In the early 1970s the media of public information, under complete party and government control and supervision, were utilized primarily to propagandize and indoctrinate the population in support of the regime's domestic and foreign policy objectives. The system of control was highly centralized and involved an interlocking group of party and state organizations, supervising bodies, and operating agencies whose authority extended to all radio and television facilities, film studios, printing establishments, newspapers, book publishers, and the single news agency. In addition, this control apparatus also regulated the access of the public to foreign publications, films, newscasts, books, and radio and television programs.

Freedom of information, although never fully recognized in precommunist Romania, completely disappeared under the Communists after 1948. In late 1971, as a result of an ideological campaign launched by the regime, the communications media experienced measures that served further to reemphasize their assigned role as political tools in the indoctrination of the people. The effects of this campaign had not become fully evident in early 1972, but changes and modifications had begun to appear that tended to inhibit liberalizing trends, which had been incorporated gradually into the system during the 1960s.

GOVERNMENT AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

Although freedom of information was theoretically guaranteed by the early constitutions of precommunist Romania, censorship of the press was not unusual and commonly took the form of banning or confiscating newspapers and periodicals considered hostile to the ruling group. Newspapers had traditionally been published by political parties and special interest groups, only a few being uncontrolled and truly independent. In consequence, the public has long regarded the press as generally biased, tainted with propaganda, and not reliable as a source of objective news.

Under the dictatorship imposed by King Carol II in 1938 and during the wartime regime of Marshal Ion Antonescu, censorship was officially proclaimed and rigidly enforced. Since that time the communications media have enjoyed only one period of relative freedom, lasting only a few weeks following the coup d'etat of King Michael in August 1944. After Michael's deposition and during the struggle for power that followed, the Communists effectively controlled the press and radio through the unions serving these facilities, which they had heavily infiltrated. After their seizure of power in 1948, the Communists instituted a system of censorship and control that has continued without interruption.

The 1965 Constitution, the third promulgated by the Communists since their takeover of the government, is less moderate in tone than its predecessors in preserving the fiction of the right of citizens to individual freedoms. The document states that freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly "cannot be used for aims hostile to the socialist system and to the interests of the working people." This same article also prohibits associations of a "fascist" or "anti-democratic" nature, as well as the participation of citizens in such associations. The Constitution names the Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Communist Roman—PCR) as the leading political force in the country; by virtue of its position, the party has become the ultimate authority in determining actions that are "fascist," "anti-democratic," or "hostile to the socialist system."

In 1972 the regime continued to utilize the conventional information media—newspapers, magazines, books, radio, television, and motion pictures—as an integrated, governmental system for the indoctrination of the population and the molding of public opinion in support of the state and its policies. In keeping with this overall objective, a campaign for the increased ideological and political indoctrination of the public was undertaken in July 1971 that brought about a reenforcement of party authority over the highest information control and policymaking bodies in the government (see ch. 7). The former State Committee for Culture and Art, established with ministerial rank under the Council of Ministers, was reconstituted as the Council on Socialist Culture and Education and was made directly subordinate to the Central Committee of the PCR. Similar changes were made in the Committee of Radio and Television, which became the Council of Romanian Radio and Television.

Under the direct guidance of the press and propaganda sections of the Central Committee, these two councils formulate policy guidelines and supervise all publication and dissemination procedures throughout the communications media. The policies and directives, in turn, are implemented by other government-controlled operating agencies, such as the General Directorate for the Press and Printing, the Romanian press agency, and the individual publishing houses, printing establishments, book distribution centers, motion picture studios, and radio and television stations. To further assure a uniform collective effort consistent with the party line, and two national councils are also empowered to organize wherever necessary permanent commissions, temporary working groups, and local committees to assist the councils in "analyzing" the way decisions are applied and in "improving" local activities.

