Polarization of the media in the issue of the referendum in Romania in 2018 Cover Image

Polarizarea mass-media în chestiunea referendumului din România în 2018
Polarization of the media in the issue of the referendum in Romania in 2018

Author(s): Petrica Pațilea
Subject(s): Media studies, Present Times (2010 - today)
Published by: Editura Casa Cărții de Știință
Keywords: Polarization; facts; truth; identity; speech;

Summary/Abstract: The polarization of the press, especially in controversial issues, especially if they have a political stake, remains an open subject, because the truth "decomposed" takes the form of editorial policy specific to each media institution, more or less opened to embracing Western values. When the subject is religion, politics or sexuality (or all together!), the groups gather, the identity discourse and the theme of otherness come back to the attention of public opinion, under the assault with propagandistic and electoral accents of those interested, insufficient and discretionary media to the press. The Romanian media - press institutions and opinion leaders - speculated the electoral period dedicated to the referendum to change the definition of the family from the state's fundamental law, conducting a sustained campaign, not so much from the need to inform its public, especially from the desire to increase their audience shares, by capturing the attention on this sensitive subject (in a country with a Christian-Orthodox tradition) and controversial (if we consider the opportunity of voting), and that is why the objective positioning required to onest jurnalists is at least questionable in many cases. It is thus demonstrated that the decomposition of truth is also caused by an excessive polarization of society and it has the effect of eroding public discourse, alienation and uncertainty.

  • Issue Year: II/2018
  • Issue No: 20
  • Page Range: 142-149
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: Romanian