Salvati presa independenta!

Mai multi ziaristi de la "Romania libera" au trecut prin furcile Securitatii...
- In iunie 1990 minerii au devastat redactia si au molestat angajatii...
- Ni se aruncau pachetele cu ziare din trenul postal...
- Difuzorii nostri erau sicanati...
In urma cu patru ani, cand a venit la redactia "Romaniei libere" domnul Erich Schumann, unul dintre patronii trustului media german WAZ, si ne-a propus o asociere, n-am crezut nici o clipa ca vom intra in cea mai neagra perioada a ziarului.
Ni s-au dat asigurari ca se va respecta principiul asocierii: partea romana se va ocupa de domeniul redactional, editorial iar partea germana de cel economic.
Trei ani partea germana a avut doar contacte sporadice cu partea romana, proiectele comune fiind amanate sine die, dar o data cu preluarea functiei de manager la WAZ de catre domnul Bodo Hombach la Bucuresti a fost trimis domnul Klaus Overbeck. Ne-am zis: in fine, marele trust de presa german si-a adus aminte si de asocierea cu "Romania libera". Numai ca reprezentantul capitalului german in loc sa se ocupe de "partea economica" (singurele sale contributii in domeniu fiind propunerea de a mari pretul ziarului la 20.000 de lei si reducerea numarului de pagini redactionale) si-a concediat functionarii germani, dupa care a inceput tot mai insistent sa dea indicatii despre ce sa se scrie in ziar, cum sa se scrie, ce si CINE sa nu mai fie criticat.
Desi reprezentantul WAZ la Bucuresti nu poseda nici o calitate in domeniul editorial si, contrar principiului neamestecului in chestiunile redactionale, ingerintele dlui Overbeck au continuat si au culminat cu propuneri privind "unghiurile de abordare" a stirilor si articolelor, dar si cu "autori si genuri redactionale dezirabile". Prin aceste interventii repetate in domeniul strict redactional s-a incalcat grav intelegerea de principiu incheiata la cooptarea actionarului principal WAZ. S-a ajuns chiar la culmi ale grotescului in momentul in care un colaborator de circumstanta al reprezentantului asociatului german, un simplu anonim in peisajul presei, a inmanat conducerii ziarului, la ordinul partii germane, un "Ghid de scriitura la Romania libera"!
De 14 ani nimeni nu ne-a dictat ce sa scriem, am respectat opiniile cititorilor, nu ne-am lasat sedusi de cantecul de sirena al unor privilegii, facandu-ne din consecventa respectare a principiilor democratice emblema ziarului independent care a fost si trebuie sa ramana "Romania libera".
N-am crezut ca presiunea exercitata acum asupra noastra, in ideea de a ne "indrepta pasii", poate fi tot atat sau chiar mai dura decat cenzura unei perioade pe care o credeam definitiv apusa. Am crezut ca un partener dintr-o tara autentic democratica nu poate sa nu respecte cu sfintenie principiile libertatii de exprimare si libertatii de constiinta. Mai ales ca peste tot in lume "linia" unei publicatii este data de jurnalisti, nu de capital.
In ceea ce ne priveste, am avut intreaga disponibilitate de a colabora cu specialistii partii germane la imbunatatirea ziarului (conform certitudinii ca intotdeauna este loc de mai bine), la elaborarea unei noi formule grafice, am avansat permanent propuneri de imbogatire sau chiar de restructurare a continutului editorial cu pagini tematice noi, cu rubrici noi spre a veni cat mai mult in intampinarea asteptarilor cititorilor nostri fideli, dar si ale celor potentiali, am facut propuneri pentru campanii de promovare a ziarului (cum fac de altfel toate celelalte publicatii), de imbunatatire a difuzarii, de optimizare a fluxului redactional in general si de optimizare a activitatii editoriale pentru fiecare sectie in parte, mai ales ca dotarea tehnica a ziarului a ramas mult in urma altor publicatii. Traim intr-o lume a competitiei, sectorul presei este in marea lui majoritate un sector privat si intelegem perfect necesitatea unei permanente adaptari la regulile economiei de piata.
