Media: Romania’s Watchdog Requested to Ensure a Balance in Public Debates Regarding Children Vaccination

Romania’s National Audiovisual Council – CNA is called for ensuring a balance during the public debates on children vaccination.

Child vaccination is already a controversial subject in Romania, let alone the COVID-19 vaccination. Yet, CNA is called to ensure the balance in the public debate regarding the subject by one TV station owner, Mr. Cozmin Gusa.

He signed an open letter to CNA where he asked for the watchdog to intervene and to offer the general public both pro and anti-vaccination opinions.

Romanian media is mainly flooded with pro-vaccination opinions. Why?

Romanian media, in its majority, was paid good money by the Government to publish and broadcast pro-vaccination materials. From blog articles to TV shows, from radio shows to Youtube videos, everybody seems to be endorsing the campaign in Romania. On the other hand, independent publications, such as ours, kept a balance between the pro and anti-vaccination opinions. We consider this is the proper way to do it, especially when regarding such a controversial subject like this one.

The Government paid good money to the Romanian press and continues to do so. More than 40 million Euros were paid in 2020 for the journalists to support the Government with the restriction measures campaigns, now they pay more to have the mass media publish their “Take your vaccine” campaign.

This is the context when Mr. Cozmin Gusa decided to act, as a media owner, to ask for a balance to be ensured during the TV and radio shows.

I noticed that the discussions held in the virtual space are controversial, especially because doctors and researchers with a very good reputation at the international level chose to prove, with arguments, that this vaccine, once administered to the children, would pose a great risk to their health and their growing process. In the virtual and the public space, the discussions are influenced by the budgets for the pro-vaccination campaigns offered by the Romanian Government to the TV and radio stations. (..)

I think it is responsible and mandatory for you to intervene for the balance and the accuracy of the debates. Among the minimal measures to be taken should be the presentation of both the pro and the anti-vaccination opinions, but also the unveiling of any sponsorship offered to the pro-vaccination doctors by the companies that sell their vaccine in Romania. These minimal measures, but also others which you will identify, could ensure a proper informing process for the parents who are preoccupied during this period for taking the proper decision regarding the vaccination of their children.

Cozmin Gusa – letter to CNA

Romania decided recently to start the vaccination campaign for children below 15 years of age, a controversial decision that is criticized by politicians, doctors, and parents associations. Yet, the vaccination is not compulsory, meaning that, if one doesn’t want his kids to take the vaccine, one cannot be forced to do it.