THE ROMANIAN CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC SPACE MEDIA AND THE DEGRADATION OF PUBLIC LANGUAGE Lia Lucia Epure Assoc. Prof., PhD, Vasile Goldiș Western University of Arad Abstract: The fundamental aim of this study is to disclose a possible general frame through which it could be understood the historical process by which today the public language from the media has come to be so degraded and so unprofessionally used by the contemporary Romanian journalists. A brief cultural analysis is developed at the beginning of the study, an analysis through which some cultural symbols could be used as tools in order to understand how the Romanian contemporary press has become today so unprofessional or even, in some particular case, completely irresponsible.the general frame of the study is taking into consideration some key elements which must to be used in any serious analysis upon the level of degradation in which today the Romanian press seems to be completely blocked. These elements are: the downfall in the domain of faculties of journalism, the loss of the audience, especially in the field of the printed press, the intrusion of the economic and political domains in the field of journalism, the poor financing level for the press and so on. Starting from short descriptions of these elements we later try to see their concrete impact in the process of degrading the level of professionalism from contemporary Romanian media regardless of its technical field. Here also we make a short discussion on the issue of responsibility in the case of the profession of journalism. Also, a brief concrete description about how really looks this process of language degradation in the present media from Romania is being made.the conclusions are focused upon two distinct dimensions. The first one is summarizing the process through which the contemporary Romanian media has ended where it is today in terms of the level of professionalism. The second one tries to uncover some possible concrete ways which should be applied in order to improve the general quality of the public communication from within Romanian contemporary media. Keywords: Romanian contemporary press, Public Language, Media and Public Space, Journalism and Responsibility 34
Introduction This short incursion into some key elements from contemporary Romanian media is aiming to uncover different levels which are in direct relation with the issue of professionalism but especially with the issue of responsibility and moral implications which occur from the mode in which the actual Romanian press is doing its job for the general public. The main premise of this type of approach is consistent with the idea that the concept of professionalism, regarding the way in which journalism is made, is not only liked with some technical knowledge but also with the concept of social and sometimes even moral responsibility of the journalists. The General Frame of Discussion on the Issue of Professionalism in this Study First of all, we must underline the fact that at least to our knowledge in contemporary Romania there are no any consistent studies, in terms of academic and cultural standards, upon the issue of ethical, professional, social and moral responsibility of the journalists in relation with their actual work within Romanian press of the present days. This is a supplementary obstacle for us in doing our research but, however, it cannot be seen as some sort of lack of foundation for our endeavor because in any practical or theoretical issue we must always find a starting point. Yet, in it is indeed for us interesting to notice that in a media environment which is full of so called moral advisers or independent and objective voices there are no, even in the present, any consistent debates about some issue which are the moral responsibility of the journalists or about their voracious appetite in using a more and more degraded form of language in their media materials. Also, it was interesting for us to notice that some cultural elements could be used in order to understand not necessarily the way in which was failed today the Romanian press but at least the way in which this media deals with some negative historical and cultural symbols from the national culture. We do not claim that by disclosing these elements it is possible to understand the mode and especially the content, in terms of self-pity and losing of hope, through which contemporary Romanian media speaks in general about the country and its negative situation. But we believe, however, that these elements could not be ignored in any attempt to understand why the Romanians in general and the Romanian contemporary media in particular, have an enormous appetite to draw almost the entire Romanian social and political reality in black and, anyway, in a negative manner in general. Maybe a deep root in this negative self-perception, a perception which in different forms is present in the content of the actual Romanian media, could be found in Miorita, a sort of a fundamental deep negative perception about the reality in general, a kind of 35
myth which seems indeed to be present in the mental habit of Romanians. But, maybe we go too far with this type of interpretation. However, the negative dimensions of the entire historical and social dimension could be discovered not only in some cultural Romanians elements but at the level of content which is present in contemporary Romanian media. The Downfall of Professionalism within the Romanian Contemporary Press The Failure of Moral Responsibility and the End of Ethics. Let us see now in what consists that negative situation of the actual Romanian media, a negative situation which is present, as we already mention, not only at the level of poor professionalism but also at the direct level of content, in terms of language and some other journalistic tools. In a brief summary the set of elements which make from the contemporary Romanian press a one with a low level of professionalism and responsibility could be disclosed as it follows. Firstly, today we are the witnesses of the process of public language degradation which has no precedent to our knowledge in the entire history of the Romanian press. This fact was already indicated by significant authors but there are no any consistent studies to offer a deep understanding about the causes which are responsible for this very negative phenomenon. Regarding this aspect it is interesting to notice that even some prominent figures from institutions designed to protect the public against any form of aggression from the media has resigned and admitted through this form of protest the huge amplitude of the entire phenomenon 1. Without entering here in details from our point of view for this process cannot be accused only the media but the entire historical evolution of the Romanian society after the collapse of communism in 1989. Secondly, another very negative phenomenon is represented for the actual Romanian press the downfall, in terms of the academic quality, of the Romanian faculties of journalism and sciences of communication. This has generated today some of the worst situations ever for the press in terms of the level of professionalism. Of course, the situation in which is today the 1 Iulia Bunea www. paginademedia.ro Dan Grigore, scrisoarea de demisie din CNA, 08.03.2012.http://www.paginademedia.ro/2012/03/dan-grigore-demisioneaza-din-cna-prevad-o-campanieelectorala-de-o-ferocitate-fara-precedent/ 36
