Embassy Press Release

Remarks of Ambassador Nicholas F. Taubman on the Launching of the Media Manager's Guide

American Cultural Center,
September 27, 2007

Mr. Hurezeaunu
Mrs. Cristina Simion
Mr. Gabriel Liiceanu
Authors of the guide, training participants, ladies and gentlemen,

Today is an auspicious day for practitioners of journalism, for teachers and for students of the media. Even more, it is a great day for consumers of the media – the public.

Today we are pleased to officially launch Freedom House’s Media Manager’s Guide. The US Embassy’s Democracy Small Grants program funded a project by Freedom House Romania to carry out a series of trainings and workshops which culminated in the writing of the guide. We are delighted to have played a part in stretching the minds and talents of media managers and in harnessing the intellect, passion and creativity of the book’s authors. I’d like to thank Freedom House and its partners for their tireless work in bringing this guide to fruition. It is a something of which you can be truly proud. And we believe that the Romanian reading, listening and watching public will ultimately benefit from this work.

For many years and in many ways, The US Government has supported freedom of the press in Romania -- through our human rights reporting, through the many projects of the US Agency for International Development, and through grants from our Office of Public Diplomacy. We supported professional training programs designed to enhance reporting and management skills. We have also invited hundreds of journalists and managers to visit the United States to confer and exchange ideas with their American counterparts. We have brought American practitioners to visit Romania to share their ideas and talents and to learn from our Romanian hosts. We have funded local NGOs to monitor and to motivate the local media.

Why do we invest American taxpayer dollars in projects such as this? Why do we support such efforts to increase the professionalism of members of the media in Romania and around the world?

Many of you know why. Our belief in the fundamental importance of a free, independent and responsible media is enshrined in our most revered national documents. Media’s role as a watchdog on government and a venue for the public debate of ideas is central to our understanding of democracy and liberty. Without a vibrant and responsible media, democracy simply cannot function properly. Freedom of speech is a fundamental democratic value, and the press has an important role to play in protecting that freedom.

We support your right to freedom of speech and the press because we know that to do less than that could endanger our own much-treasured rights. Anywhere and everywhere that the media is under pressure we raise our voices to defend this fundamental right. We invest - through grants like these - in local programs to further develop the professional skills of practitioners of this most important democratic institution. And, despite the fact that USAID soon will be closing its offices in Romania, we will continue to support such programs through our Office of Public Diplomacy for many years to come.

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