Economic Framework Affected Press Freedom, Quality In Romania In '09- Report

Matthias Barner, director of Media South East Europe program, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung - Media Program, said Monday in the opening of the press conference that the freedom of the press is one of the most important goals of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Barner stressed a democracy can only thrive alongside a free press and added that various reports bring out an alarming situation on the Romanian media market.

According to Barner, in times of economic crisis, media group owners and journalists make compromises to keep their own publications running.

The report also indicates that breaches of freedom of expression and freedom of the press were framed as acts of aggressions, threats, pressure from state authorities, political and economic pressure, access to information of public interest, censorship, self-censorship, labor conflicts and legislation.

"The economic framework of the Romanian media (market division, acquisitions, mergers, the legal framework, economic problems, etc.) directly affect the freedom of expression and the quality of media products. Incompliance with deontological norms affects the right to free speech", the report also reads.

According to the report, the economic crisis, which left 3,000 media employees jobless, namely journalists and technical staff, shut down tens of publications and drastically slashed advertising revenues, is one of the most important events with impact on the freedom of expression in 2009 and made media vulnerable to political and economic pressure.

In 2009, journalists continued to face acts of aggression and threats and those behind such acts got away without being publicly punished, while local authorities restricted the right to public assemblies and hindered various events, such as exhibitions, concerts and conferences.

"Central authorities have promoted several legislative initiatives with negative impact on the freedom of expression: the country's new civil and criminal codes, amendments to the law on cyber crime, the law on the storage of traffic data, the law on public procurement and so on", according to the report.

The report also indicates that the public television "is still vulnerable to political pressure". In 2009, more than ever, journalists within the public television drew attention on this kind of situations.

In 2009, steps were taken towards regulating the local media market and the Romanian Convention of Media Organizations unanimously adopted the sole Code of Ethics and also set up the group for good journalistic practices, the report also noted.

According to the report, the local media market saw a sharp decline in 2009. AMP said nearly 4,000 employees on the local media market lost their jobs in 2009 and in the first months of 2010, which, it stressed, "reinstated the dependency on the state, paved the way for blackmail and revived the subsidized media".

AMP made a series of recommendations for politicians, authorities and the business environment, stressing that "the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press are vital for a democratic society" and that "censorship is strictly forbidden".

According to AMP, politicians and state authorities ought to "keep away from acts aimed at restricting the freedom of expression. They must uphold and protect it, respect the diversity of opinions in all forms".

AMP also says authorities are still trying to control and restrict through laws the freedom of expression and the access to information. It stressed "there should be strong reactions from the media community and human rights organizations against dangerous legislative initiatives".

The report was drafted within the FreeEx program of ActiveWatch -the Press Monitoring Agency. The Freedom of Expression Program - FreeEx was set off by ActiveWatch in August 1999, for the purpose of bringing its contribution to protecting and promoting the right to free speech and free press.

ActiveWatch publishes annual reports on the situation of the media community in Romania.

The report is funded by Open Society Institute (OSI).

The report mainly covers the events in 2009 and was launched within the Convention of Media Organizations, which takes place between May 3 and May 4 in capital Bucharest.

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