N ieman Reports - Nieman Foundation - Harvard University

Shattering Barriers
relevant only after years of finding the
necessary software, building particular
databases, and looking for additional
resources. And we are not necessarily
able to build our network of sources
while this is happening.
As we struggle to obtain information
and find a way to publish it, the
form that the story will take is the last
thing we can worry about. But how to
package investigative articles is very
important so we keep a watchful eye
on the foreign news media and see
how they experiment with multimedia
publishing.
That’s also the reason why we
immediately brought onboard a group
of independent photojournalists.
We welcomed them to take part on
major projects, such as undercover
research in the separatist republic of
Trans-Dniester and an investigation
in 2004 into enslavement and other
crimes against children.
A Broken Mainstream Media
During the past two decades, millions
of dollars in foreign media assistance
have poured into Romania but without
much noticeable positive effect on the
quality of its journalism. What one
must conclude is that we have a broken
media industry, and the economic
pressures bearing down on media have
become even more burdensome. This
means that investigative journalism
must find ways to develop outside the
mainstream of this industry.
During the past five years, owners
like my former boss, who had been a
Local oligarchs—rich businesspeople who
are involved in politics and whose primary
business interests are not in media—now
own and control media. Usually their business
interests are also the target of criminal
investigations.
journalist, have sold their shares in the
business. Local oligarchs—rich businesspeople
who are involved in politics
and whose primary business interests
are not in media—now own and control
media. Usually their business interests
are also the target of criminal investigations.
The reason that they invest
in money-losing media corporations
is to gain leverage to negotiate with
politicians to keep themselves out of
jail. They run their media companies
as they would a military operation,
and like their predecessors, they, too,
profoundly dislike independent and
nosey journalists.
Here and there it is possible to find
good journalists who are isolated in
a newsroom. Gather them together
and their numbers might add up to
enough to build a competent, strong
and honest newsroom. But then who
would pay for that?
These local oligarchs lack any
dimension of ethics, discourage
competition, and don’t adhere to a
meritocracy. Why should they adhere
to any standards of journalism? After
all, their only need is to hire people to
produce propaganda and send out the
continuing onslaught of infotainment,
business and political manipulation,
live press conferences as breaking
news, and copy-and-paste journalism.
A lot of these so-called journalists
use their media work as a trampoline
propelling them into governmental
positions, including foreign diplomacy,
or into jobs with a political party or
corporation. Their dream is to become
part of the establishment.
In recent times, direct political pressure
on the news media diminished
as Romania climbed its way into the
European Union. What is worrying now
are the frequent attempts by members
of Parliament to sneak in ridiculous
pieces of legislation that would put a
leash on journalists. Among the recent
draft laws were these proposals:
• Force TV stations to broadcast 50
percent positive news and 50 percent
negative news
• Put the print media under the jurisdiction
of the National Audiovisual
Council
• Censor the comments for all news
websites.
The only reason such laws have not
passed is that we have strong nongovernmental
organizations that act as
legislative watchdogs. However, the
recent national defense strategy identifies
the media as being “a vulnerability”
for “national security.” These days,
as soon as politicians assume power,
they, too, start to profoundly dislike
independent and nosey journalists.
But independent and nosey journalists
aren’t going away—and finding
support for their investigative work
in Romania is why a decade ago I
co-founded the Romanian Center for
Investigative Journalism. [See box on
page 6 about the center’s founding.] It
stands as a testament to the dedication
of a few—and hopefully the inspiration
for many—to not give in to the
pressures bearing down on journalists
who dare to tell the stories that a
democratic people deserve to hear.
Stefan Candea, a 2011 Nieman
Fellow, is a freelance journalist
and co-founder of the Romanian
Center for Investigative Journalism
in Bucharest, Romania. He teaches
investigative journalism at Bucharest
University, and he is a member of
the International Consortium for
Investigative Journalism and a
correspondent for Reporters sans
Frontieres in Romania.
10 Nieman Reports | Spring 2011