Editing Mass media in Romania (section)

==Media outlets==
[[Romania]] has one of the most dynamic media markets in southeastern Europe. TV is the medium of choice for most Romanians. State-owned [[Romanian Television|TVR]] and the private stations [[Pro TV]] and [[Antena 1 (Romania)|Antena 1]] command the lion's share of viewing, however there is a large number of smaller, private stations, some of them part of local networks. The state broadcaster, [[Romanian Television|TVR]], operates a second national network, [[TVR 2]], and a pan-European satellite channel. Pay TV channels have a smaller but significant audience.

The public television company [[Televiziunea Română]] and the public radio [[Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune]] cover all the country and have also international programs. The state also owns a public news agency [[ROMPRES]]. The private media is grouped in media companies such as [[Intact (group of companies)|Intact Media Group]], [[Pro TV|Media Pro]], [[Realitatea-Caţavencu]], [[Ringier]], [[SBS Broadcasting Group]], [[Național TV|Centrul Național Media]] and other smaller independent companies. [[Cable television]] is widely available in almost all localities, and some have even adopted [[digital television]]. It offers besides the national channels a great number of international and specialized channels. [[FM broadcasting|FM stations]] cover most cities and most of them belong to national radio networks. Overall readership of most newspapers is slowly declining due to increasing competition from television and the Internet. [[Tabloid journalism|Tabloids]] and sport newspapers are among the most read national newspapers. In every large city there is at least one local newspaper, which usually covers the rest of the county. An [http://www.brat.ro Audit Bureau of Circulations] was established in 1998 and today represents a large number of publications.

The parliamentary majority controls appointments in the leadership of the public broadcaster [[Televiziunea Română]], thus ensuring a constant pro-governmental bias. In the private sector, owners' interests in other economic sectors usually define the editorial line of the media.<ref name=FH/>
*In July 2014, reporter [[Cristi Citre]] was fired from [[Digi TV (TV channel)|Digi TV]] (of the [[RCS-RDS]] media group) after he had harshly criticised PM [[Victor Ponta]] on his personal [[Facebook]] account.<ref name=FH/>
* The state anticorruption prosecutor was repeatedly attacked in 2014 on the media controlled by the jailed political and media moghul [[Dan Voiculescu]].<ref name=FH/>
* TV and radio host [[Robert Turcescu]] admitted in September 2014 to having been an undercover agent, thus raising concerns about the penetration of the security services in the media sector of Romania.<ref name=FH/>

The print sector has suffered heavily from the economic crisis, and the TV sector is also facing contraction. Few media are profitable, and they increasingly depend on advertising. The distribution of public advertising funds is politicised, and that of advertising funds from the European Union (the biggest advertisement buyer) has not been transparent in the wake of the [[2014 Romanian presidential election]]. Ownership structure of Romanian media is often obfuscated through intermediaries. Foreign media have a presence in the country but have recently scaled it down<ref name=FH/>

===Print media===
{{main|List of Romanian newspapers}}
{{see also|Category:Magazines published in Romania|Romanian magazines}}
{{see also|Category:Romanian journalists|Romanian journalists}}

The Romanian print press market is rich and diversified. 
The National Institute of Statistics (NIS) counted up to 300 newspaper publishers in 2007, of which 159 dailies, and over 350 magazine publishers. 300 of them are audited by the Romanian Audit Bureau of Circulation (BRAT), hence gaining in credibility and advertising revenues.<ref name=EJCpress>Alexandru-Brădut Ulmanu, [http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_422 Romania #Print Media] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113035409/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_422 |date=2016-01-13 }}, EJC Media Landscapes, circa 2010</ref>

The quality segment includes title such as [[Adevărul]], [[Gândul]] (MediaPro), [[Evenimentul zilei]] (Ringier), [[România liberă]] (WAZ/Dan Adamescu), [[Jurnalul Național]] (Intact). Their circulation numbers remain low in relation to popular tabloids such as ''Click'' (Adevarul Holding), that in 2009 distributed 236,000 copies (more than all the quality press combined), ''Can Can'' or ''Libertatea'' (Ringier). Sport newspapers include [[Gazeta Sporturilor]], owned by Intact, and [[ProSport]], belonging to MediaPro. Business dailies include [[Ziarul Financiar]], published by MediaPro, ''Business Standard'' (Realitatea-Catavencu) and [[Financiarul]] (Intact).<ref name=EJCpress/>

