Romania

 

History:

Romania was occupied following World War II, and this led to the formation of a Communist "peoples republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. Ceausescu was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of centrist parties. Currently, the Social Democratic Party forms a nominally minority government, which governs with the support of the opposition Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. Bucharest must address rampant corruption, while invigorating lagging economic and democratic reforms, before Romania can achieve its hope of joining the European Union. For more information click here.

Demographics:

Population: 22,271,839

ISP Providers: 38.

Internet Users: 1 million.

 

Interview with Dan Stancel:

 

Almost all Romanian newspapers, wire services, television and radio stations have online versions. Population of over 22 million but people who use the internet are only about 2 million. 1 million of these are heavy users, going online at least once a week. Only ten percent of these do so from there homes. All other users must gain internet access from the office, from school, or from internet centers such as internet cafes. The number of users is limited in part because the internet is so expensive, but, interestingly enough, many government and political groups use the Web as a means of communicating and advertisement. In fact, in the 2000 election, the most prominent political parties used the internet to spread their platform.
A problem though with use of the internet is the lack of laws governing the internet's usage. There are no guidelines for copyrights, plagiarism, and other moral issues related to the internet. Moreover, authors are often coerced into writing news pieces through a certain bias, to benefit a certain person or group. Journalists of Romania do not have the rights of journalists in America, and should Romanian journalists not comply, their job could be in jeopardy.