jurnal.md
Jurnal.md was established in 2003 by PP Jurnal de Chișinău SRL, initially serving as the online version of the Jurnal de Chișinău newspaper. In 2008, it came under the management of Jurnal de Chișinău SRL. The following year, with the launch of Jurnal TV, Jurnal.md evolved into a news portal as part of Jurnal Trust Media, the first media holding in the Republic of Moldova.
In 2010, Jurnal.md was acquired by Jurnal de Chișinău Plus SRL. Two years later, the portal came under the management of Broadcast News SRL, which was founded in the same year by Rheinstein Media Management Germany GmbH, owned by businessman Victor Țopa, who was also the beneficiary of Jurnal TV.
Victor Țopa was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2011 for blackmail. Prior to his sentencing, he fled the Republic of Moldova and settled in Germany.
Victor Țopa is known for being the godfather of Andrei Năstase, the leader of the "Dignity and Truth Platform" (DA Platform).
Țopa is also noted for his rivalry with oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who owned and influenced several competing television stations. This rivalry was evident in the editorial policy of Jurnal TV, which favored the DA Platform while showing bias against Vladimir Plahotniuc and the Democratic Party he led from 2016 to 2019, but which he had controlled since 2009-2010.
In 2019, Jurnal.md was acquired by ÎCS Reforma Art SRL, a company owned by Valentin Butnaru.
Over the years, the site has undergone several significant changes. One of the most challenging periods was during the Democratic Party's rule, especially in 2017, when Jurnal TV had to suspend its operations for two months, and Jurnal.md had to drastically reduce its team. According to the editor-in-chief, these were difficult years marked by attacks on jurnal.md, but the site managed to endure, grow, and reach the top of opinion polls in terms of trust.
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 | Jurnal Trust Media |
Ownership
| Ownership Structure | Since 2019, Jurnal.md has been owned by ÎCS Reforma Art SRL, which was registered in 2009. ÎCS Reforma Art SRL is currently 100% owned by VB News Media GmbH, a company registered in Germany. VB News Media GmbH was originally registered as GT News Media GmbH in August 2017, with Gabriela Țopa, the daughter of businessman Victor Țopa, as the general manager. In July 2019, the company name was changed to VB News Media GmbH, and Julia Kraus, a German citizen, became the managing director. According to data from the Audiovisual Council, the final beneficiary of Jurnal TV is Valentin Butnaru, who is also the beneficiary of the entire Jurnal Trust Media. This information is available in the "Property Transparency" section on the jurnal.md portal. |
|---|---|
| Individual Owner |
Media Companies / Groups
Facts
| Founding Year | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Valentin Butnaru Jurnal.md was founded by Valentin Butnaru. Initially, the portal was owned by PP Jurnal de Chișinău SRL, a company he established. After being transferred through several other companies connected to Butnaru, the portal was acquired in 2019 by ÎCS Reforma Art SRL, also founded by him. |
| CEO | Adrian Buraga According to his LinkedIn profile, Adrian Buraga has been employed at Jurnal TV since October 2009. Over the years, he has held various positions, starting as an operational manager and later becoming the manager of the Logistics Department. From 2017 to 2019, he served as deputy director, and in 2019, he was promoted to general manager. Adrian Buraga co-owns "Magnet Production" SRL with journalist Valentin (Val) Butnaru, each holding a 50% share. According to documents submitted by Jurnal TV to the Audiovisual Council, Valentin Butnaru is the ultimate beneficiary of Jurnal TV. In January 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova announced that several Moldovan citizens, including Adrian Buraga, are banned from entering the Russian Federation. |
| Editor-In-Chief | Cristina Vicol Cristina Vicol worked as a reporter at jurnal.md from 2009 to 2010. She then served as a senior editor at jurnal.md until 2016. Since 2016, she has been the director of the online department at Reforma Art SRL and editor-in-chief of the jurnal.md portal. |
| Contact | str. Columna 170 (Digital Park) et. 3 mun. Chișinău Moldova, Republic of contact@jurnaltv.md (+373) 022 859 000 https://www.jurnal.md/ |
| Revenue | Missing Data |
|---|---|
| Operating Profit | Missing Data |
| Advertising (in % of total funding) | Missing Data |
| Market Share | Missing Data |
| Headlines | ||
|---|---|---|
| Meta Data | Audience data is unavailable because Jurnal.md does not have a contract with Gemius. Data were instead obtained from the Public Opinion Barometer. According to the most recent Barometer of Public Opinion from August 2023, among the 58.1% of respondents who reported getting information from the Internet, 19.1% indicated that they use Jurnal.md. Advertising and market share data are not publicly available. While the company provided advertising revenue data in response to our request, these figures are combined for both Jurnal TV and jurnal.md. Information about the portal management companies and CV details were requested on July 10 and received from the editor-in-chief on July 17 2024. | |
| Sources | ||
| Documents (PDF) |