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Week ending May 16, 2009

ACT - COMMERCIAL BROADCASTERS TAKE ACTION TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE 2009 EP ELECTIONS - May 13, 2009
from Utta Tuttlies/ACT

In the light of the forthcoming 6th European Parliament’s elections, commercial broadcasters from all over Europe take action by broadcasting a large-scale awareness raising campaign. The campaign entitled “European Elections – It’s your Choice”, will run until and during the EP elections, which will take place in the 27 Member States between 4 and 7 June 2009.

Anne-Margrete Wachtmeister, Head of Audiovisual Unit of the European Parliament, commented: “The EP welcomes the engagement of commercial broadcasters in these elections. This strong cooperation will bring EU citizens to vote and to realise their role in making their voice heard. Having a European campaign broadcast all across Europe is a great experience and shows well the support of commercial broadcasters in delivering a broader debate about Europe and engage people to take part in society and to vote.”

Since thirty years, the EP elections have been the largest European democratic exercise, with 375 million citizens called on this year to elect 736 Members of the European Parliament. In Poland, France, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Italy, and Germany - to name only a few countries - commercial broadcasters recognise their crucial role as mass media reaching out to millions of citizens and agreed on broadcasting free of charge the TV spots produced by the EP as well as informing their viewers with special reports on EU issues adapted to national markets.

The TV spots, designed to be adapted to national specific circumstances, deal with important issues such as energy, security, transport and food safety that matter to all European citizens. With this trans-national campaign, the EP aims at raising awareness about the forthcoming elections and gives every single citizen the chance to be actively part of the EU.

Ross Biggam, Director General of the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT), said: “Many commercial broadcasters are actively encouraging citizens to vote. A number of our member companies have agreed to air the European Parliament advertisement, while many others are engaged in national initiatives to encourage participation at the European and other elections. In line with the various news channels and programmes run by our members, we have always demonstrated our engagement in the democratic political process and our objective of providing European citizens with a reliable source of information.”

RFE/RL Celebrates New Prague Headquarters - May 12, 2009
from Julian Knapp/RFE/RL

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) formally opened its new headquarters in the Czech capital today with a ceremony that included the President of Estonia, the Mayor of Prague, and distinguished Czech, European and US government officials.

"Without serious journalism, without a free press in print, broadcast, or web form, no society can long remain free or just," said Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who worked for RFE/RL for nearly a decade when it was based in Munich.

RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin called today "a very important day in the life of a great company." Gedmin thanked the assembled guests for their support and said the dedication "is, most importantly, an opportunity to celebrate our brave journalists who put their lives on the line every day in order to bring accurate and fair-minded news to millions of people who rely on us for uncensored information."

The new broadcast center accommodates RFE/RL's 500 Prague-based employees and is located in Hagibor, ten minutes from the city center. The five-story, 236,000 sq/ft building features the latest broadcast infrastructure and multimedia technology and adheres to the highest standards in energy-efficiency and security. [photogallery]

"It's a great blessing to be able to stand in the new headquarters of a media company that will always be a symbol of freedom," said Prague Mayor Pavel Bem. "Over the decades, RFE/RL's employees demonstrated bravery and honor in the face of threats from governments who were hostile to free media."

The US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees all US international broadcasting, including RFE/RL and the Voice of America (VOA), was represented by Governors Jeffrey Hirschberg, Steve Simmons, Joaquin Blaya, and Blanquita Cullum.

"When historians look back at the defining struggle of our time - the fight for liberty and tolerance against the forces of totalitarianism, prejudice and fanaticism - they will point to this very spot, this building behind me and the hard-working people inside it as one of its focal points," said Simmons, who thanked the people of the Czech Republic and its elected officials for their continued support of RFE/RL.

Hirschberg noted that the Hagibor site was a labor camp and transit point to the Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War. "We are proud to be part of an effort that brings light to a place where once there was darkness," he said.

RFE/RL's previous home in Prague, the former Czechoslovak communist parliament building, is being turned over to the National Museum of the Czech Republic.

A New Executive Board for the EPRA - May 11, 2009
from Emmanuelle Machet/EPRA

The European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) appointed its new Executive Board on 8 May 2009. On the occasion of the 29th meeting held in Tallinn, Estonia, Dunja Mijatovic, Director of the Broadcasting Division of the Communication Regulatory Agency (CRA) from Bosnia and Herzegovina was unanimously re-elected Chairperson for a further period of two years.

Ms. Mijatovic is no newcomer to the EPRA. Her regulatory authority joined the network in spring 2000 and she has been involved in the activities of the Board in her capacity of Vice-Chair since May 2003, and became Chairperson in May 2007.

In her acceptance speech, she emphasised the importance of a strengthened co-operation between media regulatory authorities in Europe based on the two core EPRA values, independence and transparency.

In carrying out her tasks, the new EPRA Chairperson will be supported by the Strasbourg-based Secretariat and by a strong Board composed of four Vice-Chairpersons.

Mónica Ariño, International Policy Principal at Ofcom (UK) joins the Executive Board for the first time. She replaces Andris Mellakauls, Member of the National Broadcasting Council of Latvia, whose mandate within his authority will soon come to an end.

The other three Board members were re-elected from the previous Board: Jürgen Brautmeier, EPRA Senior Vice-Chairperson and Deputy Director of the Media Authority of Northrhine Westphalia (LfM) in Germany, Jean-François Furnémont, Director, CSA of the French speaking Community of Belgium and Sebastiano Sortino, Commissioner at the Italian AGCOM.