diez.md
Diez.md is a youth-oriented news site that launched in Moldova's media market in June 2013. The platform includes a Russian version, ru.diez.md, which features both original content and translations from the Romanian version. Launched in 2017, the Russian version operates with its own team of reporters and editor-in-chief.
Diez positions itself as a platform fostering "curiosity, proactivity, and critical and analytical thinking among Moldova's youth." Their mission statement declares, "We aim to improve the daily lives of young people in Moldova by a semitone." The platform maintains active presence on Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram with original content.
While focusing on youth-oriented niche content, the site also covers significant socio-political and economic news. Diez maintains a liberal, pro-European editorial stance while remaining politically non-partisan.
The "DIEZ" brand is officially registered with the State Agency for Intellectual Property of Moldova. Since 2016, the platform has adopted gender-inclusive language and terminology.
In 2017, Diez received the "Evolution of the Year" award at the Journalists of the Year Gala, organized by the Center for Independent Journalism. Other accolades include special recognition at the 2021 National Youth Award and second place in the 2023 Romanian Superscrieri contest for Djein Vacari's article "15 Springs of Anastasia."
The platform covers current events, education, culture, start-ups, opportunities, and lifestyle content. It features sponsored content from commercial partners and promotes non-formal education, notably through its sexual education podcast "Sexplications" (sexplications.md).
From 2024, Diez aims to increase its youth-specific content, with the goal of becoming "exclusively a useful guide for Moldova's youth."
According to their published data, Diez's revenue comes from two equal sources. Half is generated through commercial activities, including advertising (banners, placements, native content), video production, copywriting, and sponsorships from banks, universities, pharmacies, IT companies, retail, hospitality, and telecom sectors. The other half comes from grant projects through partnerships with EU Neighbors, Netherlands Embassy in Moldova, USAID, US Embassy, Swiss Cooperation in Moldova, IMS, Internews, People in Need, and EU4Media.
Key Facts
| Audience Share | Missing Data |
|---|---|
| Ownership Type | Private |
| Geographic Coverage | Transnational |
| Content Type | Free |
| Active Transparency | company/channel informs proactively and comprehensively about its ownership, data is constantly updated and easily verifiable |
| Media Companies / Groups | Diezmedia |
Ownership
| Ownership Structure | Diez.md and the Russian version of the website ru.diez.md are managed by two companies, both having the same founder: Onixmedia SRL Press Agency and Diezmedia SRL. Founder: Alexander Lebedev |
|---|---|
| Individual Owner |
Media Companies / Groups
Facts
| Founding Year | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Alexandru Lebedev Alexandru Lebedev is an entrepreneur and specialist in media and public communication. He founded the youth website diez.md, which launched in June 2013. Prior to that, he spent two years at Granat, one of the first digital agencies in the Republic of Moldova, where he served as the Social Media Manager and handled brand communication for several companies, particularly on social networks. |
| CEO | Alexandru Lebedev See above |
| Editor-In-Chief | Valeria Batereanu Valeria Batereanu is a journalist who joined Diez as an intern in 2017 after completing her studies. She was later hired as a reporter and served as the Social Media Manager from 2020 to 2023. Since December 2023, she has been the editor-in-chief of the diez.md website. Since 2019, she has created a sexual education podcast called Sexplications, which is a product of Diez. Batereanu has also worked as a trainer and consultant for several projects of the Independent Press Association, which comprises various local and national media outlets. She was elected as a member of the Press Council for the term 2024-2026. She graduated from the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the State University of Moldova, finishing as the top of her program in 2019. She completed her master's degree at Corvinus University in Budapest, where she was recognized as a laureate at the Original Students Gala in its ninth edition. Additionally, she holds a diploma as a sommelier. Lilia Zdibneac Lilia Zdibneac has been working at Diez since 2019. From 2016 to 2019, she studied at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the State University of Moldova. She completed her master's studies in Public Relations and Advertising at the same university from 2019 to 2021. |
| Other Important People | Alina Gîrneț Alina Gîrneț is a journalist and the general director of Diez. She is also the administrator of Diezmedia SRL, one of the companies managing the Diez website, and she is the wife of Alexandru Lebedev, the founder of Diez. Gîrnet has been part of the Diez team since 2014. She worked as a reporter until 2017, when she temporarily took on the role of editor-in-chief. After returning to a part-time reporter position, she became the general manager of Diez in 2019. She is the author of several media projects published on diez.md, aimed at young people. In 2016, she was recognised as the most active journalist promoting volunteering at the Festival of Volunteers. Gîrnet graduated from the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the State University of Moldova, where she was the top of her class in 2016. Between 2017 and 2019, she studied Central European Studies at the University of Miskolc in Hungary. |
| Contact | str. Mihail Kogălniceanu 29 etajul 3 MD-2001 Chișinău Moldova, Republic of info@diez.md; valeria.batereanu@diez.md (editor-in-chief); alexandru.lebedev@diez.md (CEO and founder); alinagirnet@diez.md (general manager) +373 60 257673 (editor-in-chief); +373 68 228505 (CEO and founder); +373 60 418216 (general manager) https://diez.md |
| Revenue | MDL 6,86 mln / USD 377,75 thousand (2023) |
|---|---|
| Operating Profit | MDL 1,39 mln / USD 76,99 thousand (2023) |
| Advertising (in % of total funding) | MDL 2,96 mln / USD 162,99 thousand, 43% of total revenue in 2023 |
| Market Share | Missing Data |