Romanian press cannot be reduced, in terms of causes, to this phenomenon. But, however, the poor training which these so called faculties is making with the students from the field of journalism has its role in the whole process of degradation which is now so obvious for the Romanian media. And one more thing must be said about this. These faculties, from our point of view, are directly responsible for the fact that the students do not master properly the entire set of journalistic tools and techniques and this is true regardless if we speak about the printed press or television or the online environment. The lack of a proper training is a serious cause not only for the poor level of the actual Romanian media but also for the degradation of the public language within the media. This phenomenon was also indicated by some authors and this was done in very aggressive terms but justified, we think, manner 2. Thirdly, another negative situation in which has failed today the Romanian media is the intrusion, in different forms, some explicit and other very illusive, of the economic and political fields in the domain of media. This conditions has also a deep negative impact because, to give here only an obvious example, the economic interests could determine an abrupt downfall of the quality in the field of entertainment media productions. But also this phenomenon could be seen within the domain of the so called talk-shows industry, an occupation which in the last years in Romanian had become something quite monstrous. In this domain the economic interest of the media had determined also a downfall of the quality by producing, for example, many televised debates with no substance and with no any social or moral responsibility. This is true especially about the journalists and one of their main guilt is the fact that they select for these televised shows very unprepared individuals with low communications skills and, in the vast majority of cases, with a very low professional level. And in addition with the intrusion of the economic interest in producing media materials for the general public we can also mention in this context the brutal intrusion of political domain in the field of media productions. This may not be very visible at a first sight but this intrusion is, however, very profound especially in those media institutions which are financed from the public budget. This is of course a distinct topic and could be further developed but here we only mention 2 C. T. Popescu www. gandul.info Andreea Esca si Critian Tudor Poescu despre meseria de jurnalist, 28.04.2011, http://www.gandul.info/stiri/andreea-esca-si-cristian-tudor-popescu-despre-meseria-de-jurnalist-de-laforumistii-care-risca-sa-intre-in-depresie-la-revista-pentru-femei-ca-un-gadget-video-8201524 37
about it because it has its part of the guilt in the general downfall of quality from the actual Romanian media. This is true even if this cause is more insidious and more difficult to depict from the beginning. Another major cause because of which the contemporary Romanian media was in some way forced to degrade its level and its professional level is the fear of losing the audience. This was maybe one of the most important factors which in the last few years has conducted to a very low quality within the Romanian media especially within the domain of the so called entertainment media productions and releases. For all the elements which we talked about can be very easy founded examples to sustain our point of view. We do not extend this line of approach any further here. But we can give, however, solid examples from the phenomenon of language degradation within the actual Romanian press in a brief and formal structure. These examples regarding the pollution of the public language from the media could be reduced indeed to some general and structural points as it follows. Thus, in terms of public language degradation in the media we can indicate some forms in which this phenomenon is present in the contemporary Romanian media: the using of a very limited verbal formulas especially in producing and releasing the news materials, the using, in this already indicated frame, of simple and almost unsubstantial words in order to describe the events, the manipulation of the public through this language frame regardless if this is done with intention or by the lack of a professional training for the journalists, the tolerance for obscene and very shallow media productions in the domain of TV entertainment, the desire to capture the attention of the public by offering low quality and sensational media productions and so on. The direct negative consequences of the entire described general frame could be reduced to two essential elements. One is indicating to us the moral failure of the journalism as a profession in contemporary Romania. We think that we have the right to speak in this tough terms given the amplitude of the failure, a phenomenon about which, unfortunately, sometimes not even the journalists themselves are aware of it. The moral failure could not be denied as long the journalists were a part from the entire process of degrading and losing of professionalism. 38
Also, some effects could be found in our opinion at the level of the public. Here we mention only the loss of responsibility and the loss of trust not only in politicians or in public institutions in general but also in the press. Conclusions It would be almost absurd to think that for such complicated process like the downfall of the contemporary Romanian press someone could indicate very quickly solutions and patterns to follows in order to obtain an improvement. The reality described by us until this point is a complex one and it cannot be put under a simplistic frame. In our view solutions are indeed possible but these could be effective only at the long time, only at a historical scale of time. And for this we need to wait until some core ingredients from the profound levels of society will be changed by the historical process of integrating Romania into the Western World. It is just not enough to have a class of journalists with a decent level of professionalism in their domain. The whole society must evolve to a more responsible general historical frame. And one more thing, even in the West, as some leading authors have indicate, the press was not always at its highest level of professionalism or responsibility and it seems that the media has promoted, with or without intention, some complicated forms of lie, a process which ended in many cases in manipulation and disinformation 3. But, however, maybe the most important thing is to have a free press regardless of its possible drawbacks or failures. References (online and general): 1. Coman, M. (2003) - Mass media in Romania post-comunista (Mass media in postcommunist Romania), Iasi : Editura Polirom 2. Bunea, I. www. paginademedia.ro Dan Grigore, scrisoarea de demisie din CNA, 08.03.2012. 3 Revel, J.F. Cunoasterea inutila, Bucuresti, Editura Humanitas, 1993, pp. 119 162 Despre minciuna complexa. 39
3. Popescu, C.T. www. gandul.info Andreea Esca si Critian Tudor Poescu despre meseria de jurnalist, 28.04.2011. 4. Revel, J.F. (1993). Cunoasterea inutila, Bucuresti: Editura Humanitas 40