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Freedom Forum Fellowship to Bucharest, Romania |
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DATELINE: BUCHAREST, November 1996 THE ASSIGNMENT In 1996 The Freedom Forum's International Library Division sponsored a fellowship in cooperation with the Special Libraries Association. The driving forces behind this exceptional effort are Chris Wells, The Freedom Forum's Senior Vice President/International and Phyllis Lyons, Director Library Services. The program is in its second year. Two News Division members were selected this year; Margot Williams from The Washington Post to journey to Hong Kong and Manila and me, Barbara Semonche from the UNC-CH School of Journalism and Mass Communication Library, to venture to Bucharest and Warsaw. Our assignments were to help The Freedom Forum librarians in these cities create and develop their World Wide Web search skills and home pages. Simultaneously reaching journalism students and working journalists was an added feature. The tour of duty is two weeks, one week in each of the cities. The extraordinary contributions of The Freedom Forum International
Library Network to an emerging Eastern European free press are just
beginning to be known. These international librarians are bilingual and
provide excellent assistance to journalists, students, and researchers on
a walk-in, call-in, or email basis. Perhaps most importantly, all this is
done without charge and without fanfare. It is noteworthy that the
American concept of news librarians and media researchers working
side-by-side with journalists, as an investigative team, is unknown in
Eastern European newspapers. In time this will change. Active cooperation
with our international news library colleagues offers promise for
expanding the image and role of news researchers. FACT GATHERING STAGE Published tour guides are just the beginning for information about this extraordinary country. Romania: The Rough Guide ('96) is the one I used. A Romanian web site, Virtual Romania: The Home Page was very helpful. The standard online databases were also culled for every relevant factoid. The Freedom Forum's web site http://www.freedomforum.org was a valuable source on Eastern Europe including Romania and Poland. A very useful article about Romania's press written by Kenneth Starck, Fulbright Professor during '94-'96 at the University of Bucharest, was uncovered in the Summer 1996 Nieman Reports. (Note: I later discovered Peter Gross' 1996 book, Mass Media in Revolution and National Development: The Romanian Laboratory published by Iowa State University Press. Then, while in Bucharest, I was presented with copies of the 1995 serial, The Global Network, published by the Communication and Society in Eastern Europe [sic]. Three slim issues were packed with vital information; one of the most notable for me was University of Georgia Prof. Kent Middleton's "Applying Europe's First Amendment to Romanian Libel and Access Law.")
By far the most on-target information came via email messages from
Tiberiu
Cazacioc,
Director of The Freedom Forum News Library in Bucharest's Center for
Independent Journalism. He had just created his
library's first web page. [Note: the web site is disconnected at present
due to a security breach. It will resume, but likely under a
different URL.]
This site is no longer linked to the information I gathered from it
earlier for a Romanian news and web training site
http://sunsite.unc.edu/journalism/freeforumrom.html.
Other facts: Bucharest has a population of over two million
people. It is seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the U.S. but
it is light years apart politically and economically from other countries
in Europe. With all this information, was I really ready for Romania?
More to the point, was Romania ready for me? Time would tell. REALITY TAKES HOLD The hard fact to face was I did not speak Romanian. And in all likelihood I was not going to learn enough to get by. Relief flooded me when I learned that Tiberiu, my Romanian news librarian contact could speak and write fluent English. In reality, he could also manage several other languages as well. His strong background and education in economics, politics and research added value to my experience. Further, while teaching Romanian journalism students in Bucharest, I discovered that they already have some English-speaking skills. Nevertheless, Tiberiu's translation skills were put to good use during my multimedia presentations to all the other groups I met while in Bucharest. Information about Romanian currency was hard to come by and what we did learn was that there are severe restrictions on currency exchange. We couldn't count on our credit cards being welcome. (It turned out that in a few places some credit cards, particularly Diner's Club and American Express, could be used.) We compromised and took Traveler's Cheques and some cash. Phyllis Lyons thoughtfully arranged for prepayment of the Hotel Bucharest bill. Romania is just beginning to emerge from catastrophic economic depravation resulting in sliding standards of living. The Ceausescu regime, even though overthrown in December 1989, continues to burden the entire country with crushing debt and a weak transportation and telecommunication