Mass-Media and Democracy in Romania

Abstract

Mass media has an important role in the functioning of a democratic state. It informs the citizens, assures the space for public debates, and educates the public in the spirit of democratic values. There are situations when the press skids from this role, when it becomes an instrument of propaganda, misinformation, and manipulation, or when over-mediatization and spectacular treatment change the character and the sense of the public debate. Some specialists consider that these situations lead to damage to the principles and the mechanisms of democratic life. For others, though, the media revolution brings benefits to democracy, the never seen before a rising number of participants in the process of taking decisions.