The first semester of the 2018-2019 school year began with the initiation of students in the media world and the basis of journalism. Over a week, they learned what is today’s journalism, what are the functions of the press, and how to transform a subject, sometimes a rigid one, to a story read by tens of thousands of people. Sorina Ştefârţă, director of the School of Advanced Journalism Studies and our special guest from Romania, the journalist Georgiana Ilie, took part as trainers.

On the first day, the students were familiarized with the key concepts of journalism, and the discussions focused on the role of the media in a modern society. They also learned about the techniques of selecting a subject, the typology, the diversity and the credibility of sources, the role of own observation and documentation, and the fairness of the facts, a key criterion in a reporter’s job. At the end, the instructor pointed out some of the most important qualities of a journalist. According to her, a journalist must be as curious as possible, have a developed critical and observational spirit, not be afraid to ask questions and seek answers.

The course continued with a series of lessons delivered by Georgiana Ilie, chief editor at School9 and Senior Editor at “Decat o Revista” (DoR), two media projects that, in just a few years, became reference names in the Bucharest press. Together with Georgiana Ilie, the SAJS students discovered the secrets of the profession, they were initiated into the art of storytelling and reporting, they told each other stories and understood their importance in the media world, they learned factual and argued writing techniques. They also learned what is editing technology and how it works.

After getting familiar with the work and principles of the DoR (Narrative Journalism Journal about Romania today) and learning about the editorial project School9 (the place where teachers, parents and children can recognize their everyday life in school), the students had to do some exercises: they imagined a day of their life as a journalist, they told their memories, experiences and future expectations, they made an interview and presented the written portrait of the interviewee. Some of them participated in a master-class with Georgiana Ilie, organized by the SAJS for its graduates, but also for all those interested in storytelling. The event was the occasion and to meet and discovery the new trends in the media.

From September 17^th, Photo Journalism course with Nicolae Pojoga will be held at SAJS.