Wikipedia:Cafenea/Role of mass media in Romanian politics before and after the December 1989 Revolution
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TABLE OF CONTENTS :
page 1 COUNTRY PRESENTATION page 1 GOVERNMENT page 1 SHORT HISTORY
page 2 ROMANIAN REVOLUTION 22 DECEMBER 1989
page 4 ROMANIAN MASS MEDIA DURING COMMUNIST ERA Page 4 promotion of Socialism and Anti-Capitalism as state policy Page 5 sourcing, censorship and manipulation Page 6 media concentration Page 6 advertisement Page 7 flack and enforcers
page 11 MASS MEDIA IN REVOLUTION Page 11 learning freedom Page 11 Romanian ‘’free’’ press Page 12 radio Page 12 television
page 14 ROMANIAN PRESS PRESENT AND FUTURE
Country Presentation
Romania is a country in Southeastern Europe. It neighbors Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia-Montenegro and Ukraine. It also has a border of 225 km with the Black Sea in the southeast part of the country. The capital city is Bucharest.
The population of the country is about 23 million people. The major ethnic minorities are Hungarians (mostly in the northwest part of the country) Roma-Gipsy, German and Ukrainian. Romanians are Christian–orthodox in a proportion of 87%, but also protestant (7%) and catholic (6%)
Government Romania is a Republic, proclaimed on 30th December 1947. The executive branch is leaded by the President , elected on 4-year terms. The name of the actual president is Ion Iliescu. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President; actual prime-minister is Adrian Nastase. The legislative branch is formed of a bi-cameral parliament and consists of the Senate- 140 seats, and Chamber of Deputies- 340 seats. The judicial branch is the Supreme Court of Justice , appointed by the President on the recommandation of the Superiour Council of Magistrates.
Short history
From about 200 B.C., when it was settled by the Dacians, a Thracian tribe, Romania has been in the path of a series of migrations and conquests. Under the Emperor Trajan early in the second century A.D., Dacia was incorporated into the Roman Empire. In Medieval period, Romania was split into the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The two principalities were unified under a single native prince in 1859, and had their full independence ratified in the 1878 Treaty of Berlin. A German prince, Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was crowned first King of Romania in 1881. Romania was an ally of the Entente and the United States in World War I, and was granted substantial territories with Romanian populations, notably Transylvania, Bassarabia, and Bukovina. Romania entered World War II on the side of the Axis Powers in June 1941, invading the Soviet Union to recover Bessarabia and Bukovina, which had been annexed in 1940. In August 1944, a coup led by King Michael, with support from opposition politicians and the army, deposed the Marshal Antonescu dictatorship and put Romania's battered armies on the side of the Allies. The peace treaty, signed at Paris on February 10, 1947, confirmed the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina but restored the part of northern Transylvania granted to Hungary in 1940 by Hitler. The treaty required massive war reparations by Romania to the Soviet Union, whose occupying forces left in 1958. The Soviets pressed for inclusion of Romania's negligible Communist Party in the post-war government, while noncommunist political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. King Michael abdicated under pressure in December 1947, when the Romanian People's Republic was declared, and went into exile. In the early 1960s, Romania's communist government began to assert some independence from the Soviet Union. Nicolae Ceausescu became head of the Communist Party in 1965 and head of state in 1967. Ceausescu's denunciation of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and a brief relaxation in internal repression helped give him a positive image both at home and in the West. By the late 1970s, Ceausescu regime had become increasingly harsh, arbitrary, and capricious. Romanian Revolution – 22 December 1989 1989 was a year of great change throughout Socialist countries. USSR was in the era of Perestroika, economical reforms initiated by President Gorbatchev. China had its Tiananmen Square incident, on June 4, where approximately 1000 people were killed. Fall of Berlin Wall in Germany happened on November 9th. Other countries in East Europe had social unrest and political reforms: Hungary – Janos Kadar fell from power on June 16, Poland - Solidarity leaded by Lech Walesa won the elections on August 24, Czechoslovakia – Vaclav Havel took over as President on November 24, Bulgaria – Todor Zhivkov fall from power. The incident that sparked the Romanian Revolution happened on 15th December in Timisoara, a city of western Romania. A popular local minister, Laszlo Tokes was about to be evicted by the police. He attracted a small crowd of supporters to prevent his eviction. In a matter of hours, this incident become an important anti-communist protest, harshly repressed by army and special police troops with tanks and armored cars. Casualties numbered about 160 people; men, women, children or elder. The dictator flew from his palace 6 days later, during a rally organized by himself, to denounce the Timisoara incidents. The rally was supposed to condemn the “gang of hooligans”,” fascists” and”terrorists”; instead, the meting become an open protest against the dictator and against communism. Ceausescu looking worried over the crowds that started shouting anti-communist and anti-Ceausescu slogans.