THE PRESS

Newspapers

According to the latest official statistics, there were a total of seventy-six "general information" newspapers published throughout the country in 1969. Of these, fifty-one were dailies, twenty-three were weeklies, and two appeared at infrequent intervals, from two to three times per week. Daily circulation estimates were available for very few newspapers. Together, these newspapers had a total annual circulation of more than 1.1 billion copies, a substantial increase over the 1950 level of 870 million copies that was achieved by the seventy-five newspapers then being published. The acceptance of high circulation figures as an indicator of reader appeal is of doubtful value, however, since many readers were required to subscribe to newspapers because of their party or work affiliation. Also, certain functionaries throughout the governmental apparatus and many supervisory workers had subscription costs automatically deducted from their salaries.

Newspapers traditionally have been published in the national minority languages, but since the mid-1960s the government has published no official statistics on them, apparently in keeping with its integrationist policy (see ch. 7). In 1964 it was estimated by Western observers that the ethnic minorities were served by approximately twenty newspapers, including eight dailies, with an annual circulation of slightly more than 103 million copies.

All newspapers are licensed by the General Directorate for the Press and Printing, the state agency that also controls the allocation of newsprint, the manufacture of ink and other printing supplies, and the distribution of all publications. Thus the government is in a position to prohibit the appearance of any newspaper or other publication either directly by revoking the license or indirectly by withholding essential supplies or services. Each newspaper is organized into a collective enterprise made up of the entire personnel of all departments. Chief responsibility for the content of the paper is vested in an "editorial collegium" headed by the chief editor. Meetings are held periodically between all chief editors and party representatives, which serve as an effective means of followup control in lieu of prepublication censorship.

Major mass organizations, government-sponsored groups, local government organs, and the PCR and its subsidiaries publish the most important and influential papers, both in Bucharest and in the larger cities of the various counties (see table 3). Little latitude is allowed in the presentation of news, and almost all papers follow a serious, monotonous format that has little popular appeal. Shortly after renewed emphasis was placed on the ideological and political education of the population in mid-1971, a Western journalist likened the nation to a huge classroom in which unpopular and trite subjects were being presented to an unreceptive class by an exhortative mass media.

The most authoritative and widely read newspaper is Scinteia, founded in 1931 as the official organ of the Central Committee of the party. It has, by far, the largest daily circulation and enjoys considerable prestige as the outlet for party policy pronouncements as well as for semiofficial government attitudes on both national and international issues. The eight-page newspaper appears seven days a week and is national in scope. Its editorials, feature sections, and chief articles are frequently reprinted, in whole or in part, by smaller newspapers in outlying areas. Quotations and summaries are also repeated regularly in shop bulletins and in information letters put on by many enterprises, plants, and factories.

The next most important dailies are Romania Libera, established by the Socialist Unity Front in 1942; Munca, founded in 1943 as the voice of the Central Council of the General Union of Trade Unions and Scinteia Tineretului, the organ of the Union of Communist Youth, which has been published since 1944. Each of these newspapers is much smaller than Scinteia and is directed at a particular group of readers of level of society. Although Romania Libera contains items of both national and international interest, it deals primarily with the problems associated with the "building of socialism" at the local level. Similarly, Munca directs its major effort at the labor force and stresses the cooperative relationship between workers and industry. Scinteia Tineretului, in like manner, concentrates on the younger element of the population and stresses the ideological and political training of youth as the basis for a "sound socialist society."

Table 3. Principal Romanian Daily Newspapers, 1971

The principal and most widely known minority-language newspapers are the Hungarian daily Elore and the German Neuer Weg, also a daily. Both of these newspapers contain generally the same news as Romanian newspapers with additional local items of minority interest, such as cultural developments and problems associated with minority language use in education and other fields.

Periodicals

The number of periodicals published throughout the country increased from a total of 387 in 1960 to 581 in 1969, according to the latest government statistics. The total annual circulation of periodicals almost doubled during this time, increasing from about 105 million copies to approximately 209 million. More than 340 of these magazines and journals were published either quarterly or annually, the remainder appearing either weekly, monthly, or at some other intervals. No indication was given within this general classification of the number of publications that were issued in the minority languages or were directed at special minority interest groups.

