International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Once news of an uprising in Timişoara, Romania, in December 1989 spread to other parts of the country, given the political climate in Eastern Europe at the time, a nationwide revolution was unavoidable. The media, having evolved as a key tool of the nomenclature under Ceauşescu, played a significant part in the aftermath of the regime's demise. Accustomed to the former leader's heavy use of media propaganda, the people turned to the liberation of television and radio with great hope. In the days following the revolution that erupted in Bucharest on December 20, 1989, the newly liberated television station broadcast many of the events transpiring in the city. News anchors apologized for lying to the public during the regime; revolutionaries appeared before the cameras and declared victory for the nation; and television staff invited the people to the station to testify about their experiences under Ceauşescu. What impact did the use of the media, so conflicted in its historical usage in Romania, have on the newly emerging government – and on its subjects? Many of the people who assumed power following Ceauşescu's flight from Bucharest were members of his former government. The news anchors readily admitted their complicity with the regime. Given these circumstances, we should not be surprised that the liberation and transformation of the media progressed along the same perilous lines ... log in or subscribe to read full text