Old Communist officials seized the power in the following hours, taking control of the country. The very first intention of these people was to overthrow Ceausescu, and to replace him by a new Socialist government. However, the popular revolt was against any form of communism, and they had to adapt their discourse. Ceausescu was judged on Christmas day, 25 December 1989. The trial only lasted a few hours, after which the dictator’s couple was sentenced to death and executed immediately. The December 89 revolution is also referred to by some Romanians as ‘’The Stolen Revolution’’. The reason is that after a popular uprising against the dictator and against the communism, high-rank officials from the old regime seized the opportunity and become the new leaders. The struggle against old communist mentalities and politics, and the struggle for freedom continue today in Romania, fourteen years after the events of December 1989. Romanian Mass Media during Communist era After the Second World War, Romania fallen into the Soviet sphere of influence. Backed by the Soviet troops stationed in Romania, a very small (about 1000 members) Romanian Communist Party took over the government in 1947. Romania becomes a socialist country. Romanian press before the Revolution was characterized by government strict control, censorship, manipulation and disinformation. In order to analyze Romanian media before the Revolution, I would use a model introduced by Noam Chomsky in his book, Manufacturing Consent. Noam Chomsky is discussing different aspects of propaganda in Western Mass Media and Politics, and his model could be applied in Eastern Europe – the Socialist Countries block. Promotion of Socialism and Anti-Capitalism as state policy Noam Chomsky fifth filter is anti-communism used as a mechanism so that Western governments could control the press. In the Socialist block, this filter is the most important - the fight against Capitalism and promotion of Socialism. Mass Media was under state control, and because there was only one party – The Communist Party, there was no difference between the state and the party. Whatever the Party would decide, the State would execute. In regards to the Press, there was a special government body, the Press Section of the Central Committee of the Communist party that would regulate anything related television, radio and printed material. Mass Media was under direct control of the Communist Party, and since 1978 under direct influence of the dictator couple. Journalists were supposed to act as “Party Activists” and “Communist Fighters”, as requested by the Dictator in 1972. Regardless of whether journalists accepted or not the idea, it was the only choice available. The Mass Media was regulated by law. Under threat of being punished with “disciplinary, material, civil or criminal penalties”, the journalists had to follow regulations like: a. Contributing with all… abilities to the achievement of the sociopolitical functions of the Press as established in… Romanian Communist Party documents. b. Devotedly serve the cause of communism and fighting to set into practice the internal and external policies of the party and state. c. Fighting to promote the revolutionary spirit in all facets of socialist life and against everything that might curb the forward movement of the society Professional and ethical standards were defined by State - Communist Party, at his turn controlled by Ceausescu. Here are examples of regulations setting ethical standards towards the party and the leadership of the country. Journalists are forbidden to publish or broadcast materials that: a. are hostile to the Constitution of The Socialist Republic of Romania b. contain attacks against the socialist order, or against Romanian Communist Party c. defame the leadership of the State and Party Sourcing, Censorship and Manipulation The source of the news was the Communist Party. Former Journalist Ion Manea gives a description of the process of reporting to the public, and the choice of editorials or articles. Every Tuesday afternoon he who is responsible for the direction of the Romanian Press summons all the chief editors in Bucharest for a long meeting. He gives a detailed address as of what is to be written and what is not to be written during the following week. He dictates a series of articles on several subjects. It is quite possible that the following week, the same person may vehemently criticize the articles of the proceeding week, including those dictated by him. Everything takes on the appearance of a scene from Kafka. Journalists must have no personality at all; they must possess the ability of transcribing ad literam the orders received from the Press Department of the Communist Party and must be endowed with a professional mask to hide their own feelings and ideas. Radio, television and newspapers were assigned a Party representative (or a small team) that would proofread articles, or check TV material, in order that nothing upsetting might escape to the public. They also had control over Journalists activity through paper allocation, journalist’s appointment and assignment. There was also a concept that a journalist should be ‘’self-responsible’’ when writing articles. This self-responsibility is actually self-censorship, it means, by being responsible, a journalist should not describe the things as they are, but as they should be. It also heightened