All periodicals are considered official publications of the various sponsoring organizations and are subject to the same licensing and supervising controls as newspapers. Virtually all magazines and journals are published by mass organizations and party or government-controlled activities, such as institutes, labor unions, cultural committees, and special interest groups. They cover a broad range of subjects and include technical and professional journals, among them magazines on literature, art, health, sports, medicine, statistics, politics, science, and economics. The technical and scientific journals are intended for scholars, engineers, and industrial technicians; cultural and political periodicals are aimed at writers, editors, journalists, artists, party workers, and enterprise managers; and general publications are intended to appeal to various segments of the population, such as youth, women, and both industrial and agricultural workers.

Two of the best known and most widely circulated magazines are Lupta de Clasa and Contemporanul. Lupta de Clasa, a monthly published by the Central Committee of the PCR, had an estimated circulation of about 70,000 in 1969 and was considered to be the foremost political review. It deals with the theory of socialism and is extensively quoted in the daily press as a semiofficial voice in domestic affairs. Contemporanul, the weekly organ of the Council on Socialist Culture and Education, had a circulation of approximately 65,000 and was a leading authority on political, cultural, and social affairs. Through its wide range of articles it serves as a primary vehicle for conveying party policy to writers, journalists, editors, and publishers in all fields.

Other periodicals cover a broad spectrum and included Femeia, the monthly magazine of the National Council of Women; Probleme Economice, the monthly review of the Society of Economic Sciences; Tinarul Leninist, a monthly magazine for members of the Union of Communist Youth; Luceafarul, a semimonthly review of foreign policy matters published by the Union of Writers; Romania Literara, a literary, artistic, and sociopolitical weekly also published by the Union of Writers; Urzica, a humorous and satirical semimonthly review published by the PCR; Volk und Kultur, a monthly review published in German by the Council on Socialist Culture and Education; and Korunk, the monthly sociocultural review in Hungarian, published by the Hungarian Peoples' Council.

One of the magazines best known outside the country is Romania Azi, a richly illustrated social, economic, and cultural monthly magazine published by the Foreign Language Press. In addition to Romanian, it is also published in English, Chinese, French, German, Russian, and Spanish. The government also sponsors a series of scholarly reviews dealing with studies on southeastern Europe, the history of art, Romanian historical and artistic development, and linguistics. These reviews appear at infrequent intervals and, in addition to the Romanian edition, are offered on subscription in English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish.

News Agencies

The Romanian Press Agency (Agentia Romana de Presa—Agerpres) was established in 1949, with the exclusive right to the collection and distribution of all news, pictures, and other press items, both domestic and foreign. In recent years, however, it has concerned itself almost exclusively with news from foreign countries, leaving much of the domestic news coverage to the correspondents of the larger daily newspapers. Agerpres, in 1972, operated as an office of the central government under the direct supervision and control of the Central Committee of the party.

The headquarters for Agerpres is maintained in Bucharest, with some sixteen branch offices located in other major towns and cities throughout the country. In addition, it staffs on a full-time basis twenty-one bureaus abroad, principally in the larger capital cities of Europe, Africa, South America, and the Far East. Until 1960 its most important source of foreign news was the Soviet central news agency, through which it received the bulk of its foreign news releases and international news summaries. This arrangement was replaced by news exchange agreements with selected agencies of both the Western countries and the countries of Eastern Europe.

In addition to the Soviet agency, foreign news bureaus are maintained in Bucharest by the press agencies of Poland, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). To service these bureaus and its own correspondents abroad Agerpres issues the daily Agerpres News of the Day and the weekly Agerpres Information Bulletin. For domestic consumption Agerpres distributes about 45,000 words of foreign news coverage daily to official government and party offices, to various newspapers and periodicals, and to radio and television broadcasting stations.

