CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY

For the purpose of this study, a historical research was conducted. This method of research can offer insight into organizational culture, current trends, and future possibilities.[1] When analyzing the Romanian television, the historical research encompasses its origin and growth by gathering of as much information as possible. By collecting, analyzing, and interpreting comprehensive narrative and visual data, knowledge about how Romanian television has worked in the past and in the present was obtained. According to the functional goal of this research, it is an exploratory investigation, predominantly descriptive.

Both quantitative and qualitative variables can be used in the collection of historical information.[3] For this study, qualitative research is appropriate because it involves mostly nonnumerical data, such as extensive notes, interview data, videotape, and other nonnumerical artifacts.[2] Since the researcher looks for information that can be studied in depth, materials that reveal interactions and experiences with pre- and post-communist era were searched. Ultimately, the researcher selected, organized, and analyzed the most pertinent collected evidence, drawing the conclusions.

[1] Charles Busha and Stephen P. Harter, Research Methods in Librarianship: techniques and Interpretations (New York: Academic Press, 1980), 91. [2] Ibid., 92. [3] L.R. Gay and others, Educational Research. Competencies for Analysis and Applications, (New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2006), 399.

Measures and Instruments

In historical research everything that is studied is context-bound and therefore, historical researchers should include as much detail as possible ensuring that they are not misinterpreting or making up anything they see or hear.[1]

For the purpose of this research, the instrument used to answer the research questions was a comprehensive analysis of various texts. The validity (trustworthiness and understanding) of the research findings were demonstrated by a detailed description of the context based on documents, interviews, films, and videotapes. The use of various sources provided an accurate data analysis.

The central focus of this research is to provide an understanding of the Romanian
news programs before and after the fall of communism as viewed from the perspective of the texts analyzed. The results of this study concentrate on the data obtained from the texts used by the researcher. Through a multitude of studies, interviews, and movies, the researcher obtained a large amount of information about the broadcasting industry during the communist era.

[1] .R. Gay and others, Educational Research. Competencies for Analysis and Applications, (New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2006), 403.


Purpose and Research Question

The purpose of this study is to illustrate how the objectivity of today’s news programs in Romania is questionable and how censorship is still a problem in Romania in the context of programming.

To determine the validity of this statement the following questions will be explored: “Is the power system in Romania still in the hands of former communists?”; “Is the historical system that the communists established in Romanian television still influencing television news programming today?”; “What are the features of Romanian television news reporting and programming that suggest there is censorship taking place?”. These questions will be answered by conducting a historical research, based on the analysis and interpretation of comprehensive data and texts, providing the knowledge about how Romanian television has worked in the past and in the present.