Three young journalists from Transnistria and a beginner reporter from the Gagauz Yeri autonomous region spent two weeks interning at Chisinau-based media outlets as part of a confidence-building project administrated by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC). Hosting organizations included newspapers «Analytique,» «Kisiniovskii obozrevatel,» «Nezavisimaia Moldova,» the Chisinau bureau of «Radio Free Europe,» as well as the Young Journalist`s Center (CTJM). Interns also had a chance to meet with the staff of the newly-created students` newspaper «Stud-M.» Under the guidance of an assigned media mentor each program participant produced articles and reports on a variety of political, social and economic issues. The project has been 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, joint reporting by mixed teams of journalists of different geographic and linguistic backgrounds, publication of in-depth articles in the IJC bi-annual magazine, as well as regular meetings of the journalists` diversity network and study visits to Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Two more interns will spend two weeks at Chisinau media outlets in October (IJC).

In-house consultations at six local and regional newspapers, along with a four-day training on aspects of media management - these were the major highlights of a two-week consultancy trip to Moldova by Jack Ronald, prize-winning publisher of «Commercial Review» newspaper from Portland, Indiana. Organized with the financial support from the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau, the visit aimed at boosting the media-management capacity of the members of the Association of Independent Press (API). The organization was created in 1997 to promote the development of independent periodicals, especially in Moldovan provinces. Currently, it unites 19 national and regional newspapers and magazines along with two news agencies. Sessions with API members focused on issues of «strategic thinking,» performance measuring, marketing and advertising, business planning, etc. Ronald has a vast consulting experience in developing countries. He was a Fulbright Professor at Moldova State University in 1998, and visited Moldova as part of a U.S. Embassy media-assistance program in 1999 (API, IJC).

Largely irrelevant graphics, insufficient diversity of news sources and journalistic genres - these were the major drawbacks in the coverage of human trafficking identified in the most recent media monitoring report produced by the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) in the framework of the project «New Perspectives for Women» (NPW). In June - August 2006, the seven monitored mainstream national newspapers carried 40 articles on relevant issues. There were only four front-page articles, and short articles predominated in five of the seven monitored newspapers. Straightforward news made up the largest «genre» group (57.5% of articles). The coverage was overwhelmingly limited to «breaking news» (only one out of 40 stories followed up on the issue featured earlier). Most of the relevant articles highlighted the prevention activities of the Moldovan law-enforcement bodies, Government or Parliament. Media monitoring of newspapers «Saptamina,» «Novoie vremia,» «Jurnal de Chisinau,» «Moldavskie vedomosti,» «Timpul,» «Moldova suverana» and «Nezavisimaia Moldova» has been carried out by the IJC since January 2005. Quarterly monitoring reports are available in English, Romanian and Russian. NPW is a four-year initiative targeting vulnerable women aged 16-24 with the aim of giving them options for an economically successful life. It is operated by Winrock International, a U.S.-based NGO, with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (IJC).

Some 90 young journalists from different Moldovan regions attended workshops and lectures organized in the framework of two summer schools in the holiday resort of Holercani in central Moldova. Major highlights included overview of journalism genres, key aspects of human-interest stories, as well as basics of layout and design. Participants had an opportunity to hone their newly-acquired skills by producing two issues of the camp newspaper. The project was administered by the Chisinau-based Youth Media Center (YMC) – a non-governmental organization that provides a variety of skills-development trainings to existing youth media outlets and supports the creation of new ones. Camp participants had benefited from YMC institutional grants. Camp activities were led by YMC trainers as well as two US media experts, who are currently on Knight International Press Fellowships at the Independent Journalism Center. Financial support for the program has been provided by the German government and the Moldovan office of the UNICEF ( www.reporter.md, Deca-Press).

Aspects of Moldovan access-to-information legislation along with relevant international standards were discussed at a two-day conference in Chisinau. The conference was organized by "Acces-Info" Center and brought together specialists in Moldovan media law, representatives of the country`s government and parliament, the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau, along with experts from Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine. Participants discussed current challenges to the Law on access to public information and prospects of its implementation, the specifics of «information with limited access,» ways of protecting the rights of information seekers and of ensuring transparency in the decision-making process. A special session was devoted to the role of news media in «active information of the public.» Financial support for the conference has been provided by the Open Society Institute-Budapest and Soros Foundation-Moldova (IJC).

