Independent Press (API). The project has been supported by a grant from the German "Institut fuer Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA)" in the framework of "Media-Im-Pakt" program of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (IJC).

A project aimed at facilitating the development of youth media in Transnistria was launched in Chisinau in July. The main objectives are to build the capacity of youth media in the region, offer the young a voice in the news and integrate Transnistrian youth outlets in a national network. The one-year initiative is administered by the Chisinau-based Young Journalist Center (CTJM) with financial support from the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau (the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program). Activities include workshops on media management, news writing and basics of photojournalism, as well as individual consultations for high-school newspapers and radio stations. In the framework of the project CTJM will also organize a series of study visits to news outlets, a summer school, along with monthly meetings of young Transnistrian journalists with peers from the rest of the country. Speaking at the launching conference in Chisinau, many project participants from Transnistria noted that currently there are no media outlets produced by the young in the region, and relevant topics are neglected by mainstream outlets. The project is expected to improve the content of high-school newspapers and generate additional coverage of youth topics in mainstream professional media (IJC).

Alerted by a series of recent attempts by the authorities to exercise pressure over the opposition news outlets, seven media development organizations from Moldova called for respect of journalists` freedoms as well as of the public`s right to be informed. In a protest declaration made public on July 13, the signatories cited recent attempts to gag the media. Thus, in June the Communist members of the Chisinau city council threatened to dismiss the directors of municipal radio and TV stations if the latter do not change their editorial policy (Antena C radio and Euro TV are known for their critical stance towards the authorities). Similarly, the Communist councilors lashed out against the independent "Timpul" weekly for failing to abide by the official interpretation of events that preceded the beginning of WWII on Moldovan territory (IJC).

Lessons learned during study visits to Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as ways of applying the regional expertise in conflict resolution and confidence building v these were the major highlights of the meeting of journalists` diversity network, which was hosted by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) in July. Organized in the framework of the project "Strengthening cooperation ties between journalists from all Moldovan regions," the meeting brought together journalists from the towns of Balti, Bender, Dubasari, Tiraspol, Rezina, Rybnitsa, as well as the capital Chisinau. Participants spoke about the need to establish closer rapport between media professionals from different Moldovan regions and improve the quality of reporting about issues of interest to various segments of Moldovan population. In May and June, the IJC organized weeklong study trips to Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for journalists representing different Moldovan regions. The visits generated a lot of press coverage along with ideas for future cooperation. At the meeting in July, journalists discussed the agenda of the regional conference, which will be hosted by the IJC in October and which will focus on elaborating "best journalistic practices" in reporting about diversity and conflicts. The IJC staff also described a new project feature v the possibility for journalists from Transnistria and the Gagauz region to intern at Chisinau media outlets in September. The project is supported by a grant from the British Government`s Russia-CIS Conflict Prevention Pool. It has also included workshops on investigative reporting and conflict resolution, production of materials by joint teams of reporters, and the publication of in-depth articles on aspects of diversity in the IJC bi-annual magazine. Meetings of the diversity network have also been organized in Comrat in southern Moldova and Rezina in the east of the country (IJC).

Introduction of visas for Moldovan citizens traveling to Romania and ways, in which this could affect cooperation between the two countries, were discussed at the monthly meeting of the Chisinau Press Club. The meeting was co-hosted by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) and the Moldovan Press Freedom Committee. Participants included representatives of the Moldovan border police and the foreign ministry, Romania`s Consul General in Chisinau, along with some 30 representatives of Moldovan news media. The informal Q&A sessions aim to provide the country`s journalists with additional insight into major societal developments and usually generate in-depth news coverage. Financial support for the project has been provided by the Balkan Trust for Democracy (IJC).

 

Note: THE NEXT ISSUE OF "MOLDOVA MEDIA NEWS" WILL BE PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER.