The Role of the Romanian Press in Reporting Political Corruption Lorela Viorica Broucher A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy April, 2016 1 "This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed in the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights.” Supervisors: Dr. Simon Cross, Nottingham Trent University Dr. Olga Guedes Bailey, Nottingham Trent University 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Acknowledgements 7 Abstract 8 Introduction to the Thesis 9 The Importance of Romania 9 The Problem of Corruption 10 Research Questions and Aims 11 The Thesis Chapters in Brief 12 Chapter 1: Media and Democracy 14 1 Liberal Democracy and the Media 14 1.1 Liberal Democracy Vs Neoliberalism 14 1.2 Liberal Democracy 16 1.3 Freedom of Expression and Democracy 18 1.4 Media and Democracy 19 1.5 Media Holding Power to Account 21 1.6 Criticising the Liberal Model of the Media: The Critical Political Economy of Media Approach 23 1.6.1 Critical Political Economy of the Media 23 1.6.2 Critical Political Economy of the Media and the Post-Communist World 27 1.7 Keeping Media Accountable 29 2 The Post-Communist World: Romania 32 2.1 Romania and Theories of Post-Communism 32 2.1.1 Internal Pressures 33 2.1.2 External Pressures – Fighting Political Corruption 37 3 The Importance of the Media in the Post-Communist World 3.1 Post-Communist Romanian Mass-Media (1990-2004) 39 3.2 The Romanian Press: 2005 to Today 43 3.3 The Mass-Media as an Actor in the Post-Communist World 47 3 Chapter 2: Political Corruption and Political Culture 49 1 Introduction 49 2 The Concept of Political Corruption 50 2.1 Defining Political Corruption 50 2.1.1 Mechanisms of Corruption 51 2.1.2 Determinants of Political Corruption 53 2.2 Political Corruption in Romania 54 2.2.1 Political Context 54 2.2.2. The Portrait of the Romanian Corrupt Politician 58 3 Political Culture 59 3.1 Defining Political Culture 60 3.2 Political Culture as A Cause of Political Corruption 61 3.2.1 Culture as a Cause of Political Corruption in Romania 62 3.3 Political Culture in Romania as A Culture of Resistance 63 4 Conclusions 71 Chapter 3: Methods and Methodology 73 3.1 Introduction 73 3.2 Romanian Media and Politics, Rationale for Research 73 3.2.1 Media and Politics between 1990 and 2004: Parting with Communism 74 3.2.2 Media and Politics between 2005 and 2007 76 3.2.3 Media and Politics between 2007 and 2014: The Economic Crisis 77 3.3 Aims of the Research 78 3.4 Methods & Methodology 82 3.4.1 Discourse Analysis Defined 82 3.4.2 Algorithm of Research 83 3.4.3 Case Studies 84 3.4.4 Newspapers, Blogs & Websites 85 3.4.5 Press Partisanship 90 3.4.6 Interviews 92 3.5 Summary 100 Case Studies 101 4 Chapter 4: Adrian Nastase (Case Study I) 104 4.1 Methodology 105 4.2 Romanian Press as Part of the Resistance to Corruption 108 4.2.1 The Most Frequently Presented Topics About Nastase`s Corruption 108 4.2.2 Adrian Nastase – The Court Cases Most Presented by The Written Press 110 4.2.3 The content type used for presenting Nastase`s corruption 114 4.2.4 The tone used in presenting Nastase`s corruption 114 4.2.5 The information sources of corruption coverage in Nastase`s case 115 4.3 Political Corruption Presented as an Emergency to Be Addressed (Frame Analysis) 116 4.3.1 Episodic Frames 116 4.3.2 Personality Frames 118 4.3.3 Thematic Frames 121 4.4 Lack of Ethics Within the Romanian Press 123 4.5 Conclusions 125 Chapter 5: Dan Voiculescu (Case Study II) 127 5.1 Methodology 127 5.1.1 Dan Voiculescu – Presentation 132 5.2 Romanian Press as Part of the Resistance to Corruption 137 5.2.1 Most Frequently Presented Case of Political Corruption 137 5.2.2 The content type used for presenting Voiculescu`s corruption 138 5.2.3 The tone used in presenting Voiculescu`s corruption 139 5.2.4 The information sources of corruption coverage in Voiculescu`s case? 140 5.3 Political Corruption Presented as an Emergency to be Addressed (FrameAnalysis) 141 5.4 Lack of Ethics within the Romanian Press 151 5.5 Conclusions 152 Chapter 6: EADS – Microsoft (Case Study III) 154 6.1 Methodology 155 6.2 Romanian Press as Part of the Resistance to Corruption 156 6.2.1 Presentation of the corruption cases: EADS & Microsoft (IT acquisitions) 156 6.2.2 The content type used for presenting EADS - Microsoft corruption 157 6.2.3 The tone used in presenting the EADS – Microsoft case 158 5 6.2.4 The information sources of corruption coverage in the EADS – Microsoft case? 158 6.3 Political Corruption Presented