the importance of mutual surveillance, or collegial censorship under ‘’collective leadership’’ and ‘’self-responsibility’’. With all these regulations, a deformation of the profession of Journalist appeared. A Journalist is supposed to inform and to analyze certain aspects of his society. Because of the strict control and regulations, Journalists in Communist Romania become bureaucrats, functionaries, or public officials . Their duty was to put in words, texts given by representatives of the Communist Party. Media Concentration: The first socialist newspaper, Scanteia – The Spark started to be published in 1944, and it had to battle fiercely for readers . Soviet Union also had a newspaper named Iskra, which translated to English means The Spark also. Other East European countries also had their own version of The Spark newspaper which proves a direct influence from Moscow. A few years later, all media other than communist was suppressed, and Scanteia become the most published newspaper. Until 1989, only two daily newspapers appeared, The Spark and Romania Libera. The two newspapers were edited and printed in the same building; they were also distributed through the same network. Advertisement Socialist Mass Media was not profit oriented. The was not either free market or competition, therefore there was no need of advertisement as we see it in North American newspapers. No advertisement appeared in the newspapers pages. However, companies were financing the newspapers in the following way: each company had a Party Ideology representative, who would try to implement socialist ideas at any level of the production process. In regards to Mass-Media, there was common practice that this Party Representative would recommend to buy bulk newspapers, and then distribute them for free to the workers. Therefore, companies were allocating money to buy and distribute important quantities of newspapers, this way financing them. There was no advertisement whatsoever on Radio or TV. Flack and the enforcers Ceausescu’s regime criminalized any form of opposition. A very efficient Securitate network of informers at all levels of society would neutralize any form of opposition by a combination of dissimulation, co-optation, control, repression, and appeals to nationalism. Dissidence was possible, but very expensive for those who had the courage to use it. There are examples of dissidents: Doina Cornea- University Teacher; Mircea Dinescu- writer, Ana Blandiana – writer, Petre Mihai Bacanu- journalist and others. These people, for their dissidence had to experience imprisonment, house arrest, beatings, forced immigration or even death. In his book, Ioan Mihai Pacepa’s book, Red Horizons (1985) he gives a detailed description of how Ceausescu personally ordered assassination of certain Journalists. Ioan Mihai Pacepa was the director of Securitate, during the late 60s and through most of the 70’s. He flew into United States in 1979.
MASS MEDIA IN REVOLUTION During the year, Romanian Press was silent about what was happening in Socialist countries. The population had no information on what was happening in Germany, China, Poland, Hungary or Bulgaria. Ceausescu realizing he is loosing control of the situation ( 21 December 1989 rally) However, rumors were spreading by those illegally listening to broadcasts of Radio Free Europe and Voice of America from Western Europe. The first reference of Romanian Press to the popular uprising in Timisoara was heard only 5 days later ( 20 December 1989), when Ceausescu denounced on TV the disturbances , blaming them on foreign secret services ( primarily Hungarian ) and calling the demonstrators ‘’hooligans’’,’’ terrorists’’ and ‘’fascists’’. On December 21, a pro-regime rally was organized in Bucharest palace square. This rally was TV broadcasted live. A few minutes into Ceausescu’s speech, Romanians could hear live on TV shouts of ‘’Down with Ceausescu’’ and ‘’Timisoara’’. TV broadcast was interrupted for 3 minutes, only to be resumed later when millions of Romanians saw live on their TV a frightened Ceausescu desperately trying to calm down the situation, and finally retreating into the palace. At this very moment, power had already slipped from the balcony of the Central Committee building to the streets. The Revolution had already started and Romanian Television was already influencing the events. The following day in the morning, Romanian Radio announced a presidential decree instituting a state of emergency. This was news written between the lines. Army troops on the streets of Bucharest, the morning of 22 December 1989
The announcement, together with the fact that troops were on the street, made Romanians realize that a major revolt was unleashed, and the regime is panicking, and ready to protect himself with troops as it did in Timisoara about five days before. People quit their work and walked through the streets of Bucharest towards Ceausescu Palace. By noon Ceausescu fled with a helicopter, only to be captured and executed three days later. Before Ceausescu fled, both Radio and Television announced that Defense Ministry had committed suicide. Everybody suspected General Milea was executed for not following Ceausescu’s orders . The immediate effect was that officers of the Romanian Army united their troop’s effort to the national uprising. At 11.50 the Romanian Television building was already occupied by demonstrators with Army