RADIO AND TELEVISION

Radio Broadcasting

In 1971 domestic radio broadcast service was provided by twenty AM (amplitude modulation) stations located in sixteen cities and by six FM (frequency modulation) stations located in Bucharest, Cluj, and Constanta. These stations are government owned and operate under the direct supervision of the Council of Romanian Radio and Television, an agency of the party's Central Committee. All broadcast stations are grouped into three major networks, known as Program I, Program II, and Program III. In addition, broadcast facilities are augmented by an extensive wired-broadcast network, which extended coverage into outlying areas where direct transmissions are subject to either geographic or atmospheric interference.

The most powerful stations are located in Brasov, Iasi, Boldur, Bucharest, and Timisoara. They range in power from 135 to 1200 kilowatts and transmit in the low- and medium-frequency bands. The FM stations operate exclusively in the very high frequency range and are all moderately powered at four kilowatts. The majority of the programs originate at studios in Bucharest and are rebroadcast by the network stations, which add short local news broadcasts and, from time to time, originate coverage of special events of local interest. In addition to government-provided subsidies, the industry also benefits from the license fees collected from the almost 3.1 million owners of radio receivers.

In 1971 scheduled regional programming was revised to include additional broadcast time for programs in the minority languages. These broadcasts were carried by four major stations including Radio Bucharest, with programs in Hungarian and German; Radio Cluj and Radio Tirgu Mures, with programs in Hungarian; and Radio Timisoara with programs in German and Serbo-Croatian. Most of these offerings are short and stress news, features, and talks by local personalities. These programs are also relayed over wire lines to local centers for distribution to public establishments, factories, and schools.

The programs offered on Programs I and II are generally of good quality but have a high ideological content and are lacking in diversity. In addition to news and weather reports, programs include special broadcasts for children and rural listeners, scientific, theatrical, cultural, and literary presentations, and a great variety of musical programs. Program III, which is limited principally to the Sunday evening hours, carries many of the regular concerts given by the various national orchestras and choirs. Despite its limited broadcast schedule, Program III also carries indoctrination programs in the form of interviews and panel discussions.

Foreign broadcasts in thirteen languages were beamed to Europe and overseas by Radio Bucharest on one mediumwave and six shortwave transmitters in early 1972. These programs were on the air for a combined total of approximately 200 hours per week, averaged one-half hour in length, and generally carried domestic news and comments on international developments. In addition to Romanian, the broadcasts to European listeners were presented in English, German, French, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Serbo-Croatian, and Spanish. Overseas programs were beamed to North Africa and the Near East in Arabic, English, French, and Turkish; to Asia, in English and Persian; to the Pacific area, in English; to North America, in English, Romanian, and Yiddish; and to Latin America, in Portuguese and Spanish.

Radio Audience

The communist regime has long recognized the importance of radio broadcasting as a medium for both informing the people and for molding a favorable public attitude toward the government. As a result, the construction of broadcast facilities and the production of receiving sets have been steadily increased since 1960. Also, during this same period the number of radio receivers increased more than 50 percent, from 2 million in 1960 to almost 3.1 million in 1970. The number of licensed receiving sets included approximately 870,000 wired receivers and amplifiers that usually reached group audiences in public areas.

By early 1972 the government had given no indication as to the results achieved by the radio in the intensified ideological campaign launched in mid-1971. Press reports revealed that, whereas radio programs continued to be criticized as to content and purpose, changes more favorable to the socialist concept of culture and political thought have not yet been extensive. Western programs, though fewer, were still being offered, and certain musical programs were being revised to favor the light and popular music of native composers over the modern Western style. Listener resistance to changes intended to improve the "communist education of the masses" was revealed by official statements that called for the need of radio editors and program coordinators "to improve their skill" in arousing and focusing the interest of the radio audience on "up-to-date" programs.

Television Broadcasting

Since its inception in 1956, television broadcasting has been closely linked with radio, by the regime, as an increasingly important instrument of "propaganda and socialist education of the masses." Like radio, television operated under supervision of the Council of Romanian Radio and Television, whose policy guidelines were received directly from the party apparatus. Also, as in the case of radio, television came under close scrutiny and criticism in mid-1971 in the intensified ideological campaign initiated by President Nicolae Ceausescu. By early 1972 changes in television network programming resulting from this campaign had not been revealed, but the press indicated that most of them were intended to limit foreign influence in literary, theatrical, film, and artistic broadcasts and to stress the Marxist-Leninist interpretation in presenting current events.