as an Emergency to be Addressed (Frame Analysis) 159 6.3.1 Frame Analysis – Results 159 6.3.2 The Actors Involved 160 6.3.3 Presenting Political Corruption 169 6.4 Lack of Ethics within the Romanian Press 172 6.5 Conclusions 173 Chapter 7: Interviews 176 7.1 Introduction 176 7.2 The Romanian Press 2005 to Today: Media Ownership & Lack of Ethics 178 7.3 The Romanian Press 2005 to Today: The Romanian Journalist 184 7.3.1 Potential Solutions for the Romanian Press 190 7.4 Conclusions 191 Chapter 8: Conclusions 194 8.1 Introduction 194 8.1.1 The Problem 194 8.1.2 Questions & Aims 195 8.1.3 Analysis Done 196 8.2 Key Results 197 8.2.1 Reportage of Political Corruption by the Romanian Press 197 8.2.2. External Factors with Impact on Media Reportage of Political Corruption 200 8.3 Contribution to Existing Knowledge 202 8.3.1 Contribution to the Understanding of the Problem of the Media Reporting Political Corruption in Romania 202 8.3.2 Contribution to the Understanding of the Problem of Corruption in Romania & Scope for Future Research 204 Bibliography 207 Annex 234 6 Acknowledgements This PhD research started at the end of four though years (2005 – 2009) spent at the heart of Romanian politics as Political Adviser to the President of Romania, Traian Băsescu. From this position as well as from my experience as a former editor-reporter I gathered enough sensitive insigts into the relationship of the media with political arena to make me select it as a subject for my doctoral thesis. I am greatly indebted to my supervisory team, Dr. Simon Cross and Dr. Olga Guedes Bailey, for helping me understand the technicalities of the process and for being there for me when it mattered. I want to say thank you as well to my husband, David, who has been there for me in the good moments but especially in the momentd when I felt tired and discouraged. A great thank you as well to my former teacher, Professor Andrei Țăranu from the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA), Bucharest, who helped me get access to some of the best journalists in Romania today. I am very greatful as well to Professor Steliana Rizeanu, Head of Psichology Department, Hyperion University, Bucharest, for her friendship and talent in making me always be focused on what really matters. Thank you all for joining me on a very challenging but fruitful journey! 7 Abstract This research investigates the role of the Romanian press in reporting political corruption. It argues that as a part of a Romanian society tolerant to corruption, the Romanian press manages to report corruption but fails to be part of the solution to the corruption problem by holding the political elite to account. To demonstrate this, the thesis uses textual and contextual analysis by employing techniques and concepts from critical discourse analysis, political economy of the media and theories of media and democracy. To assess the role of the Romanian press reporting political corruption within the larger context of post-communist Romanian realities, the research comprises three case studies and interviews with journalists. The first case study focuses on the corruption case of one of Romania`s Prime Ministers, Adrian Nastase. The second case study focuses on the case of Dan Voiculescu, a powerful politician and media owner with strong connections with Romania`s communist past. The third case study is an overview of the corruption within the Romanian political realm. It shows corruption as a practice surviving decades and touching politicians irrespective of their political colour or side, Government or Opposition. The interviews provide an image of the internal state of the Romanian media: a mutually beneficial relationship shaped as barter between politicians and media owners, dodgy characters looking to protect themselves from being investigated by the legal system for their irregular deeds while trying to secure good contracts with the state for their other business endeavours. The Romanian journalist becomes almost irrelevant in such a context. The results of the study contribute to a better understanding of post-communist Romania, its problem with political corruption and the working of its media. The results also suggest that, in view of the lack of any significant research into the phenomenon of corruption in Romania, understanding the problem of political corruption and the role of the media in tackling it should be as well approached from a clear understanding of the culture of corruption in Romania.