She thumbed through newspapers, starting with the collections deposited in the library since August 1991, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted. She reconstructed, step by step, the history of events, and with them – the history of the Republic of Moldova. She is journalist Valentina Basiul of Radio Free Europe, who launched her book, “Through the Eyes of the Press. Moldova. A Quarter of a Century”, this September. Today, the author was the guest of a new Discussion Club at the School of Advanced Journalism, and she was asked about the idea for the book, about the history of the country, and about the evolution of the press over the past 25 years.

Students wanted to know how the idea of such a book came to be. According to Valentina, the concept appeared spontaneously, from the great desire to understand the history of Moldova and how print media covered the most important political, economic and social events that the country went through.

To build a correct and balanced image of events, the journalist read different publications: official and those of the opposition, in Russian and Romanian. “I tried to combine all voices and presented issues from different points of view,” said Valentina. “I thumbed through dozens of newspapers that, in time, became historic documents. I reconstructed step by step the picture of the past 25 years…”

Student Maria Svet asked about the reactions of politicians from the current political class and of those who were once in power to the publication of the book. “They were different,” said Valentina with a smile. The meeting ended with a book signing session, where the author left personal messages to each student.

Valentina Basiul has a rich experience in journalism. She worked for Timpul and Adevărul Moldova newspapers as political reporter, editor and deputy editor-in-chief. Since September 2014, she has been reporter for Radio Free Europe. She collaborates with the Association of Independent Press and the Journalistic Investigations Center. She has got several professional awards and is one of the 10 Best Journalists of 2009.