Media Freedom Mission to Romania questions fairness of electoral coverage
It is important to promptly update the way political funding is handled when it comes to the media's reliance on political parties for support and promotion.
The MFRR members recently visited Bucharest and found that political influence has greatly distorted media coverage of Romania's electoral campaigns. They observed that the media is not delivering the unbiased and accurate political reporting needed for voters to make well-informed decisions during elections.
The MFRR visited Romania for two days on June 17-18, shortly after the European and local elections. The country is also gearing up for presidential elections in September and parliamentary elections in December. The MFRR is urging for quick changes to the party funding system to keep political influence out of the media.
All political spending should only be used for clearly labeled political ads, and each political party should fully disclose how much they spend on advertising in each media outlet. The amount of government money used for press and propaganda should also be decreased.
Giving money to political parties every year from the government, and then using that money to pay media for biased content, is the main way that the Romanian media is controlled by politicians. This money gives the media a lot of influence and distorts the way they report on politics, making elections unfair. The amount of money being used has been going up quickly, with about 24 million euros in 2023 and expected to go even higher in 2024.
The issue becomes worse due to a lack of clarity on which organizations provide financial support to the media, the amount of money involved, and the specific content being funded. Political parties must disclose their spending to the Permanent Electoral Authority every month. Although the PEA provided more detailed reports during the 2024 local and European election seasons, revealing how much each party spends in different media outlets, this information is not publicly available outside of official campaign periods.
The power of politics on the media spotlight.
To read the complete list of discoveries and suggestions, please refer to the attached document.
The goal was for the government to quickly put into effect new rules across Europe to enhance media freedom. These rules include the European Media Freedom Act, the Anti-SLAPP Directive, and the Regulation on the Transparency of Political Advertising, along with the European Commission's suggestions on ensuring the safety of journalists. The EMFA focuses on increasing transparency in ownership, conflicts of interest, and the flow of state advertising to media outlets.
The organization was pleased with the Ministry of Justice and the General Prosecutor's pledge to assist in educational initiatives for judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers regarding SLAPPs, safeguarding sources, and ensuring the well-being of reporters.
The organization was happy with the High Court's ruling to reopen the investigation into potential political meddling in the smear campaign against journalist Emilia Sercan. They were also pleased with the General Prosecutor's promise that a skilled and unbiased prosecutor will handle Sercan's case and work towards resolving it before the statute of limitations expires.
The goal also required increased collaboration between the broadcast regulator (CNA) and the Permanent Electoral Authority (PEA) in checking political funds spent on media to make sure it follows electoral and broadcast laws.
At last, the task was given to the parliamentary committees overseeing mass media to carry out a thorough investigation into the influence of political funding on media autonomy and fair elections.
The goal of the mission supported the discoveries presented by MFRR partners in their report from April about media freedom in Romania before the busy election year.
The team had discussions with various important figures in Romania, such as Iulian Bulai from the Parliamentary Committee for Culture, Arts and Mass Media of the Chamber of Deputies; Alex Florin Florența, the General Attorney; Mihai Pașca from the Ministry of Justice; the Romanian Institute for Human Rights (IRDP); Dan Santa from Radio Romania; Constantin Rada from the Permanent Electoral Authority; Valentin Alexandru Jucan from the National Audiovisual Council (CNA); Mircea Toma from CNA and Council of Europe; and Renate Weber, the Ombudsperson. They also met with journalists and media freedom organizations at a discussion organized by the Centre for Independent Journalism.
The International Press Institute spearheaded the initiative, joined by organizations such as Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, Free Press Unlimited, and Romanian media freedom group ActiveWatch.
The MFRR is very grateful for the help of the Centre for Independent Journalism and ActiveWatch in planning the mission.
Reporting on Elections and Media Influence
Romania needs to focus on combatting media capture by taking the following steps:
Frivolous Lawsuits Targeting Public Participation
Keeping journalists safe and secure
Suggestions for keeping journalists safe and protected.
The International Press Institute (IPI)
The European Union of Reporters (EUR)
The ECPMF, a hub for press and media freedom in Europe
Free Press Without Limits (FPWL)
