In Moldova, the poorest country in Europe torn between the Russian and EU influence, a group of young people led by Ana Gurdis manage to produce a highly critical media show for the country’s youth.

Ana Gurdis works at the Centrul Media pentru Tineri, a youth media center in Chisinau, capital of the Republic of Moldova. Together with a handful of colleagues, she puts together the 20-minute youth magazine ‘Abraziv’⁽¹⁾, or ‘Abrasive’. She and two dozen other young people do their own camera-work, editing and presenting, and once a week they go on air at the public broadcaster, TRM. The magazine show addresses topics of interest to young people and experiments with crazy edits and fast music. “I recently had some feedback from older viewers who said that they’d never seen anything like ‘Abraziv’ before. And that was meant as a compliment.” It’s a fresh approach in the world of Moldovan television…

In a sense, the youth media center represents an alternative voice in the Moldovan media landscape. The Ukraine crisis and the resulting tensions between Russia and the European Union (EU) are reflected in the increasing polarization of the media in Moldova. The most important national broadcasters are economically and politically dependent on their owners, some of whom are oriented towards Russia and some towards the West. This is the biggest reason for the extremely one-sided and uncritical reporting in the country. “But we’re not directed by special interests,” says Gurdis. “We offer young people freedom.”

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