Media Systems in Romania

The country of Romania is located in Eastern Europe. Its government is a republic that is unitary semi-presidential. Out of the seven media dimensions, the ones that I will be talking about within Romania are its government system, the media's freedom, and the media ownership (Hitchins).

Until 1990, Romania was a communist nation that was a part of Russia's Eastern Soviet Bloc. After the fall of communism in 1990, Romania's government system transformed into a free nation with most of the power being invested in the government rather than the people. Even though all of the power resides in its government, Romania does not have that tight of a grip on its media (Hitchins).

Unlike the United States, who has the Federal Communications Committee, Romania has no distinctive regulatory agency. Instead it has the National Broadcasting Council, whose's main objective is to protect the public's interest. Even with the presence of the NBC, Romanian media is mostly free to do what it pleases (Ulmanu).

Newspaper and print media in Romania still sells, but like everywhere else in the world, these sales are declining as the Internet becomes more and more popular. Romania's radio stations are mostly private. There are more privately owned radio stations than public ones. The main radio networks are Radio Zu, Kiss FM, ProFM, and Radio 21. All of these are privately owned (Ulmanu).

The most popular form of media in Romania is television. Since it is the most popular media, public television is heavily controlled by the government. In addition to that, television receives a plethora of funding from ads, TV taxes, and the state budget. Although Romania allows its media to express free thoughts and opinions, the government plays somewhat of a watchdog role with control over television. In terms of the Internet, the Romanian government does not bar its people from any particular websites (Ulmanu).

As I mentioned earlier, a majority of Romania's radio stations are privately owned. However, there are still some publicly owned stations which make Romanian radio a blend of both.  Television is publicly owned and operated by the government. It is strictly in the public sphere of ownership. The traditional media found in newspapers and magazines is also a blend of publicly and privately owned media outlets (Ulmanu).

Once a communist country that censored its press entirely, Romania has come a long way since its Soviet years. The country is now free, for the most part, as power lies mostly in the government. The people are free to do and speak how they want. The media, except for television, is free from government interference and allowed to act how it wants. The ownership of media also varies and is fairly split between publicly and privately owned entities. Romania, as a whole, is a country that promotes various media interests and allows its media outlets to say and report what they want to say.

Sources: 

        Hitchins, Keith Arnold. "Transportation and Telecommunications." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 22 Jan. 2015. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/508461/Romania/42850/Transportation-and-telecommunications>.

        Ulmanu, Alexandru-Brădut. "Romania - Media Landscape | European Journalism Centre (EJC)." European Journalism Centre (EJC). Web. 22 Jan. 2015. <http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_422>.