From Accountability to Self-Regulation in Romanian Media

• Author: Daniela Popa
• Position: Assistant Professor, PhD, Danubius University of Galati, Romania
• Pages: 268-276

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives 2014

268

From Accountability to Self-Regulation in Romanian Media

Daniela Aurelia Popa

1

Abstract: The present study is based on results dissemination for one of the four indicators (Background,

Accountability, Solidarity and Efficiency) interpreted in the qualitative analysis of media self-regulatory

system in Romania. The importance of this research topic for both practitioners and researchers in the field,

lies in the fact that media self-regulation is a relatively new process, which has not yet reached the collective

consciousness of Romanian society. This approach of the accountability indicator aims to obtain an overview

of professional responsibility (an important pillar of media self-regulation) in order to create a development

framework for a definition of media self-regulation, respectively to discover the relevance of this system

implementation in Romania. The qualitative analysis will consider the common perception of journalists on

two main themes: professional liability and media self-regulation system. The research methodology applied

in this study was based on th e qualitative method of in-depth interview. The research will answer the

following questions: What journalists understa nd by professional responsibility? Which ar e the most

important professional values o be respected? Is mana gement important in empowering journa lists? Which

are the tr iggering factors involved in the implementation process of media self-regulation in Romania?

Keywords: professionalism; norms; values

1. Introduction

In the hereby study, the content of the collocation system of media a ccountability generally targets a

series of demarches for the supervision of the professional journalistic act, involving a moral conduct

in the development of the professional activities but also the existence of an organism specialized in

the following of this conduct.

The present study will analyze from the quality point of view, the common perception of the

journalists regarding two main themes: professional accountability and the system of media self-

regulation. Each main theme has generated secondary themes corresponding to the assertions gathered

after interviewing journalists. These secondary themes have focused on dimensions such as: attitude,

evaluation, satisfaction, criticism, motivational, because the analysis contained the support of the

respondents for a certain aspect, their appreciations regarding the functioning of a system or the

satisfaction, critical level or the motivational one.

The motivation for choosing a semi structured interview is the fact that this type is suitable for a

deeper analysis of a certain sector or for the track of the development in time of a sector which is

already known. (Marinescu, 2009, p. 52)

Choosing this type of interview has facilitated the interrogation of the journalists regarding their

accountability and the best methods to be applied in order to implement the system of self -regulation

1 Assistant Professor, Ph D, Danubius University of Galati, Romania, Address: 3 Galati Boulevard, 800654 Galati, Romania,

Tel.: +40.372.361.102, Fax: +40.372.361.290, Corresponding author: daniela.popa@univ-danubius.ro.