Local newspapers are usually not backed by big investors, and thus remain vulnerable to political and commercial pressures. The main ones include [[Gazeta de Sud]] in [[Craiova]], Tribuna in [[Sibiu]], [[Ziarul]] in [[Iași]], [[Viața liberă]] in [[Galați]] and [[Transilvania Expres]] in [[Brasov]]. Readership has been in decline, among lacking professionalisation and poor distribution.<ref name=EJCpress/>

Magazines are a thriving segment. Some are spin-offs of popular newspapers, such as Libertatea or Click. Women's weeklies, TV guides and business weeklies (Business Magazin, Money Express, Saptamana financiara, Capital) also make good revenues. Glossy magazines and international franchises complete the scene. [[Academia Catavencu]] is a cult satirical weekly.<ref name=EJCpress/>

===Publishing===
{{expand section|date=January 2016}}

===Radio broadcasting===
{{main|List of radio stations in Romania}}
The first private radio stations appeared in 1990; there are now more than 100 of them. State-run Radio Romania operates four national networks and regional and local stations. [[BBC World Service]] is available on 88 FM in the capital, and is relayed in Timișoara (93.9), Sibiu (88.4) and Constanta (96.9).

Private FM stations dominate the market in Romania, with more than 700 licenses from the National Broadcasting Council by 2009. Two networks achieved national coverage: Europa FM (owned by the French group [[Lagardère Group|Lagardere]]) and Info Pro (CME). 
The most popular private networks are Radio Zu (Intact), Radio 21 (Lagardere), ProFM (CME), Kiss FM (ProSiebenSat1), relying mostly on advertisement revenues, and broadcasting musical hits, entertainment, and short news bulletins.<ref name="Romania #Radio">Alexandru-Brădut Ulmanu, [http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_423 Romania #Radio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113035409/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_423 |date=2016-01-13 }}, EJC Media Landscapes, circa 2010</ref>

The public company [[Radio România]] manages five national stations: [[Radio România Actualităţi]] (news), [[Radio România Cultural]] (culture and arts), [[Radio România Muzical]] (music), [[Radio Antena Satelor]] (farming and rural communities), and [[Radio 3Net – "Florian Pittiş"]] (a youth station broadcasting online). It also holds an international station ([[Radio Romania International]]) and a regional network of 12 stations ([[Radio România Regional]]), including [[Radio Iași]] and [[Radio Cluj]]. Radio România also includes the news agency ''Rador'', a publishing house, a radio theatre production department, several orchestras and choirs.<ref name="Romania #Radio"/>

===Television broadcasting===
{{main|Television in Romania}}
Television is the most popular entertainment media in Romania, and it gathers two thirds of all advertising funds (337 million euro in 2008). The National Study of TV Audience has registered almost 50 TV stations distributed nationwide, including general audience and specialised channels.<ref name=EJCtv>Alexandru-Brădut Ulmanu, [http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania Romania #Television] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113035409/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania |date=2016-01-13 }}, ''EJC Media Landscapes'', circa 2010</ref>

Romanian television is dominated by a small number of corporations, owning multiple TV channels as well as radio stations, newspapers and media agencies. Their television business is structured around a flagship channel and a number of smaller specialized, [[Niche market|niche]] channels. The biggest corporations of this kind are: 
*[[Intact Media Group]] (with [[Antena 1 (Romania)|Antena 1]]-[[Antena 5]]),
*[[Central European Media Enterprises]] (with [[Pro TV]], [[Acasă]], [[Pro Cinema]], [[Pro TV Internaţional]] and [[Sport.ro]])
*[[Realitatea-Catavencu]] (with [[Realitatea TV]], [[Romantica (TV channel)|Romantica]] and [[The Money Channel]])
*[[Centrul Național Media]] (with [[Național TV]], [[N24 (Romania)|N24]] and [[Favorit TV]])
*[[SBS Broadcasting Group]] (with [[Prima TV]] and [[Kiss TV]]).
There are many localized or franchised international channels (such as [[HBO]], [[MTV]], [[Cinemax]], [[AXN]], [[Cartoon Network (Europe)|Cartoon Network]]). Furthermore, there are a few independent and local broadcasters.

