Journalists’ Row Reignites Romanian Debate on Media Freedom

Accusations made by a Romanian TV show anchor - that his broadcaster has turned a blind eye to a corruption scandal linked to the station - have fuelled fresh controversy over press freedom and self-censorship.A public row between a Romanian TV presenter and the management of his news channel over [lack of] coverage of a corruption investigation linked to broadcasters has reignited a debate in Romania about media freedom, self censorship and over whether intelligence services infiltrate news organizations.The editor-in-chief of Digi 24 news channel, Cosmin Prelipceanu, has publicly threatened the host of the station’s daily late night TV show with a lawsuit after the latter accused the news station of ignoring the indictment of several senior representatives of RCS-RDS telecom, the group that owns the station.The National Anti-corruotion Directorate, DNA, indicted RCS-RDS vice-president Ioan Bendei, RCS's cable operator manager, Alexandru Oprea, and the former head of the Romanian Professional Football League Mitica Dragomir, at the beginning of the month for bribery and money-laundering. The investigation started after the RCS acquired the broadcasting rights over Romania’s football League I.Dragos Patraru, anchor of “The State of The Nation” daily show, on Monday night accused his own employer of deliberately ignoring the topic."You don’t run away from the topic, you attack it, you put it on the table, you look at it from every angle. Because this is what you, the press, should do ... You don’t get a salary to shut up, but to work,” he said. "You serve the public, it's for them that you search for the truth, not for media institutions, just for the public," he added."Sure, there is the alternative, which shows that the press card is just a cover and then yes, you don't answer to the public, but to ....,” he concluded, clearly referring to an ongoing debate over whether the intelligence services use journalists to spy on media organizations.Prelipceanu said on Tuesday that Patraru’s attack was not journalistic and that he risks facing a lawsuit over his allegations.“He says some of our journalists are undercover agents. We’re publicly asking Dragos Patraru to come up with a list, if he has it, and proof. If he doesn’t, we’ll press charges,” he said. Prelipceanu stressed that his statement was his own and did not represent the network’s position.Patraru responded on Wednesday on Facebook that Prelipceanu had misunderstood his statements and joked that on Wednesday’s show he would reveal the list.“Tonight we’ll answer all the stupid provocations some arrogant guys are throwing, guys who made a joke out of the public’s trust, leading the network away from journalistic values by avoiding topics that are delicate for the company,” he wrote. He also said he had received many messages of support and thanked the viewers.The exchange between the two journalists comes on the heels of a debate over whether law enforcement agencies, such as the DNA or the Romanian Intelligence Service, SRI, use journalists to spy on media organization and influence public debates.The debate was started by the journalist and former political consultant Dan Andronic, owner of Evenimentul Zilei, who recently accused several prominent journalists of being on the payroll of the DNA and the SRI.Andronic is under investigation for corruption and was indicted on Tuesday by the DNA in a case of money laundering related to former president Traian Basescu’s 2009 presidential campaign funds.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/journalists-row-sparks-debate-on-media-freedom-in-romania-05-24-2017