Leading media development organizations from the country and the OSCE Mission to Moldova protested against the arrest of a senior manager of the private channel «PRO TV-Chisinau.» In a joint statement, the Independent Journalism Center, Acces-Info Center, the Moldovan Press Freedom Committee, the Association of Broadcast Media (APEL), the «Media Impact» Agency, the Center for Journalism Investigations and the Moldovan Journalists` Union expressed concern about what they called «violation of basic human rights» and an attempt «to intimidate» the station. Ghenadie Braghis, PRO TV-Chisinau sales director, was arrested on 7 September, on what the staff of PRO TV-Chisinau believed to be trumped up, bribe-taking charges. He was held in custody for several days without lawyer access, and the station`s offices were searched without a warrant. Journalists maintained that they had been singled out for reprisal for their exposes about Moldovan police. In a separate declaration, the OSCE Mission to Moldova called on the office of Moldovan Prosecutor General to provide «clarifications» about the case. The Mission voiced concern about possible infringement of media freedom and called on the authorities to refrain from any actions that could be interpreted as pressure on an independent media organization and could «prejudice» its editorial policy. In late September, charges against Braghis were dropped «for lack of evidence» (IJC, Reporter.md).

Strengthening rapport between media outlets from Moldova with their peers from Romania is the goal of a new project, which was recently launched by the Association of Independent Press (API). The project includes such components as weeklong internships for 16 print and broadcast journalists from Moldova at media outlets from Romania, a visit of five Romanian journalists to Moldova, as well as production of a joint online newspaper www.md-ro.org , which will highlight aspects of cooperation between Moldova and Romania in a variety of areas. In order to boost the coverage of bilateral relations by the news media, API will organize a national competition for the best article/reportage on these issues. Project activities are expected to last through December 2006. Financial support for the program has been provided by the Romanian foreign ministry (IJC).

The three-year initiative «Giving Voice to Democracy» culminated with the opening in September of the Chisinau School of Advanced Journalism. A joint project of the Missouri School of Journalism, the Independent Journalism Center from Chisinau and the Moldova State University, it aimed to enhance journalism education in Moldova by building a graduate journalism program. With funding from the U.S. State Department, the IJC professional-development program was expanded from a series of workshops and short courses into a 10-month, graduate-level journalism program with emphasis on print and broadcast reporting. Twenty students from Chisinau and other regions of Moldova, including Transnistria and Gagauz Yeri autonomous region, have been selected from among 50+ applicants. The start of the first school year was celebrated at a reception, which brought together project partners from Moldova and Missouri, students and instructors of the newly-established school, along with numerous representatives of international and Moldovan organizations, and foreign embassies accredited in Chisinau. Invitees spoke about the challenges they have faced in building the first, truly international journalism program in Moldova. Inaugural faculty includes leading Moldovan journalists and university instructors, as well as a U.S. journalism professor and a New York Times editor - both on Knight International Press Fellowships at the IJC. Participation of guest lecturers and instructors from several other countries is also envisaged. School graduates will receive a certificate co-signed by the IJC, the Missouri School of Journalism, Press Now from the Netherlands and the Paris-based CFPJ -International Journalists` Training Center. The new phase of the IJC project is supported by grants from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the MATRA program of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the British Embassy in Chisinau, the French Embassy in Bucharest and the OSCE mission to Moldova. 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 and visit the school Web site at http://www.scoaladejurnalism.md (IJC).

Support for the development of local broadcasting and building the capacity of the media to prevent and recognize corruption are among the key priority areas of a major program, which was recently launched in Moldova. Administrated jointly by the Moldovan offices of the Soros Foundation and Eurasia, the initiative aims to strengthen the non-governmental sector and enhance civic engagement by building rapport between government, civil society organizations, media and the citizenry. The program will focus on support for networks, advocacy campaigns and capacity building, facilitation of the social reintegration of marginalized groups, strengthening citizen oversight and input into the implementation of key reform policies, as well as on support for democratic culture of free and fair elections. The media component of the program envisages the creation of a network of local TV and radio stations, boosting the technical and professional capacity of its members, as well as producing programs of community interest and facilitating the exchange of media products. Other objectives include expertise of the legal framework for public broadcasting, monitoring of the implementation of the Broadcast Code and informing the citizens in a comprehensive and timely manner about the objectives of the public broadcasting. The program will also support initiatives of the civil society and the media to prevent and fight systemic corruption in Moldova through the Anti-Corruption Alliance. Financial support for the program in the amount of USD 3 million is provided by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). The project is co-funded by the Soros Foundation-Moldova, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (IJC).

Challenges facing organizations working in the field of trafficking prevention was the major focus of the most recent meeting of the Chisinau Press Club, which brought together more than 60 media professionals and students of journalism, along with representatives of international organizations implementing trafficking-prevention projects in the country, as well as of relevant non-governmental organizations and state bodies from Moldova. Participants spoke about the changing profile of trafficking victims and new trends in trafficking. They stressed the need for concerted efforts of all stakeholders to combat the phenomenon. The Press Club has been in existence since 1995, and the major goal of these informal Q&A sessions has been to provide the country`s journalists with additional insight into major societal developments. Financial support for the project has been offered by the Balkan Trust for Democracy (IJC).