The TV [[public service broadcaster]] is [[Televiziunea Română]], with five channels ([[TVR 1]], [[TVR 2]], [[TVR 3]] with a regional focus, [[TVR Cultural]] and [[TVR Info]]). [[TVRi]] is the international channel. TVR also hosts regional stations based in Timișoara, Cluj, Targu Mures, Craiova and Iasi. TVR usually is slammed for being politicised (its president and board are nominated by the parliamentary majority) and for being based on a hybrid financing system, drawing from the state budget, a special TV tax, and advertising too. Civil society pressures to achieve depoliticisation of TVR have not yet been fruitful<ref name=EJCtv/>

Two private stations, [[Pro TV]] (owned by the [[Bermuda]]-based [[Central European Media Enterprises]]) and [[Antena 1 (Romania)|Antena 1]] (owned by [[Dan Voiculescu]]'s daughter), are market leaders, sharing about 32% of the market, with public television in the third place. A feature of Romanian Television after 2000 was the boom of specialized channels.

Television broadcasts and [[cable television]], [[frequency]] allocations, content monitoring and license allocation are done by the National Audiovisual Council ([[Consiliul Național al Audiovizualului]], CNA).

[[Romania]] has very high penetration rates for cable television in [[Europe]], with over 79% of all households watching television through a CATV network in 2007.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [[Ziarul Financiar]], [http://www.zf.ro/articol_123324/romania_are_cea_mai_mare_rata_de_penetrare_a_televiziunii_prin_cablu_din_balcani_.html Romania are cea mai mare rata de penetrare a televiziunii prin cablu din Balcani] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711105602/http://www.zf.ro/articol_123324/romania_are_cea_mai_mare_rata_de_penetrare_a_televiziunii_prin_cablu_din_balcani_.html |date=2007-07-11 }} (''Romania has the highest penetration rates of cable TV in the [[Balkans]]'')</ref> The market is extremely dynamic, and dominated by two giant companies – [[Romania]]n based [[RCS&RDS]] and [[United States]] based [[UPC-Astral]]. Broadcast television is very limited because of the high penetration of cable. In the early 1990s, only two [[Romanian Television|state owned TV]] channels were available, one only in about 20% of the country. Private TV channels were slow to appear, because of lack of experience and high start-up costs. In this environment, cable TV companies appeared and thrived, providing 15-20 foreign channels for a very low price. Many small, startup firms gradually grew, and coverage increased (coverage wars were frequent in the early period). However, this period soon ended, with consolidation around 1995–1996 with gentlemen agreements between larger companies over areas of control and pricing, with claims of monopoly abounding. This process of consolidation was completed around 2005–2006, when only two big suppliers of cable remained: UPC-Astral and RDS. Cable TV is now available in most of the country, including most rural areas. Satellite digital TV appeared in 2004.

===Cinema===
{{Main|Cinema of Romania}}
Cinema is one of the least popular forms of entertainment in Romania, and over 100 cinema theatres have closed down since 1989. Romania has the lowest number of cinema goers in Europe. 75 active cinemas were counted in 2008 (down from 155 in 2004), more than half being outdated theatres owned by the public company [[Romaniafilm]]. New multiplex cinemas have been opening in shopping malls, including Hollywood Multiplex, Movieplex Cinema, and Cinema City Romania. Over 85% of tickets are for US blockbusters, with only 3.6% in 2008 for domestic Romanian film productions.<ref>Alexandru-Brădut Ulmanu, [http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_425 Romania #Cinema] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113035409/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_425 |date=2016-01-13 }}, EJC Media Landscapes, circa 2010</ref>

===Telecommunications===
{{See also|Romania Telephone Area Codes}}
Romania has rapidly improving domestic and international services, especially in wireless telephony.
The domestic network offers good, modern services in urban areas; 98% of telephone network is automatic while 71% is digitized; trunk network is mostly fiber-optic cable and radio relay; about 80% of exchange capacity is digital. Roughly 3,300 villages have outdated or no service.

International service data:
*[[satellite]] country code: 40;
*satellite earth station: 10 ([[Intelsat]] 4);
*digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest.
The combined (fixed+mobile) telephone penetration rate is 108.3%.

