JOURNALISTIC ELITES IN POST-COMMUNIST ROMANIA

Abstract

In the 20 years since the fall of communism, the professional field of journalism has been increasingly carved up by press barons, on the one hand, and the majority of ordinary journalists, on the other. The euphoric attitude and the solidarity that marked the very beginnings of a free press slowly faded away. They were replaced by the fight to achieve and maintain control over the resources offered by mass media: economic status, political power and social prestige. In fact, one group has monopolized the economic resources, the access to centres of political decision-making and the channels of distribution of professionally legitimating discourse. This study examines the mechanisms used by a group of journalists to achieve economic and professional control. In other words, the study shows how star journalists became media moguls.

Keywords:

• economic control
• journalists-compradores
• media moguls, post-communist media
• professional field