Q: Why do you believe The Global Report on Women in the News Media is needed?
DN: Well, I think there is a need for something like this around the world, but I would like to address the issues for Eastern Europe, which is the area that I am coordinating. Basically, between the end of WWII and the end of the 1980s, this was a communist region; it was a totalitarian region. In the official propaganda, there was a lot of talk about gender equality, but actually women had a double load. They had traditional family and household chores – raising children was primarily a woman’s issue – but they also had eight to ten hours of work a day. And although it appears to have been mostly equal pay, there was definitely unequal work.
After the crash of communism, women were the first ones to lose their jobs, to stay home without pay and to lose independence. There have been these extreme differences in the condition of women in Eastern Europe and there is no study about that, with women in the media or in any other profession. It’s really important for me and for the people involved in the study and for whoever these country-based researchers have started to interview to know where women stand in terms of jobs, particularly in the news media. There is huge interest out there as to what jobs have been occupied by women since 1989, in this region, what is the payment, what is the development? So for Eastern Europe, this is definitely very important and very much needed.
Q: What impact do you think this project will have?
DN: Well, I think one thing that is small and big, depending on how you take it, is just raising awareness of the issues of women around the world. In my view, doing something comparative, approaching issues around the world and not just in one region, in several regions and not just in one country, is very important. There is a need around the world to have academics as well as industry people understand what’s going on and what needs to be done. The news media profession is one that has just been going again after 1989. It is a profession that hasn’t been practiced but by a few who were selected by the government and by the Communist Party apparatus. There have been more women getting into the profession, but not necessarily higher up. There is a need for collaboration, for different parties involved to understand what’s going on. People in media along with researchers have a better chance to push new policy forward, to be listened to by governmental bodies, to get a voice out there.
Q: What prepared you to oversee the research for your area of the world?
DN: I am from one of the countries in the region, Romania. In my home country I have worked for several universities, primarily in communications departments. At the time when I started working, around the mid-1990s, I was among the few young people who were in those departments. Journalism was not quite established … People were attracted to this profession because it could bring money and power, but people didn’t quite know what to do. Some of my experience is at the national university for political studies and public policy in Bucharest. I believe that prepared me for this.
I came to the United States in 2002 as a visiting researcher with a political communication project. Everything I’ve done since then has sort of been in the same realm. I have studied how people get access to information. When I saw this opportunity, I thought that it fit my expertise and my knowledge, and that I could put a pretty good team of researchers in Eastern Europe together. I also thought that I could benefit from this experience as much as the project could benefit from me. I think it will be important for these teams and coordinators to form a network and continue discussing with each other. They can work together on these issues in the future.