“Culture, politics and mass-media: Campaign against the intellectuals in Romanian public life” Monday, 24th November 2008 at Intercontinental Hotel, Ronda Room at 1330.

We are all familiar with the Tismaneanu, Liiceanu and Patapievici cases, situations in which personalities of the Romanian clerisy were faced with some professional defamation and calumniation by some mass-media campaigns. These cases are just the part that can be seen of a larger trend, always present in Romanian public life and that was exponentially emphasized in the last period of time. The event organized by CADI is part of a wider program meant to contribute to the improvement and modernization of the Romanian public life. Therefore, regarding these cases, we want to initiate a public debate concerning the topics within the following questions:

1. What are the origins and the mechanisms of these campaigns?

2. To what extent is an abuse of freedom of speech in these situations?

3. Is there a way to counteract these forms of media terrorism?

4. What are the main legal, political and media instruments through which these practices can be prevented or stopped?

5. If it is true that no one alone can oppose to these attacks, which are the ways through which the Romanian intellectuals and other possible target groups of such campaigns can organize in order to defend themselves from the campaigns?

Introduction: Valeriu Stoica