According to the 2007 Report by the MediaSind Union, the main reasons for political and economic pressure are the no unmasking of journalists who collaborated with the ex Securitate (Communist Secret Service in Romania) and the lacking application of the norms in the collective contract of employment. The Report is actually a precise analysis of the present state of the Romanian press and the conclusion is that it has being growing serious lately. General state gets worse In the document there is mentioned: "In the period analyzed in the present Report, we could notice that the general state of the mass media in Romania was getting worse and the media is now about to face a major crisis of credibility. Instead of a real reform of the press in Romania, the MediaSind warns about: the absence of an environment suitable for professional journalism, the lacking acknowledgement of those who do this job by means of a journalist card at the entire national level, the excessive tabloidization of the press, the negative influence of politics on the objectiveness of the news and even the lack of a national strategy on mess media." There is argued that the private press is developing more and more, but it is headed by economic groups taking too little interest in high quality journalism and in respect for the employees' rights, as settled in the Collective Contract of Employment. This is why the yearly report on press freedom in the world, authored by the Freedom House, argues that Romanian press was partly free in 2005-2006. The Basescu case Political pressure on the press is described as follows: "Political attacks on the press have been amplifying in a worrying manner in the last year, taking various forms: the Constitutional Court's aberrant decisions on the incrimination of insult and libel, parties' refusal to depoliticize the two public radio and television institutions, the intimidation of journalists by arrest, criminal cases, charges and even physical aggression. " There is reminded that in May 20, 2007, the MediaSind was critical of President Basescu's offense of a journalist while the latter was doing her job legally. Disturbed with the insisting questions asked by reporter Andreaa Pana employed by Antena 1 TV stations, the President grabbed her cell phone and used several offending, racist phrases. (...)

George DAMIAN