Faculty Member from Bucharest Observes Grady College Instruction
Ms. Madalina Balasescu, a professor in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Bucharest, Romania, began her month-long visit to the University of Georgia in the middle of April with the intent to learn how to teach broadcast production and management.
Mrs. Balasescu's visit has been organized by the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research and is the first in what is planned to be a series of visits by faculty from the Romanian university to the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, in which the Cox Center is located.
In addition to learning how the Grady College teaches broadcast production and management, Prof. Balasescu plans to examine the professionalism of journalism in the United States.
"In the last five-six years, television has been the most prominent channel of communication in Romania," Ms. Balasescu said. "The stations need professional journalists, and our university wants to give the best expertise to the students. An international experience in this respect is of utmost importance, and I am very glad to be at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication."
During her stay, Prof. Balasescu will observe classes taught by a number of faculty in the Telecommunications Department of the Grady College. She also will discuss her research interests in professionalism with Cox Center Director Dr. Lee B. Becker and Dr. Tudor Vlad, a research scientist in the Center. Dr. Vlad is on leave from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Prior to becoming a faculty member, Prof. Balasescu worked as a news reporter at Tele 7 abc, one of the private TV stations established after the fall of communism.
Dr. Kent Middleton, head of the Department of Journalism at the Grady College, taught media law in Bucharest in the 1990s. He was instrumental in setting up the exchange program that brought Professor Balasescu to the University of Georgia.
"We're pleased to have Prof. Balasescu with us," Cox Center Director Becker said. "We look forward to sharing our experiences with her during her stay and building a stronger relationship with the University of Bucharest."
