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T R t t Tr r pA Romanian Media Ethics Sto

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PRologue:pr d t t , D b r 2009

Realitatea TV, a rolling news sta on owned by one of the Romanian media tycoons, Sorin Ovidiu Vntu, broadcast on 26november a tape where one of the presiden al candidates, Traian Bsescu, allegedly had hit a child during a ralllocal elec ons, 2004 (le ). Very likely, the images were doctored

Bsescu, then the president in func on, won the elec ons on 6 December 2009 and kept his o ce (right).

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The accusaTion:f v r t ff d r, Fni

9 September 2010: Sorin Ovidiu Vntu is detained byauthori es for accusa ons related to a Ponzi scheme, FNhe was connected with at the end of the 1990s

The accusa on: favoring the o ender. Accordingprosecutors, Vntu has helped the former manager of theFNI, Nicolae Popa, to stay on the loose at Jakarta, Indonesia, for years, by sending him money

FNI, a Ponzi scheme: the Na onal Investment Fund (

crashed at the beginning of the 2000s leaving some200-300,000 Romanians without the money depositedthere. Some other depositors, including Vntu himself, wthdrew huge amounts of cash from the Fund. Although hcouldnt be legally accused of the crash, Vntu is considred by most morally responsible for FNI

When being detained, Vntu claimed the Prosecutor is ctrolled by president Bsescu and the le is actuallycal revenge.

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The File: tr r pt f d V t d t R t t TV r

18 October 2010: Vntu had been released from arresthe media starts publishing a series of phone transcriptsamong him and the managers in his media group, as welas some of the pundits that appear on Realitatea TV

the transcripts (Stenograme) belong to the favoring tho ender le, although they include no referral torela on to Nicolae Popa, the o ender in the FNI a

instead, they depict Vntus a empts to involve his

group in the poli cal compe on in support of Bchallenger, Mircea Geoan, and bad language use some commentators, as well as some reputed civic organiza ons (Ac veWatch, CJI), asked what is the connecbetween the accusa on and the Prosecutors O ce saidthey used the conversa ons to pro le the defenda

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The TRanscRiPTs: x p

Sorin Ovidiu Vntu: Youre not free, buddy! You like it this way - you work for me. You dont - leave, what the f..k! Sergiu Toader (manager Realitatea): Thats what I wanted to tell you, when I get back in charge [from the Republic of Moldova], thats what I have to tell people, because youve asked me to do it, Ill do it, Ill be damned if I wont. Indeed, if you need this, I guarantee it will be a solid, very e cient construc on.

Vntu: Yes, buddy, thats what I need, a very e cient construc on, in order to answer the economic commands it willhave to answer. Nothing else. Thats what Im trying... At last, we came to even terms! But youll have to tell them thatclearly: whoever wants to stay stays, whoever wants to leave leaves. I dont wanna manipulate, fool no one, Im very correct. In general, Im very correct to people. [.. .]

Vntu: Tomorrow I may have a deal with Bsescu: Buddy, Im with you! From that moment on, Ive issued an order to theorganiza on and the organiza on is with Bsescu. Period. No devia ons such as I have a deal with him and, I get stu likeTwo girls, ve castles [reference to news exposing Bsescus daughters opulent property].

Toader: Yep. Vntu: That is out of the ques on. You got it? Toader: Yes I did.

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7 Dilemmas anD imPlicaTions:d , t , p t , j d , f t

1. Are the Romanian media tycoons using their assets as means of in uencing the poli cal process in Romania?2. Is support of a certain candidate or poli cal force legit for a media outlet? Under what circumstances, if any?3. Are any of the poli cians using their preroga ves or parts of the state such as the judicial system in order to destroy

their poli cal opponents?4. Does the publica on of transcripts tresspass the right to privacy? For example, there are some parts where some busin

ss issues are discussed.5. Is the publica on of transcripts as the ones in the Vntu le legal? And if yes, should the law be changed?6. Were the media right to publish the transcripts? In addi on of being Realitateas compe tors, some of them didnt bo

ther to supplement what came from the Prosecutors O ce with the opinions of the people involved or further journalisc approaches.

7. Whats next? Romania is facing 3 elec on rounds in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The media has proven its e cency in in uencing the poli cal

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Thank you!

iulian.comanescu@comanescu.ro Comanescu.ro/category/en