I am a young freelance journalist based in Berlin. I regularly travel across Eastern Europe and Germany and document the main political events, as well as interesting social or cultural trends and developments. I mainly write for the print and online media, but I also offer a variety of services ranging from research to full production for radio and TV programmes, as well as documentaries. Feel free to browse these pages for more details, and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
If you are looking for professional news content &
production services in Germany and Eastern Europe,
you are at the right place.
Focus on Eastern Europe
More than 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Central and Eastern Europe is facing new and interesting challenges. Most countries in the region are now liberal democracies, have functioning market economies and enjoy full membership in the European Union. Culture and society are changing at a fast pace. But the region's history (both older and more recent) makes it a unique place, where people can draw on more or less common and specific social experiences.
The dramatic effects of the economic crisis have dashed hopes that the spectacular consumption boom preceding it could last indefinitely and fulfil the old dream of finally catching up with "the West". The troubles in the euro zone have raised new questions about the future of the EU and Eastern Europe's role in it. Environmental awareness has grown in the whole region lately, but so have new forms of nationalism and populism.
Documenting the permanent changes in Eastern Europe, its problems and its often striking contradictions requires a permanent questioning of the persistent clichés circulating about the region. Making interesting developments intelligible for an international public by exploring and explaining the background behind the news is what critical quality journalism should be about.
Silviu Mihai was born in Romania, in 1978, and began his studies in Philosophy and Politics there. After graduating, he dedicated several years to research projects in Ethics and Political Philosophy at the Central European University, in Budapest, and at the Free University of Berlin. Since 2005, Mihai has been working as a journalist. After his first experiences with quality papers and electronic news portals in Bucharest, he decided to return to Berlin, where he is now based.
Mihai usually covers political and economic news, as well as relevant social trends. His main focus is on Eastern Europe. He has a good knowledge of culture, history and political life in the new EU Member States. A large network of first-hand sources, especially in Romania and Hungary, contributes to his reporting.
Through 2012, Mihai worked for the Berlin Bureau of National Public Radio (NPR), where he reported and produced programmes about Germany and Eastern Europe. At the same time, he starts a new career as a print and online journalist for German speaking media.
Almost every month, Mihai travels to an Eastern European capital. His features, analyses and background pieces have been published by many leading newspapers in the German speaking world - FAZ, Berliner Zeitung, der Tagesspiegel, der Freitag, Die Presse in Vienna, and many others. Mihai is a member of n-ost, a Berlin-based network of Eastern Europe correspondents.
Mihai believes in a professional and balanced journalism, which questions stereotypes and serves the purpose of a free and open society.
Services
Based on my professional experience and an in-depth knowledge of German and Eastern European societies and political landscapes, I offer a variety of services and products, ranging from research and news content, to radio and TV production in the region:
writing and editing text content for print and online media outlets in English, German or Romanian - typically news reports, features, background analyses or interviews on political or socially relevant topics across Germany and a number of Eastern European countries
research on various issues related to the region, including identifying and synthesising relevant data and field research, e.g., for the production of documentaries, radio and TV programmes, or projects in social studies
participating in / intermediating experts for talks and panel discussions on topics of international interest concerning the region
full production services for radio and TV, including finding appropriate interviewees or other sources, making travel and location arrangements, interpreting and translating blogging at relevant events in the region
blogging at relevant events in the region
