Mariana Rață

Mariana Raţă (born 20 August, 1984, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova) is a investigative and tv journalist from Moldova. She is the founder of the Media Alternativa association, which holds the license of the independent television station TV8. Rață is Senior Editor at TV8, responsible for the editorial policy of TV8 media products. Since 2017, Rață is the host of the political talk show Cutia Neagră (Black Box), and since 2020, she is also the director of the investigation show Cutia Neagră PLUS. Both are broadcast by TV8. Since 2017, Rață is the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center for Independent Journalism in Moldova.

Until 2017, Rață was Coordinating Editor at the Centre for Investigative Journalism of Moldova. She has been awarded many national prizes in the field of investigative journalism. In 2013, she was named one of the 10 best journalists of the year in the Republic of Moldova. In 2016, Mariana Rata won the first place in the competition of the best journalistic investigations on corruption, organized by UNDP. In 2017, Mariana Rata was selected for the European Press Prize shortlist with ‘Anabolics Mafia’ investigation. She began her journalistic career at the newspaper Jurnal de Chișinău, where she had worked for ten years. In 2009-2010 she was the host of the political talkshow “Issues of the Day” on Jurnal TV channel. From 2013 to 2016 she was deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper Ziarul National.

Mariana Rata is also an anti-corruption expert and a justice expert. She is the author of several studies on Selective Justice in the Republic of Moldova, conducted in collaboration with Freedom House.