Team

Victor Moșneag, researcher, Media Guard Association

Victor Moșneag is a member of the "Media-Guard" Association and an investigative journalist with over 15 years of experience in the press. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication at the State University of Moldova. He started as a reporter at Ziarul de Gardă, a publication specialising in investigative and anti-corruption issues. Between May and October 2010, he was editor and senior editor of the Sports Department at Publika TV, and later returned to Ziarul de Gardă. From 2012 until 2021 he held the position of deputy editor-in-chief, and since November 2021 he has been coordinating ZdG's editorial  as an editor-in-chief.Victor Moșneag has received awards from several organisations over the years for his investigations on corruption. He has also been named among the best journalists of the year in Moldova several times by the Independent Press Association and the Independent Journalism Centre.  

Anatolie Eșanu, researcher, Media Guard Association

Anatolie Eșanu is the president of the Media Guard Association. Anatolie is an investigative journalist with over 10 years of experience. . Previously, he worked for 4 years in the broadcasting directorate of Jurnal TV, one of the leading  TV stations in Moldova. Since February 2021 Anatolie has been the manager of the Video department of Ziarul de Gardă. He holds numerous national awards in the field of investigative journalism.

Natalia Zaharescu, researcher, Media Guard Association

Natalia Zaharescu has been a journalist at Ziarul de Gardă since January 2022. She documents and writes investigative articles, and has won awards in Moldova and Romania for several of them. At ZdG she is also the author of a podcast on current affairs, Podcast ZdCe. Between 2011-2021, she worked at Radio Chișinău as a reporter, news editor, and program moderator. During this period she collaborated with the portal MoldovaCurata.md, specialising on integrity issues. She holds a degree in Journalism and Communication Sciences from the State University of Moldova. 

Mariana Colun, researcher, Media Guard Association

Mariana Colun is a journalist with over 13 years of experience. For six years she was an investigative reporter, and then project coordinator at the Center for Investigative Journalism, where she wrote about corruption, justice and human rights. Since 2022  she has been a project coordinator at the Media Guard Association and  also works with Ziarul de Gardă and Stop Fals portal, where she is involved in debunking fake news and propaganda. She is also the producer of two weekly summary programs on public radio. She previously worked with international organisations, including International Media Support (IMS), International Association of Women in Radio & Television (IAWRT) and Demos.

Simona Tabuncic, social media manager, Media Guard Association

Simona Tabuncic is a social media manager at the Media-Guard Association and Ziarul de Gardă. Within the Media Ownership Monitor Moldova project, she transformed complex data about Moldova's media sector into visual, easy-to-understand infographics. Simona is a graduate of the Faculty of Marketing and Logistics at the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova and is pursuing a master's program in Graphic and Digital Design at LABASAD University, Barcelona.

Nafisa Hasanova, Head of Research, GMR

Nafisa managed Media Ownership Monitor projects in Ukraine (2016), Serbia (2017), Albania (2018), Sri Lanka (2018), India and Pakistan (2019), Western Balkans (2023) and Germany (2024). She was also involved in the Journalism Trust Initiative, from the RSF team. Before joining RSF, Nafisa worked on the Transdniestrian Settlement Process for the Finnish Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) founded by the former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari. Prior to that she worked as policy officer for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia for APRODEV (now ACT Alliance EU), EU Central Asia Monitoring (EUCAM) for Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). Nafisa holds an MA in Intercultural Communication and European Studies from the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda, Germany. She completed a BA in English Philology at the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages in Uzbekistan.

Ani Avetisyan, Researcher and Junior Project Manager, GMR

Ani is a researcher and junior project manager at Global Media Registry, currently coordinating MOM in Armenia. Before joining GMR, Ani spent more than five years working as a journalist covering the South Caucasus, focusing on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, for regional and international media. As a journalist and researcher, Ani specialises in open-source investigations and disinformation research. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from Yerevan State University and a Master's degree in War Studies from King's College London. 

