On October 1, 2019, the day Universul.net was born, the uncertainties of a new beginning were only matched by the ambitions and vision of our small small team.
Like any new news outlet in the potholed landscape of the Romanian press, it was just a dream back then that we would still be here half a decade later, just as determined as then, fortunately, and even more confident.
Five years in the life of a person, but also in the life of a publication, is both the blink of an eye and an eternity – depending on what you relate it to, what angle you look at it from. It also depends on what the initial plans were and how or indeed if they evolved.
At Universul.net, we can be grateful to the fact that time, which at the beginning we looked at with a dry and calculated skepticism, has finally dealt us a beautiful hand- eternalizing the moment or, even encapsulating eternity.
Obviously, no one knows what the next five years will bring, for Universul.net, but what we can do today is tell you what the first five meant.
As far as quantity goes, there’s no mystery: we have an archive of tens of thousands of articles that present and distill everyday life in its mind-boggling rhythm.
In terms of quality, we were taken by surprise: although we began by bullishly covering everyday stories as we saw fit, we soon found ourselves being taken prisoner by the events that unfolded which became part of this century’s history.
Universul.net went live on October 1, 2019, but by the end of that year, the biggest pandemic in the last hundred years had just started (at one point it seemed it would never go away). That was followed by two wars and a technological revolution almost as significant as the industrial one.
This is how it unfolded:
- 2019 – 2020. For the first year Universul.net was monopolized by Covid-19, not just a new virus – but a disease with global tentacles; a disease in health terms; a disease which rocked the economy, society, geopolitics.
- 2020 – 2021. The first pandemic in a century marched on, and then came the threat of a war in Europe, the first in almost a century. In 2021, Russia unleashed blackmail it had been threatening against the West in regards to Ukraine. It massed troops on the Ukrainian border (March-April), forced America to discuss the subject head-on (June, the Biden-Putin Summit) and indicated to the world that an invasion was imminent (July, in an open letter in which Putin spoke of Ukrainians, Russians and Belarussians as one and the same people).
- 2022 – 2024. For the next two years at Universul.net, we didn’t take our foot off the accelerator: the war in Ukraine (February 24, 2022, ongoing), the war in Gaza (October 7, 2023, ongoing), the “explosion” of artificial intelligence (a phenomenon still in its infancy, but still unknown and terribly disruptive already at this stage).
The dynamics of the world have decisively influenced the editorial dynamics of our publication.
While still covering the political, economic and social developments in Romania – as you can see in our archive – we have also pivoted in the direction of foreign policy and news.
On the Universul.net homepage, you will see sections dedicated to Ukraine, NATO, Politics. Our Opinions section is especially valuable as the press is not just concerned about news, but also personality: personality means analysis and having the maturity and courage to explain what lies behind the headlines and what it means.
What sets Universul.net apart from other publications in the Romanian media landscape is our focus on in-depth and follow-up materials on major news topics. We provide readers with direct access to:
- Translations in extenso from renowned publications, but especially those with longstanding credibility.
- Own analyses (on topic and in quick reaction to major stories), interviews.
- The unique perspective of experienced foreign journalists whose byline is frequently seen in international foreign publications.
- And the icing on the cake ‘thanks’ to the threat blowing from the east: RUSSIAN PRESS – a section in which, we daily select the most relevant news and articles from the independent Russian press that is not controlled, sponsored or censored by the Kremlin.
It goes without saying that the materials in the categories mentioned above can be read exclusively on Universul.net, or to be read first on Universul.net and only then in the original.
Last but not least, Universul.net is proud of its English section which serves a large community of expats and anyone wanting to read in-depth news, commentary and interviews about Romania and world affairs in English. It provides a vital service to readers (some have even called it a lifeline) to Romanians and foreigners at home and abroad from a country where sadly there is little news about Romania available in English.
Five years ago, Universul.net was just a newsroom and a vision. Today we believe we have evolved into a community.
Without us, Universul.net could not have existed. Without you, it wouldn’t have meant anything.
It is fitting, therefore, that on its 5th anniversary, Universul.net’s editorial team has this message: Happy birthday, dear readers!
*Laurentiu Mihu joined the Universul.net team in October 2019 and has been editor-in-chief since November 2021.
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