support. The whole country’s population was glued to their television sets. They were seeing things on their TV screens they could not even dream to see twenty-four hours before. Fighting for control over the television started in the following hours, between the Army and the ‘’terrorists’’. Apparently those who were called these days ‘’terrorists’’ were members of the Securitate - Secret Police. Up to this day, nobody knows who were the terrorists, and even if Romanian revolution caused about 1000 casualties, no ‘’terrorist’’ was found, charged or sentenced. The television building becomes the unofficial building of the new provisional leadership, the National Salvation Front. This leadership team was put in place by two former high-rank communist officials, Ion Iliescu and Silviu Brucan. They realized in the very first hours the importance of the Television building, and they used it to control the situation in the whole country. Romanian Television become ‘’Televiziunea Romana Libera’’-Romanian Free Television. General Militaru, the Defense Ministry was passing orders to his officers in the country live on TV. Source In a strange development, during fighting around the building between the Army and invisible ‘’terrorists’’ people were called to come and defend the Television, already defended by the Army with soldiers and heavy machinery. Those who responded to this appeal found themselves caught in fire and many of them died on the streets around the building. Another psychological turning point was on 26th December, when the TVRL (Romanian Free Television) broadcast a news bulletin announcing the capture, trial and execution of the Dictators couple. Strong images of their bullet-ridden and contorted bodies were passed on during weeks, making Romanians realize that the era of Ceausescu was over. Romanian Television was also subject to an experiment in community broadcasting. Everyone who had something to say, was given air time. Doctors, peasants, workers, former prisoners, young and old, in small or large groups all came to broadcast their message in an apparent enthusiastic anarchy and confusion. Romanian Television had a crucial role to play during the Revolution. It was called the ‘’engine of the Revolution’’, because it was used to effectively spread the news about the end of Ceausescu era, and the establishment of a new leadership. One reason for which the Television was so effectively used in the Romanian Revolution is that the new leaders were very familiar with the Mass Media functioning from their previous experience as high-rank officials in Ceausescu Government. This argument reinforces the theory of conspiracy to overthrow Ceausescu. Ion Iliescu: Secretary of the Communist Youth; Propaganda Secretary in the 60’s and 70’s. Marginalized by Ceausescu, he emerged as the leader of the new Government. Elected President in 1990, 1992 and 2000 for a total of 11 years out of 14 since December 1989. Silviu Brucan: Founder and editor of Scanteia, the leading Communist paper in Romania, Romanian Ambassador to the U.N. and Washington, for many years director of the Romanian Television. In March 89, he was the author of an open protest letter to Ceausescu’s leadership, broadcasted in the Western Press. Founder of the Romanian Provisional Government on 22nd December 1989.
Learning Freedom Silviu Brucan, declared on 22 January 1990 in an interview with the editor of Le Figaro that ”After half a century of Socialist indoctrination, Romanians need at least 20 years to learn practicing democracy”. His affirmation was received as ‘’antipatriotic’’ and ‘’offending the dignity of the Romanian nation ’’ In those days Romanians felt a mixture of enthusiasm, optimism, and very high expectations after a courageous and costly Revolution. Only months later, Romanians had to experience a crumbling economy, basic goods becoming unaffordable, prices increasing overnight with no correspondent in salaries. The following years after the Revolution, the country experienced important political problems: elections marred by violence and irregularities and a very controversial use by President Iliescu of social groups in order to serve his purposes. On two occasions, miners of Valea Jiului area, responding to Iliescu appeals, came to Bucharest to overthrown a Prime Minister and to repress anti-communist and anti-government demonstrations. This nearly created a civil-war between two social groups, students and miners, with riots lasting for days. Ethnic violence erupted in Targu Mures area, between Hungarians and Romanians. Romanian “Free’’ Press The number of newspapers sky-rocketed in the months following the Revolution. In less than one year, the number of publications passed from about 400 to more than 1500 officially-registered publications. Their circulation also sky-rocketed: the leading daily newspapers, Romania Libera and Adevarul passed from 1.2 and 2 millions issues monthly to 2.5 and 3.3 millions monthly issues , in a period where the other publications were competing for readers. The population was hungry for news and debates. Unfortunately, the quality of these articles was often very poor. Romania had very few real Journalists; the old ones were indoctrinated with a certain way of doing thing, and the new ones were improvised Journalists, with no previous experience whatsoever. The main articles were about the new government, its machinations, and