infrastructures. The reported Romanian monthly income averages approximately $100, among the lowest in Europe. The International Herald Tribune published on Nov. 9-10, 1996 a special report on Eastern European economy which included an encouraging piece about the slow, but progressive, emergence of investment in Romania, beyond the ever-present casinos, of course. National elections held in November brought in a reform-minded government. I was told that the political holdovers with Communist connections were voted out of office. Exactly what that means in terms of future growth and development for Romania and its people remains to be seen. Ion Iliescu, Romania's leader since the overthrow of Ceausescu in 1989, conceded defeat to geology professor and reformer, Emile Constantinescu, as president. Until now, Romania has been the only nation in Central and Eastern Europe to elect governments of former Communists. THE ROMANIAN PRESS The press in Romania is vigorous and vigilant. It also has a reputation for being "combative." According to articles in the aforementioned serial, The Global Network, it has been estimated that up to 1,000 new publications appeared in Romania within six months of the Ceausescu's downfall. In that highly charged atmosphere of ethnic confrontation and political ferment, the press turned toward an opinion discourse. There were publications for nearly every ethnic, political and social point of view. Journalists devoted to ideological values tended to mix opinions with information and became less sensitive to the criteria of objectivity. (Did I mention that news librarians or news researchers are virtually unknown in Romanian media? When I was introduced at a journalism librarian and a former news librarian, there was no translation in Romanian for the job.) For detailed information about Romania's mass media (radio, television and newspapers) consult the sources by Dross, Starck and Middleton listed earlier. Be prepared for some fascinating reading. WEATHER CONDITIONS Cold weather, even snow and ice, was what I was told to expect. Those were the prevailing weather conditions this time last year in Bucharest. The good news was that the temperature there was closer to 65 degrees, sunny and dry. The bad news was that I packed my cold-weather woollies. Sigh. WHAT DID I TAKE WITH ME? My husband, Jack Semonche and his IBM Think Pad loaded with seven multimedia Internet and WWW instructional computer presentation programs in Astound! (Note: I'm working toward loading these presentations on my web site.) A special computer cable and adapter designed for exclusive use in Romania and Poland was essential. Additional disks with such unique applications as The N & O's NeRD Intranet program, compliments of Teresa Leonard were included. Back-up disks of all my programs and web files, e.g., bitmap, audio, video, text were added. (Note: Folders packed with reams of handouts were Fed Ex'd, compliments of The Freedom Forum, to the libraries in Bucharest and Poland two weeks prior to my arrival so I was not burdened with that material. Further, Tiberiu augmented my Net and Web training handouts with useful ones of his own, in English and Romanian.) Besides the usual serviceable wardrobe, I tucked away my email address book, my lists of bookmarked Web and gopher sites, several mystery novels, dried fruits and granola bars, tissues and aspirin in my tote bag. Suspecting that gifts to the librarians just might be in order, I purchased some CDs of American music, classical and pop. The choice turned out to be a good one. WHO MADE ALL THE TRAVEL AND TRAINING ARRANGEMENTS? The Freedom Forum has an in-house travel agent who helped make flight and hotel arrangements. Phyllis Lyons had considerable experience traveling in Eastern Europe so her assistance was extremely valuable. We flew Delta Airlines from Raleigh-Durham to At lanta and then took a nine-hour flight to Vienna where we stayed overnight before flying to Bucharest on Austrian Airlines. (Dawn over the Alps was awe inspiring!) The Freedom arranged for a driver to meet us at the Otenpeni Airport and transport us to Hotel Bucharest. The Bucharest Freedom Forum librarian, Tiberiu, made the training arrangements in Bucharest. He planned my schedule, established contacts with librarians I wanted to meet, set up Internet and Web training sessions in house and in other libraries. He also saved some time for us to tour special sites in Bucharest such as the Ceausescu's "Palace" (the second largest building in the world; the Pentagon is reputed to be the first), 15th century churches, Parliament, and Revolutionary Square where we found buildings still pockmarked with bullets and mortars. Being rebuilt in the Square was the National Library which had been burned to the ground in December 1989. WHAT WAS OUR SCHEDULE LIKE? Our days began with fine breakfasts and ended with excellent dinners in the hotel served by some of the most deft, dignified and well-trained wait staff we have ever seen. My husband and I separated for the day with Jack working on editing his book manuscript or exploring the local book shops and places of interest. Tiberiu picked me up at the hotel and, accompanied by my trusty laptop computer, we ventured to The Freedom Forum Library and other libraries in Bucharest.
