89 Years of Radio Broadcasting
Radio Romania today celebrates 89 years of broadcasting
Bogdan Matei, 01.11.2017, 10:45
Ten years after WWI and the unification of Greater Romania, the most
efficient and popular means of communication was first introduced in Romania:
the radio. On November 1, 1928, the newly founded Romanian Radio Broadcasting
Corporation aired its first broadcast. From the very beginning the radio was
described as a means of public information, education and entertainment.
This
year Radio Romania celebrates 89 years of continuous radio broadcasting.
Despite having to constantly adapt its editorial policies, the public radio
survived each radical change on the political spectrum, from the interwar
democracy to right-wing dictatorships around the Second World War, and from the
communist dictatorship to the democracy restored after the anti-communist
revolution of 1989. For years now the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation
has been considered one of the most trustworthy and reputed media institutions
in Romania, due to its large number of listeners.
Radio Romania addresses all
generations and caters for all tastes, addressing society as a whole. It
consists of channels with nationwide coverage, Radio Romania News and Current
Affairs, Radio Romania Culture, Radio Romania Music and the Village Antenna, as
well as regional and local studios, Internet platforms and a children’s and
youth station. The Romanian public radio has started broadcasting abroad ever
since the 1930s.
Today, Radio Romania International tries to keeps both
international audiences and Romanians living abroad up to date with news from
Romania and our traditional values. RRI broadcasts in 11 languages: Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Serbian, Spanish, Russia, Ukrainian
and starting this year, Hebrew, as well as in Romanian and the Aromanian
dialect. Its target audience virtually includes the entire world, from Alaska
to Australia, from Argentina to the Russian Far East.
Nearly nine decades since
its first broadcast, Radio Romania continues to innovate, to reinvent itself
and to adapt to the ever-increasing market competitiveness and legislative
changes. One such change was the recent scrappage of the radio license fee,
traditionally covered by taxpayers, which now means the institution is fully
funded by the state, amidst criticism from the political, civil and
journalistic fields over editorial interference.
Similarly, other voices from
outside or within the institution have over the years signaled controversial
managerial practices of successive administrations. Thanks to its
professionals, however, Radio Romania remains the leading media institution in
the country to date. (translated by Vlad Palcu)
