The Romanian Union of Journalists MediaSind calls on the political class, in a message sent on World Press Freedom Day, to cease attacks against the fundamental values of journalism and to respect the conscience clause of media workers, as well as democracy in a member state of the European Union, Agerpres reports.
"We note, in the recent period, the intensification of attacks on media institutions, growing pressure on journalists from public and private media institutions involved in the electoral campaign, failure to respect the rights provided for in collective labor contracts or in labor legislation, but also other abuses. (...) SRJ MediaSind demands the urgent implementation of the European Regulation Media Act 2024/1083 in Romanian legislation. We specify that the implementation deadline for EU member countries is August 8, 2025. This means the mandatory depoliticization of public media institutions, the granting of fair financing by ensuring the financial sustainability of media institutions, financing provided transparently and not through various party favors," the Romanian Union of Journalists Mediasind said in a statement sent to AGERPRES on Saturday.
The cited source mentions that, just as the European Federation of Journalists has repeatedly asked the governments of EU states to consider journalists as essential workers, SRJ MediaSind together with the Culture and Mass Media Federation FAIR-MediaSind and the CNSLR-Brotherhood Confederation have requested the Romanian Government to grant media workers the status of essential workers, but also the appropriate compensation for this status, including by introducing specific provisions into the Pensions Law, which would recognize their special working conditions.
"Unfortunately, for three years, the social dialogue with government representatives has turned into a dialogue of the deaf, and any demands made by Culture and Mass Media workers have become a mere whim for politicians. We must specify, however, that the only dialogue that resulted in a positive signal from the Government, namely by adopting the draft amendment to the AGERPRES Law for the establishment of a National Press Museum, was the one with the current leadership of the Culture and Media Committee of the Romanian Senate, which also understood and constantly supported MediaSind's proposals regarding the development of the most important national press agency in Romania," the quoted press release reads.
According to Mediasind, "now that there is a war in Ukraine and the fake-news phenomenon has taken on a dramatic scale, it is more necessary than ever for the work of professional journalists to be supported at the government level by making urgent and effective decisions."
"It is well known that journalists have a stressful job, which affects their health at all times. There are many cases when professional journalists have failed, some even resorting to extreme measures. At the same time, their lives are put at risk due to the specifics of their activity, with many colleagues being threatened, beaten or even killed. In this regard, the latest report of the Committee to Protect Journalists demonstrates that journalism is one of the most dangerous professions.
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