Academia Caţavencu ("The Caţavencu Academy") is a
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
n satirical magazine founded in 1991, and made famous by its
investigative journalismInvestigative journalism is a type of reporting in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or some other scandal....
.
Academia Caţavencu also owns
Radio Guerilla, an FM radio station broadcasting in
BucharestBucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
,
ConstanţaConstanţa is the oldest living city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast...
,
Cluj-NapocaCluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
and
IaşiIaşi , is a city and municipality in Moldavia, in north-eastern Romania...
;
Tabu, a women's magazine,
Superbebe, a magazine for new parents,
Aventuri la pescuit, a magazine for fishermen,
24-FUN, a free magazine for teenagers, and
Cotidianulthumb|right|Old logo of Cotidianul newspaper, used in the [[inter-war period]], and in the early 1990sthumb|right|The logo used between 2003 and 2007Cotidianul is a Romanian newspaper, published Monday to Saturday in Berliner format...
, a daily newspaper.
In a surprise move, on May 29, 2006,
Academia Caţavencu press group announced it was being acquired
http://www.nineoclock.ro/index.php?page=detalii&categorie=homenews&id=20060530-5185 by Realitatea Media, owners of
Realitatea TVRealitatea TV is a Romanian news television network. The channels is distributed by many cable operators in Romania and Moldova...
, and controlled by controversial and elusive businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vântu. Vântu himself has often been a target of enquiries by
Caţavencu journalists.
Name
Nae Caţavencu is a character in
Ion Luca CaragialeIon Luca Caragiale was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist...
's 1883 comedy
O scrisoare pierdută ("A Lost Letter"). An unscrupulous, demagogue politician, Caţavencu uses his newspaper
Răcnetul Carpaţilor ("The Shout of the
CarpathiansThe Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the largest mountain range in Europe...
") to
blackmailBlackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met. This information is usually of an embarrassing and/or socially damaging nature...
politicians of the opposing party with a compromising love letter that he finds.
History
In its current form,
Academia Caţavencu was founded in 1991, by a team of humourists, investigators, and literates headed by poet and former
dissidentA dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
Mircea DinescuMircea Dinescu is a Romanian poet, editor and dissident. Nicknamed "The Jester-Poet", he is said to be the only one to have been once the doorman of the Writers' House in Bucharest and only some years later the Chairman of the Writers' Union that owns it.He was born in Slobozia, the son of Ştefan...
. Part of the team had previously edited two short-lived satirical papers,
Caţavencu Incomod and
Caţavencu Internaţional.
Dinescu was editor-in-chief until 1998, when he resigned and went on to create his own publications,
Aspirina săracului ("The poor man's
aspirinAspirin , also known as acetylsalicylic acid , is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication....
" - a joking reference to
sexual intercourseSexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which the male reproductive organ enters the female reproductive tract. The two entities may be of opposite sexes or not, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
), and
Plai cu boi, a monthly satirical magazine
parodyA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
ing the style of
PlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine, founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with a presence in nearly every medium. Playboy is one of the world's best...
.
Current activities
Academia Caţavencu have been long-time press freedom advocates. They maintain a "press monitoring agency", a watchdog against
manipulation-Physically:*Handling and/or altering some object or information*Joint manipulation*Spinal manipulation*Sleight of hand tricks in magic*Card manipulation*Object manipulation*Puppeteer*Data manipulation-In technology:*Bit manipulation...
through mass-media.
During the 2004 election campaign, Academia Caţavencu published as supplements two parody issues of
Scânteia (the old-time
Romanian Communist PartyThe Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
newspaper), containing reprints of articles written by important current day politicians during the
Communist eraCommunist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the leading role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
. Almost 40,000 copies were bought in bulk from newsagents,
http://www.catavencu.ro/pdf/disparitie.txt along with other newspapers
http://www.evz.ro/english/?news_id=172784. The alleged perpetrators were representatives of the then-governing
Social Democratic PartyThe Social Democratic Party is a major political party of Romania. It can be loosely classified as a center-left party, although the right-left division in Romania is quite blurred...
(PSD), whose (mostly former Communist) high members (including founder and former
President of RomaniaThe President of Romania is the head of state of Romania. The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term . He or she can serve two terms. During his term in office, the President must not be a member of any political party.The current President of Romania is Traian...
Ion IliescuIon Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains.He joined the Communist Party in 1953 and became a...
) were protagonists of the
Caţavencu special issues.
Apart from political issues,
Academia Caţavencu organises and/or sponsors a number of cultural and environmental initiatives:
- Save the Danube Delta
The Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent . The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania , while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine . The approximate surface is...
