Exclusive fragments from book of Romanian secret police defector, about the JFK assasination, posted on Romanian blog

Ion Mihai Pacepa, a Romanian Securitate (secret police) general that defected to the Americans in the eighties, is to publish in the US a book on the role of the KGB in JFK’s assassination. A Romanian journalist, Andrei Badin, got the permission to take over several fragments of the book on his blog, Andreibadin.blogspot.com.

• The introduction and the first chapter [RO-EN] (scroll down for Pacepa’s English text)
• Ion Mihai Pacepa’s bio [EN] in Wikipedia.

Romanian TV & print group expansion on the Internet

The number of sites launched or relaunced by Media Pro has raised to at least five. Authorised sources from Media Pro confirmed that Infosport.ro, a new site belonging to the CME-Adrian Sîrbu so-called media empire, will soon be up, after the launch of Dariaiubireamea.ro and Iubirecainfilme.ro and the relaunch of Acasatv.ro and Protv.ro. Media Pro has started an expansion on the Internet with the founding of Media Pro Interactiv, the new media division of a press holding owning the most successful commercial TV station in Romania, Pro TV, some other televisions and radios and an important print division. The general director of Media Pro Interactiv (MPI) is Orlando Nicoara (blog, RO), a well-known manager which has left Boom/Netbridge earlier this year with a dozen of key people to start the MPI.

Two spokespersons of Media Pro confirmed for the NewsIn press agency the launching of Infosport.ro, without disclosing any date or content directions. The domain belongs to Pro TV SA, a part of the Media Pro structure. According to the rumors on the market, another on-going project of MPI is Loredana.ro, a site belonging to a famous Romanian singer, Loredana Groza, also a Media Pro top manager’s wife. Loredana.ro is owned by the record company in the Media Pro holding.

Another Mediapro site to be relaunched on Monday

Acasatv.ro (RO), the site of the very successful soap operas Romanian television Acasa TV, will be relaunched on Monday, November 13th. The Acasa TV PR stated in a press release the new site will bring users increased interactivity, photo and video galleries, while keeping the popular forum.

Launched in 1988 by Media Pro International, a company presently owned by CME (90 %) and Adrian Sîrbu (10 %), which also includes Pro TV, the most successful Romanian TV station, Acasa TV achieved in several years a general commercial status, with average ratings placing it sometimes above the first channel public television (TVR 1). Presently, it has a market share of 5-7 % and achieves good ratings with Romanian south-American style soaps such as “Daria, iubirea mea” or “Iubire ca in filme”. Acasatv.ro was placed on Saturday, November 11th, the 31st place in the mass media top on Trafic.ro, the Romanian unofficial Internet rating

• Acasa TV new daily schedule, launched on November 6 (EN), links to CME, background
• Soap operas Iubirecainfilme.ro and Dariaiubireamea.ro launched (EN)

Bigger images of the two sites: | More…

Credibility and awareness of Romanian blogs have definitely risen. What next?

Romanian blogs have started to be used as information sources by the print media, and a discussion about blog credibility and info attribution is on-going in places such as Blog.HotNews.ro (RO) or Netoo.wordpress.com (RO).

Although there is no even response to the question ’should blogs be quoted as an information source?’, the polemics, which includes positions by journalists from print media, reveals newspapers as facing another provocation due to the technological superiority of blogs.
Niche domains, such as mass media, have a rather small group of dedicated readers that check blogs such as Blog.HotNews.ro (maintained by this author), Jurnalismonline.ro, Tolontan.ro, Orlando.ro, Manafu.ro or Gustiroman.ro (all: RO) frequently. Obviously, newspaper readers should not see the same news the next day in the print edition, so print media should adapt to the new situation with a new editorial policy. Or, otherwise, lose their readers, at least in narrow domains like the one discussed. | More…

Human resources crisis on the Romanian media market

Money can’t buy you happiness for sure on the Romanian media market. Three of the richest and most controversial Romanians, Dinu Patriciu, Sorin Ovidiu Vîntu and Dan Voiculescu, launched or disclosed plans for launching new titles on the print media market, TV stations or Internet sites this year. Their plans brought the market on the fringe of a human resources crisis.

Latest buzz: Patriciu went to Vîntu and Voiculescu to propose a mutual agreement, in order to avoid reciprocal HR damage… | More…

Romanian manager warning: You need some patience with people in Romania, big guys!

Potential foreign investors should prepare a serious patience supply in order to enter the Romanian media market, Aurelian Amuraritei, the former executive director of ‘Adevarul’ said, in an ymterviu (interview by yahoo messenger) with this author on Blog.HotNews.ro. ‘Romanian market does need specialists, training, know-how, technology, but also lots of patience,’ Amuraritei said. ‘The market, the journalists, the owners are hardly prepared for radical changes.’

Aurelian Amuraritei also said he is taking into account three offers for three important companies in Romania, and also disclosed he’s interested in television, after two top positions in print companies (Ringier Romania and ‘Adevarul’).

• ymterviu.010 with Aurelian Amuraritei (RO)

Romanian soap opera site

‘Iubire ca in filme’ (approx. translation: ‘Hollywood Love’), one of the soap operas produced by Media Pro Studios, has an Internet site at www.iubirecainfilme.ro. The site launching, announced today by the broadcasting station’s PR, comes after the establishment of a strong new media division inside one of the most important television and print media holdings in Romania, Media Pro. At the end of this Summer, a dozen of managers from Boom/Netbridge (strong Romanian software developer, ad broker, site designer) left the company to form Media Pro Interactive, the Internet division of Media Pro or the so-called ‘Pro’ empire. Media Pro is a conglomerate of companies run by Romanian media visionary Adrian Sarbu, and controlled by CME (Central European Media Enterprises).

UPDATE Nov. 7: Acasa TV announced the launching of the site belonging to the 2nd Romanian soap running, www.dariaiubireamea.ro (’Daria, my love’).

The Media Pro empire includes: | More…