Representing Public Health in Romanian Communist Media (1945-1989)
Representing Public Health in Romanian Communist Media (1945-1989)

Summary/Abstract: In present days, as the existing literature shows (McCombs, 2004), the news production is influenced by organizational and professional variables (professional norms, individual and professional values). The media content no longer appears as an “isolated”, but as a product deeply rooted into the social world, being organizationally determined. The media is a body of work relevant for understanding the nature and the importance of content effects on people and society (knowing the media, content, its effects on the audience can be predicted). The aim of the present paper was to present media coverage of public health in Romanian printed press during the communist period (1945-1989). A quantitative content analysis was made on a sample of Romanian printed press titles published in that period of time. The articles were published in “Sănătatea” (“The Health”) - 1967-1981; “Femeia” (“The Women”) - 1987-1989; “Almanahul Revistei Sănătatea” (“The Yearbook of the Health Review”) - 1982-1983. All articles had directly targeted the prevention, treatment and remedies of the most widespread diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory system, and advice on food and quality of life. At the first sight, the results showed a strong interest of the communist state in communicating about the improvements of the population’s health status. However, at a more in-depth analysis the results had revealed the fact that the prophylactic methods transmitted to the population were based on the main political goal of demographic growth postponed by the Romanian communist regime (Neculau, 2004). The communist propganda put an important emphasis in the helath-related information on the importance of strictly observing the rationalizaton of food, the importance of breeding children and on maintaining women’s health as a means to secure the demographic increase.

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