Tiberiu has developed close ties with the libraries and schools of
journalism and library science in Romania. Libraries for which Net, Web
and Multimedia presentations were made:
Typically we worked through lunch. Traveling from one place to another was challenging if not hazardous negotiating the heavy Bucharest traffic which I discovered was unencumbered by stop lights or traffic lanes. Tiberiu was a skilled driver. My husband who has unflappably faced New York City traffic in a car with out-of-state license plates shuddered at the prospect of driving on the streets of Bucharest. WHAT WEB TRAINING DID I OFFER AND HOW DID I DO IT?
I relied upon my computerized presentations, handouts and
Tiberiu's translations of what was on the screen and what I was saying. He
was very skilled. I learned how to keep my voice quiet, my articulation
clear, my sentences complete but short, filled with "content bearing"
words and nothing extraneous, to pause sufficiently for Tiberiu to
translate (it always seemed to take longer to say the same thing in
Romanian, I thought), to keep my face directed toward my audience and not
the computer when I spoke , to keep from obstructing the screen, and to
keep my hands free of distracting movements. And, of course, to look
friendly and approachable. Sorry if this seems that I was more of a
performer than a cybercoach, but that is the way it was.
I consulted with Tiberiu about which of my programs would be best
suited for particular audiences. Following my opening presentations were
questions from the groups, then some hand-on experience. By the end of the
week, Tiberiu and I were sharing the instructional program. It was "team
teaching" at its best, I thought. If the live demonstrations on the Web
were not so slow due to lack of a direct link to the Internet, the
sessions would have been even more successful. I kept reminding myself
that this was just the beginning. More sophisticated technology and
telecommunications were to come to Bucharest and the whole of Romania. Most of our sessions were for librarians and journalism students ranging in size from groups of 6 or 7 to 15 or 16. No large screen projection equipment was available, but the groups were small enough to see what was projected. Everyone was interested in the Internet. Most had never seen a computer access the Internet. A few, mostly a select group of students, had actually worked with computer word processing programs. And an even smaller number had email addresses and Web experience. Few Romanian universities offer Internet access although some have servers. An increasing number of Web sites are being developed by Romanian newspapers, radio, TV, and wire services. TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN BUCHAREST: Even with a leased pipe line for telecommunications, baud rate for email and for Netscape in The Freedom Forum Library is VERY slow. Typing the briefest of messages took a long time; there were lengthy lapses between each character! Considering that I was using my email at what was 1:00 or 2:00 in the early morning hours in the States, this was perhaps the fastest speed that was possible. It would have taken much longer if I had been accessing my email account in prime time! For Netscape use, the graphics and images took 6-10 minutes to paint the screen. This is not surprising when relying upon modems for access to the net and web. In time this situation will improve. Admittedly Romania does not have the telecommunications infrastructure to accommodate high-speed digital lines. The telephone switching stations here are both analogue and digital which means that messages starting out at baud rates of 14.4 or 28.8 kbps must drop down to 2400 bps when telecommuting from one station to another to reach the final destination. Even the relatively plain (primarily text) web sites took so long to load that it made accessing the page links painfully slow. Of course, I come fr om a university with powerful net and web servers and where faculty, staff and students have direct access to the net and web, and where even the relatively lower speed campus computers have instant access. Computer capacity, program sophistication, and t elecommunication speed are fundamental to what we do on the net and web. It was not always this way, of course. It was through the development of technology, leadership and financial support that UNC reached its level of achievement in the Internet and t he World Wide Web. This university (including me) is eager and prepared to lend its expertise is helping others acquire and develop similar levels of competence. Developing reliable, high-speed access to the Net and Web for research and reference purposes is essential for The Center for Independent Journalism Library in Bucharest. To reach that high level, and eventually of becoming an "information provider," Tiberiu is starting the planning for the next level of Net and Web sophistication. With Romania's reputation for a vigorous press, but also with a widespread and acknowledged lack of news library reference and research services, it appears that The CIJ Library should be in an excellent position to undertake the leadership in this news research revolution.
