The top of the visibility of the ministers of the Ciolacu Government in the mass media is dominated by the social democrats, in the first place in January being the Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, while the first liberal dignitary is only in the third place.
PSD ministers were more present in the mass media in January PHOTO Romanian Government
In the period monitored by mediaTRUST, between January 1 and 31, 2024, PSD ministers obtained the highest number of mentions in the mass media, registering a total of 30,210 journalistic materials. In contrast, PNL ministers were mentioned in 26,511 media items.
The general ranking of the most publicized ministers in the first month of 2024 is opened by Florin Barbu, Minister of Agriculture. The official was mentioned in 9,073 materials in the country's press. Media exposure peaked on January 15 amid protests by farmers and transporters. On the same day, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu participated in a working meeting together with Deputy Prime Minister Cătălin Predoiu, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Sorin Grindeanu, the Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Finance.
In January, the Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu, ranked second in the general ranking of the most publicized ministers of the Ciolacu Cabinet. It was mentioned 6,924 times in the media, with two peaks on January 15 and 16, when more than 1,400 articles were published in various news sources. This significant increase in media coverage coincided with transporters and farmers who continued the protests disrupting traffic at the gates of the Capital, the grievances targeting high excise duties on diesel, RCA prices, the price of cereals and the legislative changes that have appeared since January 1.
Marcel Boloș, the Minister of Finance, is in third place in terms of media visibility, with a total of 5,826 journalistic articles in the press. The peak moment of the finance minister's exposure was recorded on January 18, mainly as a result of his statements regarding the recalculation of pensions. It stated that the recalculation of pensions is foreseen in the budget for 2024 and denied the possibility of non-payment of these recalculations.
Who else gets the top 10?
Alexandru Rafila (Health) registers 5,150 mentions in the analyzed period, Sebastian Burduja (Energy) is at the top with 3,919 materials in which he was monitored, and Ligia Deca (Education) is in 6th position with 3,583 materials, followed by Cătălin Predoiu, the minister Internal Affairs, mentioned in 3,173 materials. Alina Gorghiu, Minister of Justice, is 8th, mentioned in 3,071 materials. Mircea Fechet has 2,415 materials in which he was mentioned, and the top 10 is completed by Simona Bucura Oprescu, Minister of Labor and Social Solidarity, who attracted attention in 2,391 journalistic materials.
In the ranking of the media coverage of Ciolacu Cabinet members in January, Luminița Odobescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, ranks 11th, being mentioned in 2,087 journalistic materials. The peak of visibility was mainly determined by the minister's statement that Romania is already in Schengen, and the port of Constanţa will be much more highlighted even if there is still one more step to be taken, namely the lifting of controls at the land border. Next is Raluca Turcan, the Minister of Culture, mentioned in 1,831 articles in print, radio, TV, online and social media.
Adrian Câciu, Minister of Investments and European Projects, ranks 13th in January, with 1,803 materials in which he was mentioned. The peak moment of visibility took place on January 22, with the minister's statements regarding the fact that the first tranche of this year for social vouchers will be granted in the second half of February, an update of the database being necessary under the conditions which increased to 2,000 lei the income that an eligible person must have.
Angel Tîlvăr, the Minister of Defense, is on the 14th, mentioned in 1,577 materials. Bogdan Ivan, the Minister of Digitalization research, was mentioned in 1,458 articles, and Radu Oprea, the Minister of Economy, is in 16th place, with 1,438 materials in which he was mentioned.
The codas
In January, two of the least publicized ministers were Adrian Veștea, the Minister of Development, mentioned in 606 journalistic articles and Natalia Intotero, the Minister of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities, with 396 journalistic materials.
