DG urges Romanian lawmakers to leave PSM leadership in office

From left to right: EBU Vice-President Claudio Cappon, EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre and PDG of Radio Romania (ROR) Ovidiu Miculescu, at a World Radio Day meeting with senior ROR staff

EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre has called on Romanian politicians to give the countrys public service broadcasters greater independence and to allow their chief executives time to institute reforms.

On a visit to Bucharest with EBU Vice-President Claudio Cappon, on World Radio Day, Ms Deltenre noted that only one President Director General (PDG) of TV Romania had been allowed to serve out his full four-year term and that a high turnover of chief executives among public broadcasters was often a sign of too much political interference.

"Romanian Radio is a strong Member of the EBU," she told Mr Miron Tudor Mitrea, Vice-President of Romanias House of Representatives. "And the same could be true of TV Romania if its PDG were allowed time for his reforms to take effect."

Mr Cappon said strong public service broadcasting was an important feature which distinguished Europe from Asia, Africa or America.

Since 1993, when Radio Romania and TV Romania were separated, the Parliament has frequently used the two broadcasters annual reports as a pretext to dismiss their chief executives often for apparently political reasons.

Mr Mitrea said he would explore the possibility of the media law being amended in the coming months.

Ms Deltenre and Mr Cappon also held talks with Georgica Severin, President of the Romanian Senates Culture, Arts and Mass Media Committee.

On behalf of his Committee and of the Prime Minister, Mr Severin assured the EBU delegation that the Romanian government had only good intentions for the countrys public service media, and that there would be no "brutal intervention of politics".

The visit of the EBU delegation coincided with a consultancy mission by Michel Gr goire, former secretary general of the European Group of TV Advertising, to advise TVR on how to generate more income from advertising. The mission is supported by the EBUs Partnership Programme.

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Photo gallery captions in order:

1. EBU Vice-President Claudio Cappon, EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre and PDG of Radio Romania (ROR) Ovidiu Miculescu, at a World Radio Day meeting with senior ROR staff

2. Ingrid Deltenre and the Vice-President of Romanias House of Representatives, Miron Tudor Mitrea

3. DG addresses Romanian Radio on World Radio Day

4. DG addresses Romanian Radio on World Radio Day

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LINK:	http://www3.ebu.ch/cms/contents/news/2013/02/dg-calls-on-romanian-poli...
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