Desacralization of a National Day - religious and identity symbols in the commemorations of December 1st. Case study: Adevärul, Romania libera, Jurnalul national, 2009 - 2011

• Published in: Revista Româna de Jurnalism si Comunicare Vol. 8; no. 1; p. 14
• Main Author: Matei, Antonia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bucharest Universitatea din Bucuresti si Facultatea de Jurnalism si Stintele Comunicarii 01.01.2013
• Subjects: European history; Journalism; National identity; Theory; Romania
• ISSN: 1842-256X; 2559-3706

The contemporary world seems to be characterized by a new trend, that of returning and appreciating its past. In this search we witness the rise of a new spirituality, to the birth of new connections between religion, memory, identity and media. In this process, the sacred acquires new meanings and we can talk about the sacralization of memory which brings a conjunction between personal and group identity. Commemorations are a ritual re-enactment of historical moments. Their remembering helps create and preserve collective memories. The connection between commemorations and media became closer and closer in the past decades, journalism being one of the most important elements of the commemoration system. Thus, the paper aims to find out if the press is an important part in building and maintaining the Romanian collective identity and memory and if it contributes to changing the daily profane space to a new one, a sacred one, a space of solemn celebrations on one of the most important date in the Romanian history. The paper analyzes three national newspapers, over a 3 year span, between 2009 and 2011 and by means of the framing theory, reflects the way that written press presents the process of commemorating the National Day of Romania. The research proves the fact that the religious and sacred symbols are politicized, the commemoration is deeply caught in the profane space and the Romanian press doesn't contribute to the sacralization of the commemorations, on the contrary, the reports are a way of deritualizing such an important moment. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]