Totul insa pana la abdicarea de la principii.
Cu regret si tristete am constatat ca toate propunerile noastre au ramas fara nici un raspuns, ideea de colaborare a fost o simpla vorba in vant, ingerintele reprezentantului WAZ canalizandu-se exclusiv si tot mai insistent catre o subordonare politica a ziarului, pentru a-i distruge substanta democratica, principialitatea si a-l desparti de cititorii sai. Cu totul stranie este si lipsa de reactie a managerilor WAZ din Germania fata de repetatele atentionari pe care le-am trimis in legatura cu activitatea dlui Overbeck.
In ultimele luni atmosfera din redactia "Romania libera" s-a tensionat progresiv din cauza amestecului brutal al reprezentantului partii germane in activitatea editoriala, amestec vizand modificarea politicii si structurii editoriale prin reducerea spatiului editorial, prin reducerea spatiului destinat politicii spre a fi puse in loc pagini cu mondenitati ori chiar traduceri ale unor articole din tabloidele straine axate pe zvonistica. Scopul e limpede: impingerea ziarului "Romania libera" catre zona bulevardiera, facila, derizorie, neconforma cu principiile dupa care s-a calauzit in acesti ultimi 14 ani. Iata cum suna recomandarile partii germane: "Trebuie comandate materiale si reportaje cu subiecte mondene din tara. Materialele mondene vor fi asezate in pagina zilnica Eveniment". Respectiva pagina Eveniment trebuie sa ia treptat locul paginii 3 de Politica interna. A mai venit si propunerea ca din noua grila a ziarului sa dispara paginile cu probleme sociale. Alte recomandari ale
unui reprezentant WAZ in Romania: "Sesizez ca nu mai sunt chiar atatea materiale despre PSD. Dar tot multe". Sau: "Sa se gaseasca subiecte pozitive pentru investigatii". Asemenea ingerinte se intensifica acum, in perioada premergatoare alegerilor, cand electoratul are nevoie de cat mai multa informatie.
De luni de zile ducem o lupta surda incercand sa convingem partea germana ca trebuie sa ne pastram profilul, dar rezultatul este doar indesirea presiunilor, la inceput subtile, acum tot mai agresive. Reprezentantul WAZ a ajuns chiar sa oblige curierul postal sa-i aduca intai lui scrisorile si intreaga corespondenta venita pe adresele conducerii ziarului si ale redactorilor. Abia dupa ce este cercetata de dl Overbeck corespondenta este impartita destinatarilor! Practici specifice mai degraba ofiterilor STASI, nicidecum unui reprezentant al presei dintr-o tara democratica, pilon al Uniunii Europene.
In aceste conditii am facut totusi eforturi consistente pentru a pastra suplimentele tematice si editiile regionale pe care reprezentantul WAZ nu le gaseste necesare, desi trustul german este specializat in presa locala si regionala. Pentru aceasta a trebuit sa acceptam reducerea spatiului editorial in favoarea celui de publicitate. Cum ar arata un ziar numai de publicitate, stimati cititori?
Ziua de 13 septembrie 2004 o consideram cea mai neagra zi din istoria recenta a ziarului "Romania libera"...



