Mogul Vantu gives up print media as market takes a hit

Controversial businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vantu is offloading the print titles of his media empire in favour of TV, radio and the Internet

February 2010 - From the Print Edition

The mogul’s daily newspaper Cotidianul now only exists with a skeleton staff online, while his finance daily Business Standard has shut down.
Few members of the newspaper’s 30 editorial staff have continued working for the media group’s other entities. “Most of us are searching for a job,” said Dinu Boboc, an ex-reporter.
“I no longer have faith in print,” Vantu told Hotnews.
Following his lead, daily newspapers Ziua and Gardianul have also closed.
But the print media is not finished, as daily Romania Libera is heading for a dramatic relaunch.
Vantu is retaining Realitatea TV, Money Channel, Romantica, CineStar, Monopoly TV and Zoom TV stations, Radio Guerilla and Realitatea FM radio stations along with his over 30 websites including www.money.ro and realitatea.net.
His news agency NewsIn, one of the three main agencies in Romania, alongside Agerpres and Mediafax, has seriously cut down its staff numbers. The group continues to publish profitable satirical weekly Academia Catavencu.
Vantu also told Hotnews that he intends to extend his digital media of a business and political TV channels in the Republic of Moldova, Hungary and Serbia. He will open a new TV channel Publika TV and website publika.md in February in Chisinau and, by the end of 2011, TV stations in Hungary and Serbia
Remaining bullish in a flat market, the nation’s oldest daily Romania Libera, is due for a dramatic relaunch this March, courtesy of its owners, the Romanian Adamescu family. “This move represents a complete revision of the newspaper’s concept and a new and dynamic website,” Amalia Badescu, marketing manager at Romania Libera, told The Diplomat.
The group has hired international name Mario Garcia to redesign the paper, with an aim is to attract readers between 30 and 45 years old, business people and university graduates.
Romania Libera publishes 57,000 issues every day, an eight per cent decline in like-for-like sales on January 2009. “This drop is a consequence of the financial crisis that has determined a drop in the print media,” Badescu adds. Romania Libera’s competition includes Evenimentul Zilei, Adevarul, Jurnalul National and Gandul.