‘Half the news must be good’

THE ROMANIAN Senate has passed an extraordinary law that radio and TV stations must broadcast equal proportions of “positive” and “negative” news.

The government’s intention is “to improve the general climate and to offer the chance to the public to have a balanced view of everyday life, psychologically and emotionally”.

But the law does not stipulate the criteria for classifying news into positive or negative categories.

“One can hardly think about a more absurd proposal,” said the European Federation of Journalists. “This is obvious political interference in the editorial work of journalists. We cannot understand it and we call on the President of Romania to veto it.”

The Journalist is published by the National Union of Journalists