The Darkest Day Luni 13 Septembrie 2004


Several journalists from Romania Libera daily newspaper had passed through the Securitate forks...
In June 1990, the miners had devastated Romania Libera headquarters and molested the employees...
A huge number of copies of our newspaper were thrown out the postal trains...
Our distributors were harassed...

Four years ago, when Mr. Erich Schumann, one of the owners of the German media group WAZ, came at Romania Libera headquarters and proposed us an association, we did not believed any moment that we would enter the darkest time in the life of the newspaper.
We were assured that the principle of the association would be observed: the Romanian part was set to manage the editorial field and the German part, the economic one.
For three years, the German part had only sporadic contacts with the Romanian part, the common projects seeming postponed sine die. But, once the position of WAZ manager was taken by Mr. Bodo Hombach, it was send to Bucharest Mr. Klaus Oberbeck. We thought: finally the great German media trust remembered about the association with Romania Libera.
But, instead of working out the economic part (his only contribution being the proposal of increasing the price of the newspaper copy to 20,000 lei and the decreasing of the number of editorial pages), the representative of the German capital licensed the German employees, and then he started more and more persistently to give indications about what to be written in the newspaper, how to be written, what and WHO not to be criticized.
Although WAZ representative in Bucharest has no quality in the editorial field and contrary to the principle of nonintervention in the editorial matters, Mr. Overbeck's involvements went on and culminated with proposals regarding both the "angles of attacking" the news and stories and "desirable authors and editorial types". Thus, by the mean of this kind of repeated interferences in the strict editorial domain, the basic agreement, signed when WAZ was associated with Romania Libera, had been seriously violated.
The grotesque dimension was reached when a temporary co-worker of the German associate's representative, an anonymous person in the Romanian media, gave to the editorial direction of the newspaper, at the German part's order, a " Romania Libera Writing Guide"!
For 14 years, nobody dictated us what to write, we respected readers' opinions, we never got lost when hearing the siren song of privileges. And we made the consistent observation of the democratic principles the mark of the independent newspaper that was and must remain Romania Libera.
We did not believe that the now pressure upon us, in the direction of "guiding our steps", could be as bad as or worth the censorship of a time about which we thought that was definitely dead.
We did not believe that a partner from an authentic democratic country could not deeply respect the freedom of expression and freedom of conscience principles. More over, when thinking that everywhere in the world the guiding lines of a publication are given by the journalists and not by the capital.
In regard to us, we proved our full willingness to cooperate with the experts of the German part in order to improve the newspaper (accordingly to the certainty that always there is room for better), to elaborate a new layout. We permanently made proposals for making richer the content of the newspaper with new pages in order to fulfill the expectations of both our faithful readers and possible future ones. We made proposals for promotion campaigns for the newspaper (as all other publications do), for improving the distribution, for optimizing the editorial flow in general and for optimizing the editorial activity in every department in particular, even if the logistic of the newspaper was away back other publications. We live in the world of competition, the media sector is in huge majority a private one and we perfectly understand the need of a permanent adaptation to the rules of private economy. Everything but till the abdication from the principles.
We saw with regret and sadness that all our proposals remained with no answer, the idea of cooperation flown in the wind. And the involvements of the WAZ representative had been canalized exclusively and more insistently towards a political subordination of the newspaper in order to destroy its democratic substance, objectivity and to separate it from its readers. Completely odd is also the lack of reaction of the WAZ managers in Germany at repeated signals we sent regarding Mr. Overbeck's activity.
In the last month, the atmosphere in Romania Libera's newsrooms became more and more tensed because of the brutal involvement of the German part representative in the editorial activity, involvements intended to modify the policy and editorial structure by reducing the editorial space, by reducing the space for Politics for introducing life pages or even translations of some stories from foreign tabloids based on rumors. The aim is clear: to push the newspaper Romania Libera towards derisory, not in accordance to the principles which guided the newspaper in these last 14 years. The German recommendations sound as: "It must be ordered stories and reports on life matters from the country. The life materials will be plotted out in the daily page of Eveniment". This Eveniment page must take the place step by step of page 3 - Politics. As well it was proposed to eliminate from the new structure of the newspaper the pages with social problems. Here there are other recommendations of a WAZ representative in Romania: "I notice that there are no longer so many stories about PSD. But still there are many". Or: "To be found positive themes for Investigatii (investigation)". This kind of involvements is intensifying now, before the elections, when the electorate needs more and more information.
For month we carry out a blind fight trying to convince the German part that we must keep our profile, but the result only consists in more pressure, at the beginning subtle but now more and more aggressive. The WAZ representative reached even the point to force the mail officer to bring firstly to him the letters and the whole mail addressed to the direction of the newspaper and the editors. Only after Mr. Overbeck checks it, the mail is distributed to the addressees! These practices are rather typical to STASI officers and never to a media representative from a democratic country, which is a EU pillar.
However in these circumstances we made heavy efforts in order to mantain the supplements on different themes and the regional editions considered unnecessary by the WAZ representative, although the German trust is specialized in local and regional press. For this, we had to accept the reduction of the editorial space for making room for advertising. How an exclusive advertising newspaper would look like, dear readers?
We cannot follow precisely nor Mr. Overbeck's indications and nor add to the advertising pages only gossips and can-cans. We are convinced that you will understand us and you will remain by us, the editorial stuff, in this protest. We tried and tried, but it was no way to avoid it.
We consider the day of September 13, 2004, as the darkest day in the recent history of Romania Libera newspaper.


Haideti sa nu ramanem indiferenti fata de colegii de la Evenimentul Zilei si Romania Libera