Tiberiu and Radu, his cybersavvy assistant, are to be commended for their present mastery of net and web skills. It is all the more remarkable when one recognizes just how difficult it is to accomplish what they have, hampered as they are by painfully slow net access. If progress is to be made in this area for news research in Romania, serious consideration of the addition of a T1 line (among other things) is necessary. I was genuinely impressed by Tiberiu's and Radu's net and web skills; they have read books, manuals and guides in English to learn basic programming with UNIX and linux. They are very talented and, just as important, they are highly motivated. The availability of good computers and servers are an important first step; for the next level they need a high capacity NT or UNIX server, a T1 line telecommunications access, and a server to scan graphics and images. Such equipment will lead to a much more sophisticated LAN and "intranet" in the library. Tiberiu has good ideas about the content ; and, of course, I will gladly offer my knowledge and skills on a continuing basis to support the library, including maintaining the CIJ Library's web page on the sunsite server on our UNC campus.) Such an information system will serve as a model for news library research throughout Romania. Tiberiu is particularly adept with downloading and using multimedia applications from the web. Toward the end of our tour, we shared center stage. He took the lead and I watched . . . and listened. While I do not speak Romanian, Tiberiu made me "understand" what he was saying. It was a truly remarkable experience! His educational background may be in economics rather than library science, but he has the perspective of a genuine informational professional. He understands the importance of cultivating all types of resources, governmental, political, university, trade, and professional and then for creating devices for collecting and distributing this information through a variety of formats, print and electronic. He is skilled in desktop publishing (created an effective brochure describing his library's collections and services in short order), and in web page construction. He and Radu created the library's web page, admittedly just text, but with enhanced equipment and applications, a dynamic and multimedia web page ca nnot be far behind. Regrettably, this page has been "hacked" and destroyed. A newer, more secure site is in the planning. I will announce the URL when it is ready. The draft web page I created for this library will be merely a departure point from which a truer reflection of Romanian cyber sources will emerge with Tiberiu's and Radu's guidance. This forthcoming version will represent The Freedom Forum more effectively. NEWS LIBRARIANS IN ROMANIA Surprisingly, the phrase "news librarian" or "news researcher" is completely unknown among journalists, journalism educators, and library science faculty in Romania. (The term "special librarian" is a bit of a mystery to them as well.) That does not mean that investigative reporting is not done here, but it lacks the critical element of carefully balanced new research for accuracy and comprehensiveness.) It may be a long time before news librarians are part of Romania's news organizations, then again, it might happen faster with proper working models such as the one that will be developing at The Center for Independent Journalism Library in Bucharest. EXTRA ADDED FEATURES I met Prof. Peter Dross while I was in Bucharest. Tiberiu was arranging a Roundtable discussion at The Center for Independent Journalism with Prof. Dross and several editors from the local media. Dross is in the midst of more research on the Romanian Press, this time on the concept of "civil discourse" in the press. His latest book, "Mass Media in Revolution and National Development: The Romanian Laboratory," was published in mid-1996 by the Iowa State University Press. We exchanged views on Iowa State University Professor, Kenneth Starck's assessment of Romania's struggling press and University of Georgia Professor Kent Middleton's January 1995 article in The Global Network journal, "Applying Europe's `First Amendment' to Romanian Libel and Access Law." It was a heady experience. I've made a note to purchase his books for my journalism library when I return. On my last day in Bucharest Tiberiu took me and my husband on a tour of the city. The beautiful but horribly costly "palace" that continues to be a burden from the pre-1990 dictators, the cemetery of those killed in the revolution, and the renovated library in "revolutionary square" were the highlights. Considering the decimated state of Bucharest streets, Tiberiu's escort service was much appreciated. I had to take a taxi only a few times during the week, but I learned to recognize expert driving and Tiberiu is an expert diver. The weather was incredibly warm and dry while we were in Bucharest. The hotel was comfortable, the room spacious, the service attentive and the food really excellent. Jack and I enjoyed the attractive rate of exchange between the leu and the dollar (we bought a few books); the leu had just undergone yet another devaluation. According to an International Herald Tribune article last week following the elections, further devaluation will be coming if the reform party wins its post election Nov. 17. Interestingly, that will be a good thing for Romanian financial markets which might begin to enjoy some foreign investment. One of the surprises Tiberiu and I discovered late one afternoon upon returning from a library was the filming of movie on a street very near our hotel. He spotted the film crew first; I saw a 1932 black Packard sedan, actors in double-breasted, striped suits with big shoulder pads and wearing broad-brimmed fedora hats. It wasn't until I looked up and saw the sign on the artificial cinema that read, Biograph Theater, that I realized that the crew was filming a move about John Dillinger's shooting at the old Chicago theater. The notorious "lady in red," who was reputed to be of Romanian ancestry, was responsible for "fingering'" Dillinger for the FBI. Now this is REALLY a small world. Tiberiu was fascinated that I recognized the set. I told him that news librarians know all sorts of unusual things. He laughed warmly. WOULD I RETURN TO BUCHAREST? In a heartbeat The Center for Independent Journalism and its library were in attractive and comfortable surroundings. The entire staff made me feel welcome. I felt truly special and came away with great respect for all of them. |
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