The stories of 10 inspiring women journalists of Romania, published by the Independent Journalism Centre

The Independent Journalism Centre (IJC) is launching a series of ten portraits “Stories with and about women journalists in Romania” on the 8th of March. Among the ten is our colleague Andreea Pavel, journalist for Info Sud-Est.

The project, supported by the Canadian Embassy in Romania, includes both central and local journalists who have worked on health, sports, social issues or who have carried out investigations with a significant impact on society, explains the IJC, and aims to challenge readers and even media editors to take a critical look at the way they inform themselves.

The list of the 10 journalists who were selected for the project is as follows:

Ioana Epure – PressOne;

Andreea Giuclea – freelance, sport;

Diana Meseșan – Libertatea;

Ioana Moldovan – freelance, photojournalism;

Mirela Neag – Libertatea;

Diana Oncioiu – safielumina.ro and Dela0;

Andreea Pavel – Info Sud-Est;

Andreea Pocotilă – Recorder;

Sorana Stănescu – freelance, health;

Emilia Șercan – PressOne;

Women in the media world

The image of women in the press, both as journalists and as news subjects, has undergone significant changes in recent years, according to a recent study cited by CJI, but there are still some considerable limitations.

The female presence in Romania is noticeable since university. At the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences of the University of Bucharest, female students account for 77% of those enrolled in journalism at undergraduate level, while at master’s level the percentage is around 72%, writes CJI.

These figures are important given that more than 55% of students trained at FJSC end up working in the field, according to the dean of the faculty, Antonio Momoc, quoted by the CJI.

Despite the increased numbers, however, women who end up working in media perceive that power at the top level of newsrooms is still in the hands of men, even though there are now newsrooms where women are in the majority and occupy more management and coordination positions than ever before, the press release said.

These perceptions were gathered in a research study still being published, “Organisational culture, gender and expertise in Romanian newsrooms. Perspectives of women journalists”, CJI recalls.

Many of the respondents noted tangible changes in editorial agendas where a woman was at the top: not only different angles on topics, but also an increased interest in social, health and education issues.

The same study also shows a certain level of reluctance among women to become sources and expose themselves publicly, especially on television, leading to a much lower level of visibility.

“But only by including women’s voices, as sources, as experts, as journalists, and by taking into account women’s needs and perspectives, can the media reflect society in a balanced way,” concludes the IJC.