The German roadmap for public broadcasting --- Michael Hedges October 28, 2008 There’s no superhighway getting from old media land to new media land. Public and commercial broadcasters bump into each other. Publishers accelerate only to find competitors enjoying tea at the rest-stops. Along the way, regulators set up toll-booths and politicians set up detours. Meanwhile, the public – chased by a swarm of buzzing advertising people – flies on to new media land. |
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The License Fee Lives. Long Live the License Fee --- Michael Hedges - April 27, 2007 Europe’s public broadcasters breathed a sigh of relief this week as the final challenge to the radio and TV license fee has, possibly, been closed. European Commission competition commissioner Neeley Kroes ended an investigation into German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF and the use of public money. Commissioner Kroes accepted the German governments plan to revise PBS finance rules. |
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Polish President Puts New Spin on Polish Plumber Jokes --- Michael Hedges April 10, 2007 Firing yet another public television president sets no precedent in either Poland or the new Member States. Polish President Lech Kaczynski ordered TVP President Bronislaw Wildstein out at the end of February moving ever more quickly to bring the broadcaster under State control. Wildstein’s successor, former Kaczynski aide Andrzej Urbanski, was nominated and appointed within a week. |
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Shifting The Culture Of Free --- Michael Hedges July 20, 2015 Follow on Twitter Media luminaries through most of this century have taken every opportunity to belittle the online 'culture of free,' customers disregarding traditional pathways of commerce for the cornucopia that is the internet. A legal bit torrent was unleashed against those defying the will of content masters. The result has been much as expected; threats bore no fruit, the internet adapted. Consumers aplenty have decided which items on the media menu they will and will not pay for. |
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Creating A Path For Some By Spinning The Wind --- Michael Hedges February 8, 2016 Follow on Twitter Media regulation changes most when money is the object. Politicians are predisposed to crunch numbers in favor of short-term gain, elections being the most obvious. Broadcasters must consider transmitters, salaries as well as paper clips, air conditioning and pensions. Pulling a string makes the top spin fast enough to overcome inertia. Direction is something else.The advertising people know this. |
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