Lea Auffarth, Head of Operations, GMR

Lea coordinates the implementation of the Media Ownership Monitor's editions and manages some of them directly. She oversees the technical implementation of the MOM. Previously, Lea has worked for the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, where she coordinated the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) and headed the development of its IT infrastructure. Other work on media transparency, literacy, and ethics include projects with the Lebanese Samir Kassir Foundation. Lea is a trained journalist and has worked with the German public broadcaster WDR as well as regional press. She holds a Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from King’s College London.

Olaf Steenfadt, Global Project Director, GMR

Olaf Steenfadt is the Founder and Managing Director of Global Media Registry (GMR), a charitable social enterprise that promotes transparency, accountability and pluralism in the information space. With his background in news reporting and investigative journalism, he is a speaker, lecturer, entrepreneur and globally visible expert on digital media policy and ethics. Two of his signature projects include the “Media Ownership Monitor” and the “Journalism Trust Initiative” which he developed and implemented on behalf of the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Olaf previously worked for national German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF in various roles, as well as for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). He is a member of the “High-level Expert Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation” of the European Commission and of the “Committee of Experts on Quality of Journalism in the Digital Age” and the “Committee of Experts on Media Environment and Reform” at the Council of Europe.

Amir Kazkaz, Finance and HR officer, GMR

Amir is a finance, human resources and administration consultant known for his expertise in managing financial operations and human resources processes in the NGO sector. With a career spanning over twelve years, effectively managing complex projects and teams, he has earned a reputation as a highly skilled and dedicated professional with a certificate in Public Relations and Branding from the London School of Public Relations and a background in Economics and Political Science.

Sophia Kern, Assistant, GMR

Sophias has supported the technical implementation of MOM Moldova. She joined the Global Media Registry Team in September 2024 after she finished a bachelor’s degree in journalism. While assisting in the research projects of GMR, she is studying political science and Spanish at the Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany.

Celine Hog, Assistant, GMR

Celine has supported the technical implementation of MOM Moldova. She is 23 years old and based in Hanover, Germany. She completed her Bachelor of Journalism in July 2024 and has been part of the GMR team since September.

Juli Sixel, Assistant, GMR

Juli has supported the technical implementation of MOM Moldova. She studied journalism at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover from 2021 to 2024. She has been part of the Global Media Registry team since September 2024.

The Media Guard Association is a public association, registered on February 25, 1998 under the name of Asociatia V.I.P. a Telejurnaliștilor Independenți din Moldova. Created by a group of TV journalists (Aneta Grosu, Alina Radu, Nina Șerban), at a time when independent television was just being established  in the country.  The Association initially campaigned for the rights of audiovisual reporters. 

On February 22, 2021, the changes in the name of the Association and the new Statute were registered, continuing to operate under the name of Media Guard Public Association. The Association is a partner organisation of Ziarul de Gardă, the biggest platform of journalistic investigations in Moldova. The Association has experience in the realisation of video productions and mini-documentaries, TV and radio programmes and reports. Currently, the Association is a partner with Moldovan media NGOs and is a member of the global group of investigative journalists Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

The association has five distinct strands of work:

• Press check: Transparency of media sources, owners and end beneficiaries.
• Press Gov: Access to information, transparency of public authorities, government response to journalistic investigations, revelations of corruption and human rights violations.
• Press School: Media education on transparency, investigative journalism, human rights.
• People's Press: Promoting citizens' rights to a professional, people-oriented information space where their voice is heard.
• Develop press: We will carry out activities for the development of the organisation as well as cooperation with other media NGOs.

Read more about Media-Guard and Ziarul de Gardă on their websites.

The Global Media Registry (GMR) is a Germany-based, non-profit social enterprise that supports transparency, accountability and pluralism in the digital information space.

As a 21st century data utility at the nexus of media, technology and regulation, GMR is a service provider and solution hub for newsrooms, regulators and policy makers, and for all stakeholders that engage with the media industry.

The ‘Media Ownership Monitor’ (MOM) is one of GMR’s flagship projects.