finger-pointing to who was or not a collaborator of the old regime. The editor of Libertatea newspaper declared in an interview “’journalists are coming with all sorts of stories, and exaggerations, and very few facts and verifications’’; ‘’we have to run retractions and corrections everyday’’; ‘’ rumors are the order of the day in the majority of publications’’. Rumors were often used as an argument to prove certain points of view. Articles were highly polemical, argumentative and subjective. Newspapers would also publish literature from anti-totalitarian, democracy and free market ideology literature, authors like George Orwell, Hannah Arendt, Alexandr Soljenytsine, Raymond Aaron, John Stuart Mill. Radio Along with the official Radio Romania, new radio stations started broadcasting, without any permission from the Ministry of Telecommunications .These were groups of ancient reporters and technicians working along with non-experienced volunteers. They had to go through many difficulties, starting with obtention of broadcasting material, salaries, and transmission fees. Their equipment was mostly donated from western organizations. Radio workers were mostly volunteers, nobody would pay them. The most difficult issue for those independent radio stations was the obtention of the license, process that lasted for years. Television The television was the most pervasive of the Romanian mass Media. The freedom it enjoyed during the Revolution where everybody could come and broadcast a message lasted no more than a few weeks. The new leadership was aware of how important is the Television to control and manipulate the masses. Coverage of major events such as the miner’s rampage in Bucharest, elections, ethnic conflicts and riots, anti-communist demonstrations in University Square was deeply biased. The Index of Censorship, a British organization published a report on September 1990 stating that ‘’the role of the state-run television during the elections and miners riots reveals a persistent misuse of power’’. Controversy continued during the following years, with protests and demonstrations against the use of RTV as a propaganda and manipulation tool for the Government. The most important protest was done by Dumitru Iuga, leader of the RTV Union. He organized public protests and he went onto a series of hunger strikes. In a public news release in July 1993, Iuga called for: a. neutrality for RTV , to be separated from all political forces, with professional and political autonomy b. Enactment of the new Public Radio and Television Law c. Dismissal of the Director through whom RTV is subordinated to the ruling political party d. Economic independence e. Removal from all military guards from around RTV building through whom Romanian Government controls the RTV with armed forces. The enactment of the Public Radio and Television Law launched a new era, but changes to the RTV are yet to be measured, because even if not as much as early nineties, the television is still accused of serving the purpose of the Government. In comparison with printed media and radio, where new independent newspapers and radio stations were allowed to function, independent television was obstructed from establishing. The most obvious example is SOTI Television. A group of anti-communist associations raised support and funds from well known journalists, intellectuals, dissidents, civil leaders and population in order to start a new television station. This association has also received financial support from international organizations, such as International Media Fund, US Embassy or Soros Foundation. Feeling the threat of such a television, and in spite of numerous domestic and international pressure the Government fought it by all means: delaying obtention of the license, access to frequencies, broadcast for limited time (2 hours per day) at late hours (after 11 o’clock PM) , lack of national coverage, interdiction of presenting commercials, thus cutting funds. By spring 1994, SOTI was no longer on air. However, during the years, independent televisions managed to get the license, and Romania counts now many of them.
Romanian Press –present and future Media’s role in wars, long-terms conflicts or revolutions, becomes increasingly important, as we could see in the two Iraq wars. Peter Gross named the situation of Romanian Mass Media before and after the Revolution a ‘’Laboratory’’ because many lessons of how society reacts in periods of transition could be learned. Romanian Revolution was among the first in history to use Television as a tool. It certainly contributed to ‘’building freedom and democracy’’ and to the elimination of a Communist regime. It also provided a lesson in community media, journalism, manipulation, and how media can influence politics. A civil society is growing in Romania, and closely related, the diversity of the Mass Media. Political life continues to be lively and extreme, but the Mass Media enjoys a greater deal of freedom. Appearance of the Internet is a new aspect that could not be influenced by the old structures of power. Media moved from a highly political polemics type to sensationalistic - entertaining articles, together with a relatively small informational and analytical media. It focuses primarily on entertainment, similar to British tabloids. Romanian society is a dynamic one, and mass media is part of it, constantly changing, adapting or struggling.