Although only recently developed as a new medium in mass communications, television has expanded more rapidly than radio. From the six stations that were operational in 1960, the industry had increased to a total of eighty-five in 1971. Of these, sixteen were principal transmitting stations located in various parts of the country, and sixty-nine were repeater stations. The number of television sets also increased significantly during this period, from 55,000 to almost 1.3 million. It was estimated by government authorities that programs aired over the 1.3 million licensed sets covered more than 80 percent of the country and could be seen by between 5 million and 6 million viewers.

The television network operates the Central European System of 625-line definition and broadcasts over two systems, Program I and Program II. Program I was on the air daily during the evening hours for a total of thirty-eight hours per week. Program II broadcast weekday mornings and evenings for a total of eighteen hours. Most presentations originate on Program I and include, in addition to political, literary, and cultural programs, sports, news, documentaries, and special programs for children and workers. Program II usually repeats most of the programs shown on Program I or summarizes certain telecasts for combined showings with other short features.

Foreign programs, chiefly from neighboring communist countries, are also available to Romanian televiewers. Most of this material is procured on a mutual exchange basis through Intervision (Eastern European Television), an organization to which Romania belongs. A substantial number of foreign telecasts, however, are also available to residents in border areas, by direct transmission.

BOOK PUBLISHING

Before World War II Romania was one of the leading Balkan nations in the publishing field. Annually, some 2,500 titles were commonly published in editions of 2,000 to 5,000 copies, with a high percentage representing original works of Romanian authors. After the communist takeover in 1948 all publishing facilities were nationalized, and the entire industry was converted to serve as a major propaganda and indoctrination instrument in support of the new regime. Between 1949 and 1953 the revamped publishing concerns turned out more than 13,500 separate titles, with a total of almost 250 million copies. This record amount of officially approved and censored material represented a whole new series of communist-oriented material needed to operate the highly centralized government, to reeducate the people, and to regulate their activities.

By 1955 the number of titles issued annually had decreased to a little more than 5,000, but total circulation remained relatively high at more than 48 million copies. From 1955 to 1966 the number of titles gradually increased and reached a plateau of about 9,000, where it remained through 1969. Annual circulation figures over the same periods of time fluctuated in a fairly regular pattern showing a controlled average number of copies issued per title each year also to be about 9,000. Thus, the planned publishing requirements as set by the government apparently were achieved in 1966 and have varied very little since then.

Publication

Government and party control of all printing and publishing activities is centered in the Council on Socialist Culture and Education. This party-state organization formulates policy guidelines for the publishing industry and utilizes other government-controlled or government-owned agencies, such as the General Directorate for the Press and Printing, the various publishing houses, and book distribution centers to supervise and coordinate day-to-day operations. Within this control machinery all short- and long-range publication plans are approved, and the distribution of all printed material is specified. This central authority also allocates paper quotas, determines the number of books to be printed, and sets the prices at which all publications are to be sold.

In 1972 about twenty-five publishing houses were in operation; of these, twenty-three were located in Bucharest, and one each was in Cluj and Iasi. Each of these enterprises produced books, pamphlets, periodicals, and other printed material within its own specialized field and was responsible, through its director, for the political acceptability and quality of its work. In 1969 some decentralization in publishing took place with the opening of branch offices of the larger houses in a few of the more heavily populated districts. Although this program was ostensibly initiated for the purpose of securing "a broader scope of reader preference" in the number and type of books to be published, press reports published in late 1971 indicated very little popular support for this experiment.

Of the 9,399 titles published in 1969, the greatest numbers were in the fields of technology, industry, agriculture, and medicine. Also included in this group were books, treatises, studies, and reports in the general economic field as well as translations from foreign sources. This category of titles, although representing about 33 percent of those published, had an average circulation of only about 3,500 copies per title—well below the overall average of approximately 9,000.