====Land lines====
There are 4,106,000 main lines in use (June 2007).<ref name="hn">{{in lang|ro}} [[Hotnews]], [http://hotnews.ro/articol_86425-Romania-are-19-5-milioane-de-utilizatori-ai-serviciilor-de-telefonie-mobila.htm Romania are 19,5 milioane de utilizatori ai serviciilor de telefonie mobila] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012023620/http://www.hotnews.ro/articol_86425-Romania-are-19-5-milioane-de-utilizatori-ai-serviciilor-de-telefonie-mobila.htm |date=2007-10-12 }} ''(Romania has 19.5 millions mobile telephony users)'', October 10, 2007</ref>
[[Romtelecom]] (owned by the Greek company OTE and the Romanian state) is the dominant fixed line provider (around 80% of the market share) and the only [[Plain old telephone service|POTS]] provider. Other providers are [[RCS&RDS]] and [[UPC Romania]].

====Mobile====
The penetration rate of mobile telephony exceeded 100 percent in 2007 and reached 126 percent in 2008.<ref name=EJCtlc>Alexandru-Brădut Ulmanu, [http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_426 Romania #Telecommunications] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113035409/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_426 |date=2016-01-13 }}, ''EJC Media Landscapes'', circa 2010</ref>

There were 22.600.000 [[Subscriber Identity Module|SIM]] cards active by December 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.finantistii.ro/telecom/telefonia-mobila-are-226-milioane-de-utilizatori-in-romania-81507 |title=Telefonia mobila are 22,6 milioane de utilizatori in Romania |access-date=2014-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201180801/http://www.finantistii.ro/telecom/telefonia-mobila-are-226-milioane-de-utilizatori-in-romania-81507 |archive-date=2014-02-01 }}</ref> There are three [[GSM]] cellular networks (Orange, Vodafone and Cosmote) covering more than 85% of the territory (about 98% of the population), one [[UMTS]] only (Digi.Mobil) as well as one [[CDMA2000]] only network (Romtelecom). Five networks, meaning [[Vodafone Romania|Vodafone]], [[Orange România|Orange]], [[RCS&RDS|Digi.Mobil]], [[Cosmote Romania|Cosmote]] and [[Zapp Mobile|Zapp]] also provide [[UMTS]] (3G) services. [[Vodafone Romania|Vodafone]], [[Orange România|Orange]], [[RCS&RDS|Digi.Mobil]] provides voice and data services over their [[UMTS]] (3G) networks, as long as [[Zapp Mobile|Zapp]] provives only data services [[Cosmote România|Cosmote]] provides voice and data services via [[Zapp Mobile|Zapp]] [[UMTS]] network. Mobile telephony had a 108% penetration rate in March 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.standard.ro/articol_34059/rata_de_penetrare_a_telefoniei_mobile__108.html|title=Rata de penetrare a telefoniei mobile, 108%|website=Standard.ro|access-date=3 October 2017}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Internet===
{{main|Internet in Romania}}
In November 2008, the number of registered .ro domains was over 340,000, of which 315,000 were active. This represents an increase of 50% in a single year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/numarul-domeniilor-ro-s-a-dublat-fata-de-anul-trecut.html |title=Adevarul - Numărul domeniilor .ro a crescut cu 50% faţă de anul trecut - Financiar |access-date=2009-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216021414/http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/numarul-domeniilor-ro-s-a-dublat-fata-de-anul-trecut.html |archive-date=2008-12-16 }}</ref>

Over 50% of the Romanian population used internet in 2014.<ref name=FH/>

Newspapers' websites are the main sources of information online.<ref name=EJCnet>Alexandru-Brădut Ulmanu, [http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_428 Romania #New Media] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113035409/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_428 |date=2016-01-13 }}, ''EJC Media Landscapes'', circa 2010</ref> Online-only news outlets (such as HotNews.ro, ziare.com, ziare.ro, news.ro, liberalist.ro, corectnews.com, psnews.ro, activenews.ro, stiripesurse.ro) are more and more common, but they usually do not have the resources to produce original and quality journalistic contents.<ref name=FH/>{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}
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==Media Organisations==-->

