Romania

[RO] CAN Recommendation on Television Sports Broadcasts

IRIS 2008-1:1/25

Mariana Stoican

Journalist, Bucharest

In a recommendation dated 22 August 2007, the Consiliul Naţional al Audiovizualului (National Audiovisual Council - CNA), the Romanian regulator for the electronic media, expressed its concern that sports news in Romanian television programmes, including the programmes of the public broadcasters, often contained reports on violence in football stadiums and aggressive statements and examples of vulgar behaviour by fans.

“The excessive media coverage of these rare but regrettable occurrences is leading to their dominating the total time available for sports news.” The CNA accordingly issued a reminder in the aforementioned recommendation “that news programmes and new items must comply with the youth protection provisions of section 27(1) of the Codul de reglementare a conţinutului în audiovizual (the CNA’s Regulatory Code for Audiovisual Content, see IRIS 2007-4: 19). In this recommendation, the CNA refers to the considerable influence that successful footballers and well-known sportspeople can exert on children through their behaviour since minors tend to emulate their idols. The CNA therefore recommends that broadcasters show restraint in their coverage of sporting disputes in the media. They should also keep to the times laid down in the relevant rules on the protection of minors.