“Chronic politicization” is how a new local study describes press freedom in Romania during 2012. The grudge match between president and PM, the referendum to indict the president and the elections saw the Romanian press taking partisan stands and coming under the influence of political interests, according to media monitoring agency Active Watch's FreeEx press freedom report.

The report alleges a number of alarming developments in the Romanian press last year. Undercover agents in newsrooms, attempts to prosecute journalists and activists instigated by senior officials and the “violent repression” of protests, according to the Press Freedom in Romania 2012 report, launched today (May 8) outside the headquarters of the Romanian Intelligence Services (SRI) in Bucharest.

The report's findings reek of subversion of free speech and claim that during 2012, collaboration between media business bosses and politicians to use the press as a political weapon increased.

Despite the events of last year, Romania climbed five places in the Reporters Without Borders global press freedom index for 2013. The five place improvement took Romania to 42 in the ranking, putting the country ahead of neighboring Hungary, which fell 16 places from last year to number 56. However, the Reporters Without Borders report still classes Romania as a country with “noticeable problems.”

editor@romania-insider.com