Robert Turcescu

Romanian journalist

Robert Turcescu
Turcescu in 2009

Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 20 December 2016 – 20 December 2020
Constituency	Constanța County

Personal details
Born	(1975-05-03) 3 May 1975 (age 49) Pitești, Romania
Political party	People's Movement Party (2016–2020) European People's Party (2016–2020)
Alma mater	University of Bucharest
Occupation	Journalist politician
Television	Realitatea TV

Robert Turcescu
Medium	Television, radio, internet, music, press
Nationality	Romanian
Years active	1993–present
Subject(s)	Mass media/news media/Media criticism, music, Romanian politics, current events, religion, race relations,
Notable works and roles	Pop Rock & Show, Curierul Național (National Courier), (1993) A-M. Press (Reporter), (1994) Radio Total (Total Radio) (Reporter), (1996–1998) Europa FM (editor) (2000) TVR Telematinal (Morning TV show) (Presenter, 2001) 100%(Host, 2003–present) Magazine Dilema (Dilemma) (Contributor, 2003–present) România în direct (Romania live) (Media proprietor, 2000–present)
Website	www.turcescu.ro

Robert Turcescu (born May 3, 1975) is a Romanian journalist, politician, TV presenter, media critic, radio personality, and singer-songwriter.

Early life and education

Born in Pitești, he attended the Ion Brătianu High School there,^[1] followed by the Superior School of Journalism in Bucharest, which he finished in 1997. The following year, he graduated from the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences.^[2]

He was chosen by Walt Disney Pictures to dub the radio announcer's voice in the Pixar short – Day & Night.^[3]

Journalism

Turcescu began his career in 1993 as a writer for the magazine Pop Rock & Show and for the newspaper Curierul Național. The following year, the news agency A-M. Press hired him as a reporter. From 1996 to 1998, he worked as a reporter for Radio Total, advancing to editor-in-chief that year. In 2000, he became editor-in-chief at Europa FM, and since that year he has hosted the show România în direct there. In 2001 he was a presenter for TVR's Telematinal and an editor at Evenimentul Zilei. Since 2003 he has written for the magazine Dilema.^[2] He hosted 100% on Realitatea TV from that year until 2010.^[2]^[4] He has continued hosting his show at B1 TV starting with the end of September 2010.^[5] He was also editor-in-chief of Cotidianul in 2004–2005.^[2]

He was the host of 100%, a political one-to-one talk-show that aired on Realitatea TV and B1 TV. He participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song Un refren.^[6] In 2021 he returned to Evenimentul Zilei,^[7]^[8] and from 2022 to 2023 he moderated the show Sub semnul întrebării at B1 TV. At the beginning of 2023 he left the television network to launch his Evz-Play podcast on YouTube.^[8]

Awards

He has received a number of awards. For instance, in 2002 the National Audiovisual Council named România în direct the best radio talk show, while in 2004, the Association of Television Professionals granted 100% an award for best television talk show.^[2]

Undercover agent

Turcescu is best known for confessing in 2014 to being an undercover agent of a military secret service in Romania while posing as a freelance journalist for several years,^[9] thus raising concerns about the penetration of the secret security services in the media sector of Romania.^[10] His military rank was that of a lieutenant colonel.^[7]

Politics

In the Romanian local elections of 2016, Turcescu ran for mayor of Bucharest, supported by the People's Movement Party (PMP); he subsequently placed 4th, with 6.46% of the votes. Afterwards, he became PMP's vice-president and ad interim president of the Bucharest branch. Turcescu eventually won a seat in the Chamber of Deputies on PMP's party list in the wake of the 2016 legislative elections.

Notes

^ Elena, Marta (June 4, 2015). "Robert Turcescu îi jignește grav pe profesorii de la Colegiul Brătianu din Pitești: Profesorul de chimie Florin Stana, un cretin, beat mangă, se pișa pe el în clasă". Ziarul Argeșean (in Romanian). Retrieved August 29, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e (in Romanian) Profile at realitatea.net; accessed August 16, 2010^{[dead link]}
^ Vintu, Carmen (May 3, 2021). "Robert Turcescu (n. 3 mai 1975, Pitești, România), jurnalist și om politic român". Jurnal FM (in Romanian). Retrieved July 16, 2023.
^ (in Romanian) Mircea Reștea, "Robert Turcescu a părăsit Realitatea Media" ("Robert Turcescu Leaves Realitatea Media"), Cotidianul, August 16, 2010; accessed August 16, 2010
^ (in Romanian) Announcement of the move to B1 TV; accessed September 18, 2010
^ "Robert Turcescu: "Eurovisionul a întinerit Casa Presei cu 20 de ani"". March 10, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Robert Turcescu, care s-a deconspirat în direct că a fost ofițer acoperit, revine în presă". HotNews (in Romanian). January 20, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Pavel, Andreea (January 3, 2023). "Robert Turcescu anunță că a plecat de la B1TV și se întoarce în online: "A fost scurt, dar intens"/ Turcescu revenise în televiziune în aprilie 2022, la postul la care s-a deconspirat în 2014". G4 Media (in Romanian). Retrieved May 11, 2023.
^ "Journalist Robert Turcescu causes public outcry by confessing he was an undercover army officer". September 22, 2014.
^ Freedom House, Romania, 2014