The mass media in Romania refers to mass media outlets based in Romania. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. The Constitution of Romania guarantees freedom of speech. As a country in transition, the Romanian media system is under transformation. Reporters Without Borders ranks Romania 42nd in its Worldwide Press Freedom Index, from 2013. Freedom House ranked it as "partly free" in 2014.
History Romania's newspaper market thrived after the 1989 revolution, but many newspapers subsequently closed because of rising costs. Most households in Bucharest have cable TV. There are hundreds of cable distributors offering access to Romanian, European and other stations. According to europaworld.com, in 2004 there were:
radio users: 5,369,000 television users: 5,822,000 telephones (main lines in use): 4,390,800 (2005) mobile cellular phones (subscribers): 22,000,000 (2008) personal computers: 2,450,000 internet users: 4,500,000 book production (inclusively pamphlets): 13,288,000 titles and 9,288,000 copies daily newspapers: 84 other periodicals: 2,036
Legislative framework The 2003 Constitution of Romania upholds freedom of expression and prohibits censorship. The Constitution states that "Freedom of the press also involves the free setting up of publications," and that "No publication shall be suppressed, establishes free access to information and the autonomy of the public radio and TV. No specific Press Law is in force in Romania. Hate speech is forbidden when it insults state symbols or religion, and when it promotes fascist or racist ideologies. Small fines are imposed: in 2014, the president Traian Basescu was fined for an anti-Roma comment, and a Facebook user was also fined after he had posted a Nazi slogan that was then quoted by a local newspaper. In 2007 the media rights body Reporters Without Borders praised reforms to the criminal code; journalists can no longer be jailed on defamation charges. Defamation was decriminalised in 2010 by a Supreme Court ruling, but this was later overturned by a 2013 Constitutional Court decision. Civil defamation lawsuits often target journalists. Freedom of access to information is guaranteed by the Constitution and by a specific law (Law on Free Access to Information of Public Interest, adopted in 2001). Public bodies are required to release information to the public, and journalists are afforded special privileges to obtain them faster. Yet, cases of officials obstructing access to information have been reported. On 25 June 2008 the Senate adopted a draft amendment that would have obliged television and radio broadcasters to have a 50% of "good" or "positive" news. The Constitutional Court, however, ruled the bill unconstitutional before promulgation, so it never became law.
Status and self-regulation of journalists Journalists have opposed initiatives for a Law on the Press, fearing that it would impose restrictions rather than granting freedoms. A 2009 study by CIJ, ActiveWatch and IMAS (The Institute for Marketing and Polls) reports that most journalists say that professional norms are not respected, mostly due to political and business pressures. The Romanian Press Club has an Ethics Code and a Council of Honour to inquire journalists and media outlets found in breach of professional norms – although its decisions have often been criticised as arbitrary. The Convention of Media Organisations (COM) also adopted a deontological code; COM-member organisations have developed self-regulation guidelines for an increased accountability in the Romanian media. A "Unique Code" was issued in October 2009 by COM, MediaSind trade union and the Association of Journalists in Romania, to be adopted for the whole profession. Among the broadcast media, regulation is managed by the National Broadcasting Council (Consiliul National al Audiovizualului), issuing warnings and fines for non lack of fairness and accuracy, as well as forcing media to display public acknowledgements for promoting indecent language and behaviour. Journalists in Romania have to deal with job insecurity due to low and delayed salaries, as well as commercial and political pressures from media owners and advertisers. Collective labour contracts for the mass media sector expired in early 2014. Reporters in Romania also often face verbal abuse, intimidation, and occasionally even physical aggressions.
Media outlets Romania has one of the most dynamic media markets in southeastern Europe. TV is the medium of choice for most Romanians. State-owned TVR and the private stations Pro TV and Antena 1 command the lion's share of viewing, however there is a large number of smaller, private stations, some of them part of local networks. The state broadcaster, TVR, operates a second national network, TVR 2, and a pan-European satellite channel. Pay TV channels have a smaller but significant audience. The public television company Televiziunea Română and the public radio Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune cover all the country and have also international programs. The state also owns a public news agency ROMPRES. The private media is grouped in media companies such as Intact Media Group, Media Pro, Realitatea-Caţavencu, Ringier, SBS Broadcasting Group, Centrul Național Media and other smaller independent companies. Cable television is widely available in almost all localities, and some have even adopted digital television. It offers besides the national channels a great number of international and specialized channels. FM stations cover most cities and most of them belong to national radio networks. Overall readership of most newspapers is slowly declining due to increasing competition from television and the Internet. Tabloids and sport newspapers are among the most read national newspapers. In every large city there is at least one local newspaper, which usually covers the rest of the county. An Audit Bureau of Circulations was established in 1998 and today represents a large number of publications. The parliamentary majority controls appointments in the leadership of the public broadcaster Televiziunea Română, thus ensuring a constant pro-governmental bias. In the private sector, owners' interests in other economic sectors usually define the editorial line of the media.
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