===Media agencies===
* [[Mediafax]], a private news agency founded in 1991 and part of MediaPro group, dominates the news agency market, producing 600 news items per day, and expanding abroad in the Czech market too.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediafax.ro/|title=Ştiri de ultima ora si ultimele ştiri – ştiri online – Mediafax|website=Mediafax.ro|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref><ref name=EJCag>Alexandru-Brădut Ulmanu, [http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_433 Romania #News Agencies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113035409/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_433 |date=2016-01-13 }}, ''EJC Media Landscapes'', circa 2010</ref>
* [[Agerpres]] is the state news agency (from 1990 to 2010 known as ''Rompres''). It was first founded in 1889 as ''Agentia Telegrafica a Romaniei'', or ''Agentia Romana'', as part of the Foreign Ministry, but discontinued in 1916 and re-established in 1921 as Orient-Radio Agency, later RADOR, turned by the communist regime in Agerpres in 1949. RADOR survives as the brand of the news service of the national public radio.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rador.ro/|title=Agenția de presă Rador – Agenția de presă Rador|website=Rador.ro|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref> Agerpres produces around 300 news items daily and takes part in the [[European Alliance of News Agencies]].<ref name=EJCag/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.agerpres.ro/|title=AGERPRES • Actualizează lumea.|website=Agerpres.ro|access-date=3 October 2017|archive-date=26 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226012359/http://www.agerpres.ro/}}</ref>
* [[NewsIn]] is the newest national agency, launched in 2006 by the [[Realitatea]]-Catavencu group. It produces around 300 news items daily and focuses on business and technology, targeting companies directly rather than journalism outlets.<ref name=EJCag/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsin.ro/|title=STATUS – Conceptul STATUS Healthcare Hub|website=Newsin.ro|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref>
* Smaller agencies include AM Press<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ampress.ro/|title=Prima pagină|date=24 November 2016|website=Ampress.ro|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref> and Amos News.<ref name=EJCag/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amosnews.ro/|title=AMOSNews Agentie Independenta de Presa – Agenţia AMOS News|website=Amosnews.ro|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref>
* International agencies with bureaus in Bucarest include Reuters, AP and France Presse, while others such as Bloomberg have permanent correspondents.<ref name=EJCag/>

===Trade unions===
The largest federation of Romanian trade unions in the media sector is [[MediaSind]], claiming around 9,000 members, of which 7,500 journalists. Most of Romania's 30,000 journalist remain unaffiliated. 
MediaSind has negotiated with the employers' organisations the [[collective contract]], binding for the entire profession, although this is often not respected in practice. It also supported journalists in legal cases against arbitrary dismissals and mistreatment.<ref name=EJCunion>Alexandru-Brădut Ulmanu, [http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_434 Romania #Trade Unions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113035409/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_434 |date=2016-01-13 }}, ''EJC Media Landscapes'', circa 2010</ref> 
Several journalists' associations exist, including The Association of Journalists in Romania, formed by 70 prominent Bucarest-based journalists.

The [[Romanian Press Club]] gathers the owners and managers of media outlets, pushing the interests of the media organisations. Local publishers are grouped into the Ownership Association of Local Publishers (APEL).<ref name=EJCunion/>

NGOs dealing with the media sector take part in the umbrella organisation called the Convention of Media Organisations ([[Conventia Organizatiilor de Media]] – COM). Its most active members are the Center for Independent Journalism, and [[ActiveWatch]]—The Media Monitoring Agency, both dealing with training and advocacy to improve the quality of journalism in Romania.<ref name=EJCunion/>

===Regulatory authorities===
Print and online media have no particular regulatory authority. The Culture and Mass Media Committees of the two chambers of Parliament are competent on the issue but do not exercise monitoring and control.<ref name=EJCreg>Alexandru-Brădut Ulmanu, [http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_440 Romania #Regulatory Authorities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113035409/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/romania#link_440 |date=2016-01-13 }}, ''EJC Media Landscapes'', circa 2010</ref>

Television broadcasts and [[cable television]], [[frequency]] allocations, content monitoring and license allocation are done by the National Audiovisual Council ([[Consiliul Național al Audiovizualului]], CNA). The CNA is the main regulatory authority for the broadcast media in Romania, being the guardian of public interest. It is tasked with the implementation of the Audiovisual Law and of all by-laws, including the Code of Regulations for the Broadcasting Content, and it issues recommendations and instructions. The CNA is composed of 11 members, appointed for six years: three by each Chamber of Parliament, two by the [[President of Romania]], and three by the government; all have to be confirmed by the Parliament.<ref name=EJCreg/> The appointments to its board are politicised, and the body thus often acts in a biased and ineffective way.<ref name=FH/>

The National Authority for Communications (ANCOM) is the regulatory body for the TLC market, setting and enforcing market rules.<ref name=EJCreg/>

The National Cinematography Centre (''Centrul National al Cinematografiei'' – CNC), part of the Ministry of Culture, supervises the cinema industry and organises competitions to finance film projects.<ref name=EJCreg/>