nokta.md
The nokta.md portal was launched in late December 2017 as a project of the non-governmental organisation Piligrim-Demo. Mihail Sirkeli, the director and founder of Piligrim-Demo, initially served as the portal's coordinator before becoming its editor. From its inception, nokta.md has positioned itself as a champion of data journalism, publishing analyses, news, and articles in this style. The portal has since expanded its scope to include diverse journalistic formats, including news, reports, long-reads, interviews, vox populi, author programs, and podcasts.
Throughout its operation, nokta.md journalists have faced numerous instances of harassment, intimidation, and threats from local authorities. These incidents include:
In August 2018, journalists received threats following an article about a local dignitary. May 2022 saw death threats against portal coordinator Mihail Sirkeli from a Comrat City Hall employee featured in an article. In August 2022, a nokta.md reporter was physically assaulted and verbally abused while covering a rally. November 2022 brought demands from pro-Russian nationalists for Sirkeli's excommunication and anathematization. In February 2023, Sirkeli faced attacks and intimidation during a regional public TV broadcast for criticising the February 2014 Gagauz autonomy referendum (later declared illegal by Moldovan courts). April 2023 saw Sirkeli publicly insulted on TV-Gagauzia by Dumitru Constantinov, President of the People's Assembly of Gagauzia, resulting in fines for the regional broadcaster. In January 2024, an adviser to the Gagauz Bashkan made threats of physical violence against nokta.md journalists. Media NGOs have consistently condemned these incidents, issued official statements, and urged authorities to take action.
The portal's journalistic excellence has been recognized with multiple awards. In 2022, nokta.md and its journalists received honours at the Journalists of the Year Gala organised by the Independent Journalism Center in the editorial category. In 2023, the Press Council of the Republic of Moldova awarded nokta.md the National Award for Journalistic Ethics and Deontology.
Key Facts
| Audience Share | Missing Data |
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| 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 | AO PILIGRIM-DEMO |
Ownership
| Ownership Structure | The nokta.md portal was launched in late December 2017 as a project of the non-governmental organisation Piligrim-Demo. Mihail Sirkeli is the Executive Director of the organisation. |
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Media Companies / Groups
Facts
| Founding Year | 2017 |
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| CEO | Mihail Sirkeli Mihail Sirkeli is a journalist and civic activist. According to his LinkedIn profile, between 2009 and 2011, Mihail Sirkeli served as an OSCE election observer for elections in Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, Slovakia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Estonia and the Republic of Moldova. Between November 2012 and December 2015, he worked as a national expert and consultant to the OSCE Mission to Moldova. From February 2003 to the present, he has served as the Executive Director of the Piligrim Demo NGO. Previously he was a presenter on TV8. Since March 2024, he has co-hosted with Ivan Sveatcenko the podcast "Это вам не мешки таскать" on the portal nokta.md and YouTube channel NonFiction. On October 3, 2023, the Russian Federation banned Mikhail Sirkeli from entering the country. Over the years of his work, Mihail Sirkeli has been repeatedly attacked, intimidated, and threatened by representatives of local authorities. In August 2018, Sirkeli and his colleagues were targeted with attacks and threats after publishing an article about a local dignitary. In May 2022, he received death threats from a Comrat City Hall employee who had been mentioned in an article. In November 2022, a group of pro-Russian nationalists demanded that Mikhail Sirkeli be anathematized and excommunicated. In February 2023, Sirkeli was attacked and intimidated during a broadcast on the regional public TV channel over his critical views on the referendum held in the Gagauz autonomy in February 2014, which was later declared illegal by Moldovan courts. In April 2023, the journalist was accused and insulted during a broadcast on TV-Gagauzia by the President of the People's Assembly of Gagauzia, Dumitru Constantinov. The regional public broadcaster was fined for the incident. Media NGOs condemned each of these incidents, signed official statements, and called on the authorities to intervene. Mihail Sirkeli was awarded in 2022 at the Journalist of the Year Gala organized by the Independent Journalism Center in the editorial category. In April 2024, Mihail Sirkeli was elected president of the Independent Press Association for a two-year term. |
| Editor-In-Chief | Mihail Sirkeli See above |
| Other Important People | Marina Bzovaia Marina Bzovaia is a journalist with over 26 years of experience. She currently works as the editor of the news portal nokta.md. Previously, worked at the regional newspaper SP in Bălți from 1998 to 2021. In recognition of her professional excellence, Bzovaia was honoured at the 2013 Journalist of the Year Gala, organised by the Independent Journalism Center, receiving an award in the print media category. |
| Contact | str. Victoriei 11 MD-3805 Comrat Moldova, Republic of info@piligrim-demo.org.md +373 298 80571 https://nokta.md/ |
| Revenue | Missing Data |
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| Operating Profit | Missing Data |
| Advertising (in % of total funding) | Missing Data |
| Market Share | Missing Data |