The second largest group of published titles was in the field of social sciences and represented approximately 22 percent of the total. This classification included all books dealing with political science and socioeconomic theory as well as all textbooks and materials used in the educational system. A particularly large segment of books in this area were documents and manuals used for party training, Marxist-Leninist classics, and party-directed studies and monographs dealing with the historical, philosophical, or sociological development of the communist movement.

The material published in the fields of art, games, sports, and music dominated the third largest group and ranged from children's entertainment to musical scores. The fourth largest group, representing about 15 percent of the national publishing effort, related to general literature. This field covered novels, essays, short stories, and poetry written by recognized authors as well as by less well established modern writers, both domestic and foreign. The books selected from foreign sources were carefully scrutinized, and very few were published that dealt with contemporary Western subjects. Also banned, as a matter of general principle, was all material that (in the judgment of chief editors) "did not contribute actively to the socialist education of the new man" within the communist society.

Distribution and Foreign Exchange

The distribution and sale of books, both domestic and foreign, are vested in the Book Central, a state-owned organization that is also responsible for the coordination of all book production. The Book Central, with headquarters in Bucharest, operates directly under the Council on Socialist Culture and Education and maintains a network of bookshops throughout the country in district centers and other major towns. In addition to supplying major outlets such as libraries and schools with publications, the local bookshops also set up and operate bookstalls and book departments in rural areas, usually at industrial enterprises and farm collectives. Traveling bookmobiles are also used to serve factories, mines, or other isolated activities in outlying areas. Discount book clubs were reportedly established as early as 1952, but recent information was lacking as to their continued existence, size, and method of operation.

After receiving approval of their individual publishing plans, the publishing houses distribute catalogs, bulletins, and other informational material to the Book Central for distribution to major purchasing outlets. In addition, the local bookshops issue periodic lists of all books in stock as well as those scheduled to be printed during specific periods. Official statistics concerning the wholesale and retail sale of books are not habitually published, but recurrent articles in the press criticize the lack of enthusiasm and general ineptness of booksellers as major factors in lagging book sales to individual buyers.

The Book Central in Bucharest conducts all transactions involving the foreign exchange of publications. This agency issues annual lists of available Romanian publications, together with short bibliographic annotations or summaries as well as subscription details. Also, the sale of books is fostered at the various international book fairs in which Romania participates.

LIBRARIES

The Romanian library network consists of two broad categories—general libraries, administered by the central government and its territorial organs, and the various libraries administered by mass organizations, institutes, and enterprises. Those in the latter category are generally referred to as documentary libraries since most of them specialize in scientific and technical holdings. The number of general libraries declined appreciably from a total of almost 35,000 in 1960 to slightly more than 18,000 in 1971, due principally to the consolidation of facilities. Over the same period the number of documentary libraries remained fairly constant, averaging slightly more than 4,000, the total number existing in 1971.

The greatest proportion of general libraries, by far, are those associated with primary and secondary schools and those that serve the general public. In addition, the state operates two national libraries, and forty-three others function as part of university and other higher level institutions. The total holdings of all these facilities exceeded 95 million volumes, and the number of registered readers in the public libraries was reported to have reached almost 5 million in 1971. No information was available as to the total annual circulation of books on personal and interlibrary loan in the general library system, but the two national libraries were reported to have circulated 55,000 volumes in 1968, and the combined circulation of the forty-three university-level libraries approximated 178,000 volumes in the same year.

The two national libraries, the Library of the Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania and the Central State Library, together maintain stocks in excess of 10 million volumes, and both function as central book depositories. The Library of the Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania, a precommunist institution founded in 1867, holds special collections of Romanian, Greek, Slavonic, Oriental, and Latin manuscripts, maps, and engravings as well as rare collections of documents, medals, and coins. The Central State Library, founded in 1955, also has important collections of books, periodicals, musical works, maps, and photographs and, in addition, acts as the Central Stationery Office and the National Exchange for books. It also issues the National Bibliography and annual catalogs, which list all books printed in Romania and the holdings of all foreign books in the state library system.

