Mazare, the "star" on Press Freedom Report, 2009 edition

Mayor of Constanta, Radu Mazare, can be considered the star of FreeEx Report - Freedom of the Press in Romania, year 2009. Mayor is mentioned in three separate cases in the report released on May 3, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day and you can see it at www.ziuadeconstanta.ro.

"The Road" of Radu Mazare through the report begins with chapter "Assaults, threats and insults", titled "Mayors give journalists curses instead of explanations."

Documentation relating to press freedom says that On August 4, Constanţa Mayor, Radu Mazăre, used a hard and not at all academic language regarding the HotNews.ro electronic publication, after a reporter asked him for details on the way the Mayor had allegedly spent 800,000 Euros from the City Hall's budget for advertising - a story on which HotNews had prior reported. "Those from HotNews, which are a press institution kissing Băsescu's ass all day, made a prosecutor-like investigation, without... They made an investigation just like those at the National Integrity Agency, without asking for documents. They made it ill intended, just like the ones at the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA). I told them that I knew who they were, that they kissed Băsescu's ass and I told them that they would kiss my ass, too, for what they were investigating me about. The prosecutor-journalist who kisses Băsescu's ass made an ill-intended investigation. I told him he would kiss my ass, too", Radu Mazăre declared.

Gift from gift is Heaven

Neither the chapter regarding " Pressures from authorities.

Political and economic pressures " is not forgetting the leader of Constanta administration. This time it is about the advertising contracts that the mayor has given using public money. And this time, "war" was given between Mazare and HotNews. For that matter also the mayor wage war against HotNews.

"Between 2007 and 2009, Constanţa City Hall extended next to EUR 2,000,000, on account of seven advertising contracts, to local media businesses owned by mayor's associates.

By the end of July 2009, HotNews produced an investigation revealing that, last year, Constanţa mayor Radu Mazăre (the Social Democratic Party - PSD) signed two advertising service contracts totaling over EUR 800,000 for a local TV station to air media coverage and news on the City Hall's activity and in doing so to help maintain a positive profile of the institution. The winning business, Soti Cable Neptun, owns local TV station Neptun TV and is the property of businessmen Sorin Strutinski and Mihail Cârciog, mayor's business partners in other media company, Conpress Group. Mazăre had been direct shareholder of Soti Cable Neptun until 2003. The company was also awarded similar contracts by Cernavodă Town Hall (PSD) for EUR 15,000 and by Constanţa Local Council (PSD) for EUR 1,000" shows the report.

The document doesn't overlook an aspect: Soti shareholder Sorin Strutinski said that the contract awarded by Constanţa City Hall also includes providers Pro TV, Antena 3 and Realitatea TV. The contracts are published in full by Hotnews and reveal the rates charged per minute of coverage broadcast by Neptun TV and the local stations of Pro TV, Antena 1 and Realitatea TV. Rates range btw EUR 150 and EUR 1,000 per minute, according to the specific Airtime and TV station. The direct beneficiary of the contract, Neptun TV, charged the higher rates. As stipulated by such contract21, the broadcasters undertook to air journalistic material, including news coverage, helping advance a positive profile of the City Hall.

According to the contract, the media institutions undertake broadcasting journalistic material, including news, promoting the positive image of City Hall. ANI inspectors and DNA prosecutors took notice ex officio from the media and opened investigations on those contracts. In October last year, ANRMAP (National Authority for Establishing and Monitoring Public Acquisitions) fined City Hall of Constanta with RON 45,000 for "breach of the public procurement legislation in the specific case of the [...] advertising contracts". A later investigation by HotNews exposed that over the past two years mayor Mazăre used another circa EUR 1 million of public funds to buy hundreds of news coverage and programs from those same business partners. The City Hall and the company Telegraf Advertising, a company owned by the same businessmen, entered into five other contracts. Telegraf Advertising is the former Conpress Construct where Radu Mazăre and Nicuşor Constantinescu, chairman of the County Council, were shareholders but retired in 2002", says FreeEx Report - Press freedom in Romania, year 2009.

Censorship

Neither has been forgotten the fact that ZIUA de Constanta newspaper was banned in the kiosks of Conpress Group, nor that PSD local leaders, through a formal document of the party signed by Nicusor Constantinescu, forbade all the "Red" (red is the color of PSD) mayors to sign any advertising contracts with our publication. Titled "ZIUA de Constanta, harassed by mayor Mazare", the report says that "On April 6th 2009, the daily ZIUA de Constanţa was censored by having access denied to distribution in the system of Conpress Group Srl, the shareholders of which include Radu Mazăre, Constanta mayor and PSD local president, and Nicuşor Constantinescu, chairman of the County Council, and PSD local vice-president. Previously ZIUA de Constanţa has published a number of critical articles about Radu Mazăre. Journalists accused the mayor that, in 2008, he manipulated judges in Constanta in order to obtain a conviction against Feri Predescu, a local journalist who dared to criticize him.

The story becomes complete with the appearance of the "wonder circular (letter)" of the PSD Constanta: "Just a couple of months later, by the end of June 2009, Nicuşor Constantinescu, chairman of Constanţa County Council, signed an address of the PSD Constanţa county organization containing actions against ZIUA de Constanţa. The executive committee of the PSD Constanţa county organization council claimed a so-called "vilification campaign" mounted by the local newspaper against PSD. The actions were notified to all PSD representatives holding executive offices in the local public administration and included "banning any local PSD elected representative from awarding advertising contracts to ZIUA de Constanţa", "termination of any contract for advertising or publicity of Local Councils". Also, penalties "as laid down in the PSD statutes" would be enforced against anyone who chose to disregard the demands of that address.

It's worth mentioning that during the months when the facts above happened, PSD was part of the ruling coalition with PD-L and that Radu Mazăre is no stranger to situations like that. During the ruling years of PSD, Evenimentul Zilei, Academia Caţavencu and the local Constanţa edition of Jurnalul Naţional were the media victims of the abuse, censorship and intimidation mounted by Radu Mazăre and his business partners and party colleagues.

The report is part of the program Freedom of Expression - FreeEx, started by ActiveWatch - Media Monitoring Agency in August 1999, in order to contribute to the protection and promotion of free expression and press freedom