AGERPRES, MOLDPRES news agencies' heads give lessons of professionalism at Journalism Faculty of Moldovan State University

Chisinau, 23 January /MOLDPRES/ - Students of the Journalism and Communication Sciences Faculty of the Moldovan State University (USM) today had a meeting with the director generals of the AGERPRES (Romania) and MOLDPRES News Agencies, Alexandru Ion Giboi and Vlad Darie, respectively. The manager of the Romanian national news agency is on visit to Chisinau to prepare more events AGERPRES is to organize in Moldova on the occasion of the Great Union’s Centenary.     

Alexandru Giboi spoke to USM students about the professional principles and foundations of the journalism, especially in conditions of media financed with public money. “A public media organization should be guided by democratic principles, equidistance and objectiveness, ensure a good enough level of informing; otherwise, it loses reliability and becomes irrelevant,” the AGERPRES head said.   

The manager of the principal news agency of Romania had an active discussion with future journalists from Chisinau, who availed themselves of possibility to learn “from the first source” about tendencies, values, as well as traps of the present journalism.  

“The meetings with students, either from Romania, or from Moldova, represent an important part for the preparation of the evolution of AGERPRES, from the viewpoint of the human resources. I was quite happy to be acquainted with journalism students who are eager of professional development, well-educated and pretty good involved in the discussions I held,” Alexandru Giboi said, quoted by MOLDPRES.  

The dean of the USM Journalism Faculty, Georgeta Stepanov, stressed that such meetings had been really useful for students, representing a bridge between theory and practice. “I described these meetings as “lessons of professionalism” and we endeavour to organize them at least twice a month. Students should communicate directly with journalists who have become names in the guild, from whom they can learn what this profession is about and what should they expect. Or, in this respect, the meeting with the director of a news agency like AGERPRES is a great luck, as they have learned useful and interesting things,” Georgeta Stepanov told MOLDPRES.  

The meeting was coordinated by Vlad Darie, Director of the MOLDPRES State News Agency, - a partner institution of AGERPRES. The head of the Chisinau-based news agency is also the author of a book titled, “Cronica Basarabiei 1918-1944” (Reports of Bessarabia 1918-1944), published with a considerable support on behalf of AGERPRES. The book contains evidence from the media of that times and epoch pictures; therefore, at the meeting with USM students, they spoke also about some aspects dealing with the history of the Bessarabian journalism.   

“We have returned to this controversial subject though ways specific for a media institution, not in order to give verdicts or label former regimes. Conclusions are drawn following an attentive reading of the precious and even novel documents for people living in the 21st century. All these make obvious the fact that, on the one hand, we have to do with a primitive and false propaganda of the Communist and expansionist policy, on the other hand, with the free press of an emerging rule of law state. Unfortunately, this problem remains topical for Moldova and journalists have an important role to inform correctly, removing propaganda and manipulation,” Vlad Darie stressed.   

The National News Agency AGERPRES is the oldest Romanian news agency and, at the same time, the first autonomous agency from Romania. It was founded in March 1889, named Telegraphic Agency of Romania or the Romanian Agency, with the role of spreading in the country “an accurate and quick service of all the pieces of news of general or special interest.” The agency returned to the name AGERPRES in July 2008 following amendments to the law on the organization and work of the ROMPRES National News Agency.  

On 17 September 2013, AGERPRES became the New AGERPRES; it is about a complex transformation process. The process of rebranding, such as the rethinking of strategies and communication platforms, represents AGERPRES becoming one of the most important news agencies worldwide and confirms its position of the principal information source with and about Romania, for Romanians and for the whole world.  

The MOLDPRES Agency became the partner of AGERPRES in early 1990s, after Moldova had proclaimed its Independence.  

(Reporter L. Grubii, editor A. Raileanu)