This week the SAJ students had a busy schedule: they participated in a public discussion on the retirement of women in Moldova, and reported news and stories focused on people. Today is the last day of the course on Long Articles taught by Alina Radu, the director of the newspaper Ziarul de Garda.

 

The module lasted five days and focused on hands-on experience. The students have mastered the skill of writing so-called long articles, namely reports, sketches and obituaries. They studied both in class and in the field, where they collected information that was subsequently converted into comprehensive articles. 'It was not hard to find a person to write a story about. After learning about the criteria for identifying a topic and the angle of approach, I went to the central farmers' market, where I talked with a 76-year-old lady who was selling hot drinks. Then I described a day of her life, the problems she faces and the happy moments she gets,' said Lia Ciutac.

 

Another student, Irina Gusan, wrote a sketch about the women enrolled in the National Army. Irina said that the assignment was an exercise in courage and persistence for her. She was happy with the result and with having gained valuable experience. 'Although it seems fairly simple to call someone, I needed to pluck up my courage to pick up the phone and talk to a stranger, let alone that I had to explain who I was, what I did and why it was important for me to get answers to my questions... Obviously, not all the doors I knocked at opened at once. It took me longer to identify the people to talk to than the discussions as such. I think I called four people. It took me two days to agree on a visit to the Military Academy, it took me over an hour to talk to people and I managed to take three pictures,' said Irina, describing one of her first experiences in journalism.

 

Besides, the course of ethics and diversity in the media started this week at the School of Advanced Journalism. During this module the students will learn the concepts and principles of ethics and professional behavior, the role of images, and the importance of complying with ethical principles in reporting diversity in the media. The students will learn about persistent stereotypes about various social groups, will learn how to identify and work with relevant sources, how to write and edit materials that are sensitive in terms of ethics etc. They also will learn about the best practices in journalism, so that they gain the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to take ethical decisions.

 

The course will be held every Friday for six weeks; it is taught by Nadine Gogu, the Director of the Centre for Independent Journalism.