The largest libraries among the universities, each of which holds more than 1.5 million volumes, are those at Bucharest, Iasi, and Cluj. These holdings include the book stocks maintained in the libraries of the various faculties, hostels, and institutes associated with the universities as well as the central university library itself. The largest documentary library, the Library of the Medical-Pharmaceutical Institute, operates ninety-nine branch facilities, and its annual book inventory has been in excess of 1.2 million volumes.

FILMS

As in the case of other elements of the mass media, the small motion picture industry has also been affected by the intensified ideological campaign of mid-1971. In general, the regime has attempted to further limit the importation of foreign films, particularly those from the West, which are considered violent and decadent. There has also been a move to stimulate the production of more native films with a truly "profound ideological content which will express our Marxist-Leninist world outlook, convey the message of our own society in highly artistic terms, and reflect the life of the new man." Until more Romanian films of the appropriate type can be offered, the industry has been advised to utilize additional films from the National Film Library and to emphasize foreign presentations that are based on socialist concepts.

Production

Film production, distribution, and exhibition were controlled by the National Center of Cinematography, a state agency that operates under the supervision of the Council on Socialist Culture and Education. The national center operates two production studios: the Alexandru Sahia Film Studio in Bucharest, which produces documentaries, newsreels, cartoons, and puppet films, and the Bucharest Film Studio, which produces feature films at Buftea, a suburb about fifteen miles northwest of the capital.

In 1970 cinema production consisted of thirty-nine feature and short pictures, about 1960 documentary films (including animated cartoons), and seventy-six newsreels. This output reflected a two-fold increase since 1960 in both feature and documentary films but a decrease of about 15 percent in the number of newsreels. The largest growth in the motion picture industry occurred between 1923 and 1930, when production rose from about seven motion pictures per year to about twenty-five. This increased output was a combination of native films and features coproduced with France, Germany, and Hungary. After the communist takeover of the government in 1948, film production fell drastically and did not again reach its pre-World War II level until 1955.

Romanian films, until 1968, continued to reflect much of the earlier French influence. Both the native and coproduced pictures of this period were of high quality, and several won awards at film festivals in Cannes, Trieste, and Chicago. Subjects treated were well diversified and included historical adventure, strong dramas, and both satirical and classical comedies. Beginning in 1968, the regime launched widespread criticism of the industry, and the quality of production decreased appreciably. The 1971 ideological campaign forced film making into a further regression. Western observers characterized post-1968 films as being totally lacking in originality.

Because of the relatively low number of Romanian films produced, the industry has generally depended on the importation of sizable numbers of foreign films to meet its needs. The government no longer publishes official statistics dealing with film imports, but in 1960 the regime reported that 188 feature films and 150 documentaries from foreign countries were shown. Approximately 40 percent of these films came from the Soviet Union; the remainder came from France, East Germany, England, Italy, Czechoslovakia, and the United States.

Distribution

Despite the emphasis placed by the government on motion pictures as both a propaganda and an entertainment medium, the number of theaters and attendance at film showings has decreased steadily since 1965. This trend was due principally to the competition offered by the expanding television industry, but the falling off in the quality of films was also a contributing factor.

Film theaters are of two types, those which show pictures regularly in designated movie houses or, periodically, in multipurpose recreation centers, and mobile film units, which exhibit documentary and educational films in schools or other local facilities in outlying areas. Motion picture houses of both types decreased in number from 6,499 in 1965 to 6,275 in 1970, and in the same period annual attendance dropped more than 6 million from the 1965 high of almost 205 million.

INFORMAL INFORMATION MEDIA

Lectures, public and organizational meetings, exhibits, and demonstrations also serve as means of communication between the government and the population at large. Although less significant than the formal mass media, these events are fostered by officials of the regime as highly effective elements in the indoctrination process because they offer direct personal confrontations at the lower levels. Word-of-mouth communication is also an important and effective medium, particularly as a means of spreading news heard from Western radio transmissions, which were no longer subject to government jamming as a matter of policy.