Sidonia Bogdan, a famous Romanian journalist who investigated corruption cases involving the former deputy prime minister Gabriel Oprea and cases of plagiarism by political figures in Romania, stated for Dilema Veche that the majority of mainstream media in Romania is promoting a political agenda
A survey about Romanian newsstands reveals the dramatic situation of newspapers' industry in Romania: newspapers are almost gone, and the shops offer mainly entertainment magazines and... toys.
Nicolas Don is a French journalist of Romanian origin , that came in Romania in December 1989, being the witness of the Romanian Revolution and the events that occurred in all the time after. During this time, he was a keen observer of Romanian press developments and its sideslips
Catalin Tolontan, chief editor at Gazeta Sporturilor, was the subject of a stakeout while he was working on a journalistic investigation regarding the tragic events that occured at Colective Club – the accident in which 61 people died, and more were othere were injured.
On November 25 , ActiveWatch, Romanian NGO concerned with the press freedom in Romania, launch a press release urging the authorities to investigate urgently action stakeout that targeted journalist Catalin Tolontan and take all necessary measures to ensure the immediate protection of his and his family . "The case Tolontan seemed very serious and it is not a singular case " - declared Razvan Martin , project coordinator in the department of ActiveWatch FreeEx .
Romanian traditional mass media faces a serious financial crises. Therefore, political influence is decreasing, as the economical issue rises. Legal Resource Center (CRJ) organized a seminar for journalists in which they discussed about journalists involvement in pursuing human rights issues in Romania. Lack of time and money compel a journalist not to give enough time to the subject. Topics are not well documented, and the audience gets to be unaware of the facts. From here to be misinformed is just a step. There is also the alternative media. Free lancers and social media. But how well do they work? How educated is the audience to be able to distinguish the truth from manipulation? A public debate in this area must be held because the trust in mass media, traditional or alternative, is rapidly decreasing.
In 2014, the press freedom crisis in Romania has deepened. Many mass media owners were convicted while sales fell. Journalists face low wages and job insecurity which leads to journalistic transits of opinion, except in the quality press area. Fearing to lose their jobs, journalists are becoming more willing to compromise. They don't talk about abuse and, moreover, accept it. A report by the Center for Independent Journalism reveals these shortfalls.
FreeEx reports for the electoral year 2014 a backsliding of press freedom, with already existing cases and new attacks, threats and political pressure on journalists. This year, media owners were convicted by justice, evidence of links between politics and the media, there were serious cases of restriction of access to public information, carried out by the ultimate guarantor of press freedom and quality in Romania: the National Broadcasting Council.
