Realitatea Plus and Romania TV, again in the sights of CNA. Fines given for reporting plagiarism allegations against a minister
The National Broadcasting Council (CNA) on Tuesday sanctioned the stations Romania TV and Realitatea Plus with fines of 50,000 lei and 10,000 lei, respectively.
The sanctions were given due to the violation of the legal provisions according to which they must ensure impartiality and balance and favor the free formation of opinions, support the accusations brought with evidence and contact, in a reasonable time before the issue, the accused persons, in order to comply with the principle of audiatur et altera pars.
Meeting on Tuesday in a public meeting, the CNA analyzed the reports drawn up by the Monitoring Directorate as a result of the self-notification and the notifications received for the way in which the topic of plagiarism accusations was reported in the case of the doctoral thesis of the former Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, informs Agerpres.
The subject was debated on January 12 at Antena 3 CNN, B1 TV, Digi 24, Euronews Romania, Prima News, Realitatea Plus and TVR Info and between January 12 and 17 at Romania TV.
Noting the non-compliance with the provisions of Article 43 of the Audiovisual Content Regulation Code, CNA decided to apply the following sanctions:
- Romania TV station fined 50,000 lei.
The analyzed reports include the shows “Romania in 60 minutes” (January 12, 14), “Romania la raport” (January 12) and informative and debate shows from January 12, 13, 14 and 17. “In this case, the Council retained when establishing the sanction and the violation of the provisions of Article 84 paragraph (1) of the Audiovisual Code, according to which 'In news programs and debates, information on issues of public interest, of a political, economic, social or cultural nature, must ensure impartiality and balance and favor the free formation of opinions, by presenting the main points of view in opposition, during the period when the issues are under debate public”, states CNA.
- Fine of 10,000 lei to the station Realitatea Plus.
The report was prepared for the news and debate shows from January 12, in the time slot 7:00 – 24:00;
- Public summons to the B1 TV station – the broadcasts of the mentioned date, between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
In the same meeting, the CNA decided to issue decisions regarding the order to act against illegal content for materials posted and redistributed on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok from Cristian Rizea's accounts (eg Rizea's Confession, RizeaTV).
The audiovisual materials are contained in five reports of the Monitoring Directorate and in 34 reports of the Control Directorate, drawn up as a result of notifications received and the Council's self-notification.
The full texts of the Sanctioning Decisions and the Orders to act against illegal content will be available on the official website of the CNA, in the dedicated section, after drafting and after their communication to the concerned parties.
