Romanian Media accounts of St. Valentine and Dragobete: Ethical Challenges on reporting about multicultural traditions

Abstract

The paper analyses an unethical media account of two celebrations, St. Valentine and Dragobete. If in 2018 The Romanian National Television posted on Social Media an appropriate account of St. Valentine Holiday, in 2019 the situation was completely different. While reporting on St. Valentine, the media trust considered appropriate to present it in an unjustified comparison with the Dragobete celebration of 24th of February, described as an authentic Romanian celebration of love. While reporting about Dragobete, the celebration was again compared with Valentine?s Day, the second reduced to the adopted American tradition of love celebration, whereas the first described as the appropriate one for Romanians to celebrate. None of the two media accounts remained true to the history of either celebration. St. Valentine is a Christian Holiday with Ancient European roots, however controversial the love celebration tradition may be, as the second is a Romanian pagan celebration. There was no need to account for the two events in an antagonistic manner. A separate account of the two celebrations would have been more appropriate. If the Romanian television decided to promote Dragobete as an important Romanian celebration on Social Media, it could have done so without relating it to St. Valentine. Moreover, these accounts disregard the Romanian Catholic communities which celebrate Valentine, the martyr priest, on the 14th of February. The paper discusses how both media accounts disregard the ethical recommendations on reporting about multiculturalism and generate an unnecessary state of conflict between the communities who celebrate one or both holidays.