| Summary: | This research investigates the role of the Romanian press in reporting political corruption. It argues that as a part of a Romanian society tolerant to corruption, the Romanian press manages to report corruption but fails to be part of the solution to the corruption problem by holding the political elite to account. To demonstrate this, the thesis uses textual and contextual analysis by employing techniques and concepts from critical discourse analysis, political economy of the media and theories of media and democracy. To assess the role of the Romanian press reporting political corruption within the larger context of post-communist Romanian realities, the research comprises three case studies and interviews with journalists. The first case study focuses on the corruption case of one of Romania's Prime Ministers, Adrian Nastase. The second case study focuses on the case of Dan Voiculescu, a powerful politician and media owner with strong connections with Romania's communist past. The third case study is an overview of the corruption within the Romanian political realm. It shows corruption as a practice surviving decades and touching politicians irrespective of their political colour or side, Government or Opposition. The interviews provide an image of the internal state of the Romanian media: a mutually beneficial relationship shaped as barter between politicians and media owners, dodgy characters looking to protect themselves from being investigated by the legal system for their irregular deeds while trying to secure good contracts with the state for their other business endeavours. The Romanian journalist becomes almost irrelevant in such a context. The results of the study contribute to a better understanding of post-communist Romania, its problem with political corruption and the working of its media. The results also suggest that, in view of the lack of any significant research into the phenomenon of corruption in Romania, understanding the problem of political corruption and the role of the media in tackling it should be as well approached from a clear understanding of the culture of corruption in Romania.
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