- Save Vama Veche
Vama Veche is a village in Romania on the Black Sea coast, near the border with Bulgaria, at 28.3 E longitude, 43.5 N latitude. It is part of the commune of Limanu and in 2002, it had a population of 178....
- Cu papucii prin deşert ("Across the Desert in slippers", a reference to the Dacia car hatchback
Hatchback is a term designating an automobile design, containing a passenger cabin with an integrated cargo space, accessed from behind the vehicle by a single, top-hinged tailgate or large flip-up window...
model) - a humanitarian expedition through the SaharaThe Sahara , , "The Greatest Desert") is the world's largest hot desert. At over 9,000,000 square kilometres , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as the United States or the continent of Europe. The desert stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean...
and down to SenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south, and it also encircles The Gambia on its three sides,...
They also develop their own stereotypes and nicknames of the politicians, such as:
- Ion Iliescu
Ion Iliescu served as President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. From 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 until his retirement in 2008, Iliescu was a Senator for the Social Democratic Party , whose honorary president he remains.He joined the Communist Party in 1953 and became a...
"Nelu Cotrocelu" or "Bunicuţa" ("The Granny") - associated with the Cotroceni PalaceCotroceni Palace is a palace of Bucharest which is the residence of the President of Romania, located at Bulevardul Geniului, nr. 1.On Cotroceni hill, in 1679, Şerban Cantacuzino built a monastery...
owl
- Adrian Năstase
Adrian Năstase is a Romanian politician who was the Prime Minister of Romania from December 2000 to December 2004.He competed as the Social Democratic Party candidate in the 2004 presidential election, but was defeated by centre-right Justice and Truth Alliance candidate Traian Băsescu.He was...
"Bombonel" ("Candy Boy") - in reference to his alleged homosexualityHomosexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction or behavior among members of the same sex, situationally or as an enduring disposition. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is considered to lie within the heterosexual-homosexual continuum of human sexuality, and refers to an individual’s...
- Traian Băsescu
Traian Băsescu is a Romanian politician and former Merchant Navy officer. He is the current President of Romania, after winning the office in the 2004 presidential election, and being inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
"Popeye Marinarul" ("Popeye the SailorPopeye the Sailor is a fictional hero famous for appearing in comic strips and animated films as well as numerous television shows. He was created by Elzie Crisler Segar, and first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
") - due to Băsescu's former job as a commercial navy captainThe Captain or Master of a merchant vessel is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. A Ship's Captain, also called Shipmaster or Skipper, is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel...
- Theodor Stolojan
Theodor Dumitru Stolojan is a Romanian politician. An economist by training, he is a leader of the Democratic-Liberal Party. He previously served as Prime minister of Romania from September 1991 to November 1992. He and his wife Elena have a son, Vlad Stolojan, and a daughter, Ada Palea...
"The robot", "Robocop" or "Frankie" - due to his voice and comic resemblance to the classic image of FrankensteinFrankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, generally known simply as Frankenstein, is a novel written by Mary Shelley. Shelley started writing when she was 18 and the novel was published when she was 21. The first edition was published anonymously in London in . Shelley's name appears on the second...
's monster
- Petre Roman
Petre Roman is a Romanian politician and a former Prime Minister of Romania. He served from 1989 to 1991, when his government was overthrown by the intervention of the miners led by Miron Cozma. Roman is a member of the Club of Madrid, grouping 66 democratic former heads of state and government...
- suggests that he is rather popular among the female workers of the APACA textile factory in Bucharest (who shouted once: Nu vrem bani! Nu vrem valută! Vrem pe Roman să ne fută! ("We don't want money! We don't want hard currency! We want Roman to fuck us!").
- Gheorghe Dumitraşcu - suggests that he washes infrequently
- Nicolae Văcăroiu
Nicolae Văcăroiu is a Romanian politician, member of the Social Democratic Party, who served as Prime Minister between 1992 and 1996...
"Votcăroiu" - allegedly heavy drinker of "Săniuţa", a low-grade brand of vodka (votcă)
- Şerban Mihăilescu "Miki Şpagă" ("Mickey Bribe") - corruption allegations
- Marian Vanghelie
Daniel Marian Vanghelie is the mayor of the 5th Sector of Bucharest since 2000 and a prominent member of the Romanian Social Democratic Party....
- he has poor grammatical skills, as coined by Vanghelie's frequent and indiscriminate use of Care este ("Which is"), as a predicate for singular and plural subjects alike.
External links
Academia Caţavencu