Profile
Romania TV station changed its owner in early 2023. It has since been operated by RTV HD. The former owner, Ridzone Computers, and the new one share the same sole shareholder: Maria Catrinel Gheorghe.
Romania TV is an all-news television channel with conservative and nationalist orientation. It is often fined or investigated by the National Audiovisual Council, Romania’s media regulator, for violation of Romanian audiovisual laws.
Romania TV has been criticized numerous times for misinformation, manipulation and partisanship in relation to Romanian politics. Nationalist and extreme right-wing propaganda and promotion of Orthodox radicalism are often found in the station’s shows. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Romania TV adopted a biased position of anti-vaccination, anti-mask and anti-restriction.
In December 2022, Romania TV was removed from the television grid in Moldova along with six television channels owned by Russian oligarchs who fled the Republic of Moldova.
Romania TV’s history is intertwined with that of Realitatea TV, a television channel launched in 2001 by Romanian businessman and former politician Silviu Prigoana as the first all-news television channel in Romania. In 2010, Realitatea Media, the operator of the station, was bought by Sebastian Ghită, owner of Asesoft, a holding company with business in the IT sector. After a short period of time, most of the company’s shares (92%) were acquired by Elan Schwartzenberg, another businessman. Following that deal, Realitatea TV split up in October 2011, part of the staff remaining with the former manager Ghita and launching a new channel, Romania TV. In October 2009, Ghita, then 30, had assets estimated at around €100m. He entered politics in 2012 when he became an MP for the Social Liberal Union, a party that has in the meantime been disbanded.
Ghita’s problems with justice began in 2002 when he was accused of fraud and false statements over various oil transactions, but he was found not guilty by the Bucharest Court in November 2011.
Ghita is now being prosecuted in various proceedings involving money laundering, unauthorized use of confidential information, blackmail, bribing, influence peddling, and driving without a license. Despite a record bail of €13m and a ban on leaving the country, Ghita fled Romania in December 2016 when his MP mandate and, implicitly, parliamentary immunity expired. He has since lived in Serbia. Romania asked for his extradition as he has a series of pending trials but Serbia refused to do so. In 2017, Ghita’s name was found on Europol’s most wanted fugitive list in relation to a number of high-profile corruption cases, one of which involves former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. A new case against him was sent to court in absentia in 2022.
Previous name: Ridzone Computers
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