Mircea Radu Badea (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈmirtʃe̯a ˈradu ˈbade̯a]; born on 24 February 1974, in Bucharest, Romania) is a right-wing[1][2][3] libertarian conservative[4][5] Romanian political satirist, television host, media critic, radio personality and occasional actor. He is widely known as host of În gura presei (The Talk of The Press) a show based on the daily news, that airs on Antena 3.
Quick Facts Birth name, Born ...
Mircea Badea |
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Birth name | Mircea Radu Badea |
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Born | (1974-02-24) February 24, 1974 (age 50) Bucharest, Romania |
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Medium | television, radio, Internet |
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Nationality | Romanian |
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Alma mater | Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies |
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Years active | 1992–present |
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Genres | Satire/political satire/news satire |
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Subject(s) | Mass media/news media/Media criticism, Romanian politics, current events, religion, race relations, human sexuality, self-deprecation, sexual orientation, sports |
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Partner(s) | Carmen Brumă |
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Notable works and roles | Bună dimineața, România (Good morning, Romania) (co-host with Teo Trandafir, 1994–1997) Dimineața devreme (Early Morning) (co-host with Teo Trandafir, 1997–2000) Teo și Mircea Șou (Teo & Mircea Show) (co-host with Teo Trandafir, 1997–2000) Noaptea Târziu (Late Night) (co-host with Oreste Scarlat Teodorescu) (2000–2002) În Gura Presei (The Talk of The Press) (host, 2004–present) |
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Badea started as a radio host, but later branched into television as a co-host of the Tele7ABC Bună dimineața, România (Good Morning, Romania) morning show. Together with Bună dimineața, România co-host Teo Trandafir, he went on to work for the Intact Media Group and host a show on Antena 1, called Dimineața devreme (Early morning), and then hosted another show on Antena 1 called Teo și Mircea Șou (Teo & Mircea Show). He has also had several film roles as an actor. Badea became the host of În gura presei on September 13, 2004, originally aired on Antena 1, then on Antena 3. Together with longtime friend Călin Stanciu, he is a co-executive-producer of the show. After Badea started În gura presei, he steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, which also led to enduring controversy and resentment amongst various Romanian media personalities.
Badea has gained significant acclaim as an acerbic, satirical critic of Romanian politics and most Romanian media outlets, in particular the coverage of Realitatea TV, Evenimentul Zilei, and România Liberă. In spite of its type of satire, În Gura Presei and Badea himself have been nominated for a number of entertainment, news, and journalism national and international awards.
He used to be a frequent critic of president Traian Băsescu, who in turn made a video clip ridiculing Badea. The video clip begins with president Basescu saying "it's raining outside", followed by a long diatribe of an actor looking like Badea complaining that the rain is supported by taxpayers' money.[8] Badea aired a response the same day, which turned the satire on its head by asking a long series of politically inconvenient questions for the president, to which the "it's raining outside" presidential non-answer is played back.[9] The exchange has received widespread media coverage.[10][11]
In recent years Badea has voiced his criticism against president Klaus Iohannis, the former DNA Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi, the prosecutors, the judges, and generally against the so-called #Rezist movement (mostly opponents of Liviu Dragnea and the Social Democratic Party-led government), whom he all sees as representatives of the Romanian secret services and the "parallel state",[12][13][14] the Romanian "deep state" held responsible by Liviu Dragnea and the government coalition for misusing the anti-corruption campaign as political means against the PSD-ALDE government.[15]