FREEXX REPORT PRESS FREEDOM I N ROMA NIA 2011 Bucharest 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................................................................6 GENERAL BACKGROUND.......................................................................................................................................8 Romanian media goes into freefall ...................................................................................................................8 The Media Market..............................................................................................................................................14 The Written press...........................................................................................................................................14 The online media............................................................................................................................................20 The TV market ................................................................................................................................................21 Radio..............................................................................................................................................................26 Political and economic pressures. Pressures of the authorities ..........................................................................28 Adevărul de Seară, prohibited in Focșani ........................................................................................................28 Adevărul deleted a website at the request of an advertising agency ...............................................................29 Gigi Becali cancelled a TV show.......................................................................................................................30 RCS&RDS blocks the distribution of certain television channels ......................................................................30 Roșia Montană ...............................................................................................................................................30 Baia Mare mayor Cherecheș wanted to make up the rules of a show ..............................................................31 Art censored by politics ..................................................................................................................................32 The Mayor's Office gives the journalists envelopes with money......................................................................32 The Intact group performs ordered investigations ..........................................................................................33 Adevărul Holding censored an investigation about a deputy...........................................................................34 Aggressions, threats, insults ...............................................................................................................................35 The chairman of the Caraș-Severin County Council hit journalist Vali Popovici ................................................35 The contempt of Euro-parliamentarians Vadim Tudor and George Becali for journalists..................................36 Journalists attacked in Vama Veche................................................................................................................37 The presence of the camera, a sign of „megalomania”, violently sanctioned ...................................................37 The Dâmbovicioara Vice-president took a photo camera from a journalist......................................................38 The president of the Brăila County Council talked to the journalists in a „suburban” manner..........................38 Cristi Tabără, in conflict with a paparazzo .......................................................................................................39 Camera operator Ovidiu Roșca, beat up in front of the police .........................................................................39 Female journalists assaulted after a raid in the Chiliei Square in Constanţa.....................................................40 The manager of Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea assaulted journalist Tiberiu Pîrnău ..................................................40 Elena Udrea's brother threatens a journalist with a „head-butt”.....................................................................40 Tennis player insulted a female journalist.......................................................................................................41 Gabriel Bugnar, threatened by Cătălin Popa ...................................................................................................41 Journalists assaulted by the employees of a restaurant in Eforie Nord ............................................................42 Crin Antonescu insulted several TVR journalists..............................................................................................42 Mitică Dragomir, the League's "hooligan".......................................................................................................42 Two criminal files for a priest who was „upset” with the journalists................................................................43 Antena 3 journalists, assaulted by revelers in a city hall..................................................................................43 Mihai Gâdea, threatened by the husband of the Government's general secretary...........................................43 The head of state insulted the correspondent of the Associated Press, Alison Mutler .....................................44 Abuses, aggressions and side-slips during the January 2012 protests ..............................................................44 Access to information of public interest .............................................................................................................52 Attempt to limit the scope of information of public interest ...........................................................................52 Restricted access into the Parliament, when accepting responsibility on the Labor Code ................................53 Sulfina Barbu excluded women from a debate about women .........................................................................54 Roșia Montană is secret..................................................................................................................................54 Mayor Radu Mazăre, fined for his silence .......................................................................................................55 CIA secret prison in Romania ..........................................................................................................................55 The official e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of the deputies are inaccessible ...................................56 (Un)restricted access to information of public interest....................................................................................56 Insult, slander, the right to private life ...............................................................................................................58 Dinu Patriciu vs the Romanian Intelligence Service .........................................................................................58 Lia Lucia Epure vs Mălin Bot............................................................................................................................58 Ana Birchall vs Iosif Buble...............................................................................................................................59 Businessman Răzvan Petrovici wanted to shut down the blog of journalist Dan Badea....................................59 Criminal charges against journalist Alex Nedea are dropped ...........................................................................60 Traian Băsescu vs Mugurel Surupăceanu.........................................................................................................60 Ion Cristoiu vs Vadim Tudor............................................................................................................................60 Two years in prison for Victor Ciutacu's hacker ...............................................................................................61 Victor Ciutacu vs Radu Moraru .......................................................................................................................61 Radu Mazăre vs Ziua de Constanţa..................................................................................................................61 Dumitru Sechelariu vs blogger Florin Popescu.................................................................................................62 CEDO lawsuits ................................................................................................................................................62 Journalist prevented from writing any articles about a deputy's wife..............................................................64 Workplace conflicts............................................................................................................................................66 A journalist kept his work laptop in exchange for his outstanding salaries ......................................................66 AGERPRES employees receive "the lowest remunerations".............................................................................66