The draft law amending and supplementing Law no. 19/2003 on the organization and functioning of the National News Agency AGERPRES received on Tuesday a favorable opinion from the Labor and Social Protection Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
The legislative proposal initiated by a group of National Liberal Party (PNL) senators provides that AGERPRES has the right to establish, administer and finance a museum. The main objective is the preservation, archiving, research and promotion of the national journalistic heritage. The museum will have the role of "documenting and exhibiting the evolution of the Romanian press, from the first written publications to the digital age, including newspapers, magazines, technical equipment, archival documents, audio-video recordings, as well as other materials of historical and cultural interest".
The Chairman of the Working Committee, Adrian Solomon, highlighted that the bill has the support of all parliamentary groups.
The museum could function as an autonomous structure within AGERPRES, with its own staff and distinct budget, or as a public institution of national interest, subordinated to AGERPRES, with its own legal personality.
"To fulfill its duties, the museum may: a) collaborate with cultural institutions, libraries, archives, universities and media organizations in order to collect, digitize and exhibit archive journalistic materials; b) carry out educational programs and thematic exhibitions to promote the history of the press among the general public; c) organize events, conferences and symposia on the impact of the media on society and democracy; d) access public and private funds, national and international grants for the development and modernization of the museum infrastructure", the draft law also stipulates.
According to the explanatory memorandum, "AGERPRES is the main news agency of the Romanian state, with the role of informing the public, documenting social and political realities and preserving the journalistic memory of Romania".
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