It Was Just a Joke Says Radio COPE

Michael Hedges - February 5, 2006

A broadcasting law recently taking force in the Spanish Catalan region is raising tensions – and considerable naughty language - as the government controlled regulator takes on Cadena COPE.
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In December a “COPE Manifesto” – signed by more than 700,000 COPE supporters – was delivered to the European Parliament (EuroParl) in Strasboug intending to persuade MEPs to join a legal fight between the socialist regional government and the ultra-conservative broadcaster, majority owned by the Spanish Bishops' Conference. At the end of January the EuroParl petitions committee president Marcin Libicki asked his lawyers to take a look before making any sort of decision.

There is a real likelihood – in light of the furor surrounding a certain cartoon appearing in newspapers – that EuroParl will be forced into taking some action on freedom of expression and media pluralism issues while debating the Services Directive and the new Audiovisual Directive. And, too, the Broadcasting Law in Spain is being re-negotiated.

The manifesto’s heart is a demand to over-turn Catalan laws establishing the Catalan Audiovisual Council (CAC), a regional broadcast regulator. The World Press Freedom Committee called the CAC “a censoring entity” as one day after been seated it issued a report saying the COPE network “exceeded the limits of freedom of speech” and called for revocation of it’s broadcasting licenses. The demand has also been sent to the Spanish Supreme Court and petition opponents argued for allowing the Spanish legal system to first make its decision before any appeals to the European Parliament. The CAC, critics charge, is empowered by the Catalan political majority, lacks independence counter to European conventions and lacks right of reply, also counter to European conventions. 

Journalists, including Spanish MEP Luis Herrero-Tejedor, argue that the CAC infringes on freedom of expression. The Catalan regional government, the Generalitat, refused in 1999 to renew Cadena COPE’s radio licenses in Barcelona and Tarragona, Manresa. The Catalan Supreme Court over-ruled the rejection of the Barcelona license but has yet to rule on the others. Petitioners want an investigation.

COPE’s editorial position is hardly ambiguous. Since the election of a socialist Spanish government in 2004 the network has pulled out all the stops to taunt and criticize Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.  COPE - and the Church – strongly opposes a more federalist Spanish government system under review by the Spanish Parliament that would empower Catalonia. One Spanish commentator familiar with US broadcasting compared COPE morning show host Federico Jiménez Losantos to right-wing talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Indeed a COPE comedian pretending to be PM Zapetero caused a minor diplomatic incident with a telephone call to Bolivian president elect Evo Morales. 

The CAC is empowered to levy fines for “untruthfulness” up to €300,000 and it has charged COPE with attacking prominent socialists. PM Zapetero, quoted by AFP, said the government will not empower a “body to observe, analyze, or evaluate the authenticity of the content of the communications media.”

You see, freedom of expression and speech is enshrined in the Spanish Constitution, just like it is in Denmark.

ftm Follow Up & Comments

response from the Consell Audiovisual de Catalunya - February 17, 2006

ftm received February 17 a note of clarification from Juan Botella at CAC. Every comment about ftm articles is greatly appreciated. (jmh)

"The "Consell Audiovisual de Catalunya", CAC ("Catalonia Broadcasting Council") was created in 2000; under a different government and parliamentary majority. Therefore, no recent law has established it. CAC has been accepted by all European regulatory authorities as a normal member of the club; and, actually, in 2005 a member of the CAC has been elected as Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA).

"Complaints against some programs broadcast by COPE's local frequencies were received since March 2005. The CAC opened a procedure against these programs in June 2005. Early November 2005 the final report draft was submitted to COPE for comments and allegations. Their lawyers did so, not rejecting any of the facts under discussion, but discussing the CAC's competence, given the regional nature of CAC and the national coverage of COPE's broadcasting. Their observations were reviewed and the final report was published on December 19th (incidentally, two days before the regional Parliament passed the bill you mentioned).

"'Truthfulness' is established as a requirement for information by Spanish Constitution, art. 20.

"'Lack of reply', obviously, is a matter for broadcasters, not for regulators. Actually, the CAC does try to have broadcasters accept it, but unsuccesfully (specially, but not only, COPE).

"FTM has accepted one version of this story without further checking; I think your readers have the right to know another version. It will be up to them to decide which one comes closer to truth."

Sincerely yours,

Juan Botella, Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya, BARCELONA, España