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End of the license fee tax
And a “significant qualitative change”
Poland, like many other European countries, is taking a very hard look at its public broadcaster and the way it’s financed. And, typically, the discussions and debates often degenerate into political wrangling. Public broadcasters are under a microscope, certainly inspecting every aspect but also searching for broad solutions.
Such it has been in Poland. Recent management shuffles at Polish public television and radio have the appearance of ‘moving the deck chairs on the Titanic.’ A recent interview with the chairman of the committee drafting new Polish media legislation offers a look inside, far beyond simply changing people.
Tadeusz Kowalski is a Warsaw University professor of journalism and is chair of the committee drafting a comprehensive new media law. Speaking with Gazeta Prawna, published January 14, Kowalski says the license fee tax has to go, replaced by funds from the VAT. Indeed, he suggests, the new financing means created will benefit Polish public broadcasting by forcing efficiencies and changed priorities.
“We propose the elimination of (the license fee), which is an archaic instrument, difficult to enforce and expensive,” he said. “Film, radio and television bring some resources to the Treasury through a VAT mechanismwhen providing their services. Some of these revenues will be returned for media services.”
Asked about changes in the public broadcaster, Kowalski said he anticipates “a significant qualitative change. It may not be such a metamorphosis as in France, with the total ban on advertising, but the mission will be carried out in a different manner than it was before. Media will no longer be guided only by the market but, above all, by the importance of social inclusion.” (JMH)
PR spending to be reported
product placement of ideas
The Swedish Institute for Advertising and Media Statistics (IRM) will begin reporting company spending on public relations activities along with ad spending, if Swedish PR agencies agree to release the figures. IRM wants to begin publishing data on PR spending in February.
“Today is PR a natural part of the media mix for many companies,” said IRM CEO Magnus Anshelm to Dagens Media (January 12), “and it is important for the public relations industry to appear in the polls.”
Anecdotal evidence suggests that while spending on traditional ‘spots & space’ advertising has slowed companies are ramping up public relations activities. We can wax poetic on the reasons for this. Just think of public relations as the product placement of ideas. (JMH)
Turkey public broadcaster pressed for more minority languages
Kurdish broadcasts opened the door
At the first of the year Turkish authorities opened 12 hour daily television broadcasts in Kurdish on public broadcaster TRT. The political decision took years to implement. Now other minority language speakers in Turkey are clamoring for air-time.
The Caucasian Associations Federation (KAFFED) is asking that Abkhaz and Adygey languages be added to the new multi-lingual TRT6. Turkey’s 6 million speakers of Caucasian languages should have “the opportunity to enjoy their mother languages,” said KAFFED spokesperson Cumhur Bal to bianet (January 6). Abkhaz and Adygey are northwest Caucasian languages, among about a dozen minority languages spoken in Turkey, neighboring Georgia and Syria and almost neighboring Russia.
TRT will reportedly begin Armenian language radio broadcasts in February and is exploring the possibility of offering television programs in Armenian by the end of the year. (JMH)
Remember Shortwave?
Robert MacMillan of Reuters has a great story people still listening to shortwave radio for the fun of it. Yeah, the younger ones reading this will probably ask, “What’s shortwave” but foreigners in strange lands and those in their own home country wanting to listen to foreign lands remember how shortwave used to be a daily part of life just as the I-pod and the Internet are today. And apparently, according to MacMillan, there still are people out there listening.
Problem, of course, is that many broadcasters around the world have given up on shortwave and now they broadcast via the Internet or have substituted text and video services on the Internet. But to old-timers, that’s just not the same.
Phil Stone remembers 35 years ago when UPI sent him to Helsinki as Bureau Manager. Stone didn’t speak a word of Finnish and not too many Finns in those days spoke much English and certainly the country’s domestic broadcasting and print was all in Finnish or Swedish. But every night Stone would switch on his trusty Panasonic shortwave, find just the right angle for the antenna, and lo and behold in came the trusty Big Ben chimes of the BBC and on Voice of America there was the news in special English (slowly read), and it just made “home” feel that much closer.
Truth is, in the Stone basement there are three shortwave radios that for many a year have been unused. She who must be obeyed recently suggested they get tossed since they were just gathering dust but that is one argument she lost! Some things are still sacred.
Gannett Workers Get A Forced Extra Week Of Vacation, But Without Pay
After having laid off more 1,000 employees in December, Gannett, the largest US newspaper company, now is telling non-union employees they have to take a week of unpaid leave during Q1. It’s also asking the unions to accept with a veiled threat that if they don’t then that could lead to layoffs to save that money.
There is basically culture shock going on at Gannett’s corporate headquarters. The share price is down to $7.80 (that’s down about 75% over the past 12 months), it has warned its 2008 profit will be about 8% less than 2007 (but it is still making a good profit so all things are relative!), and it said publishing revenue in October and November fell by about 18%. Obviously the enforced furlough indicates no light yet at the end of the economic tunnel.
Even though Gannett said the furlough is to prevent layoffs, it won’t give a guarantee there won’t be more layoffs down the line. It says all depends on the economy and that doesn’t sound very hopeful. Gannett managers are asking their staff to sign up for the week they want to take off but its Washington D.C. bureau manager has already told her staff not to even think about taking next week off – something about an inauguration in town!
Nortel’s Bankruptcy Hopefully Won’t Affect Vancouver Olympics
Nine years ago Nortel’s shares were selling at around $1200 each. Wednesday after the communication company announced it had filed for bankruptcy those shares were going for about 11 cents. Nortel is a big sponsor of the Olympic Games and is responsible for supplying network communications equipment for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver by athletes, officials and the media, but the company says not to worry, even with the bankruptcy Vancouver is safe.
The company also has a similar agreement for supplying the 2012 London Games but no word how the bankruptcy might affect the communications planning for those Games.
43 countries to send contestants to Eurovision Song Contest
the more the merrier, yes?
Nothing breaks the winter doldrums like news from the Eurovision Song Contest. (See Eurovision presser here) This May's show from Moscow will debut new judging rules. And the BBC has a new host for its coverage. (JMH)
Vin Scully The Best Sports Broadcaster Ever!
Phil Stone recalls going to high school in California during the 1960s near Los Angeles and there were few nights as he studied that the radio wasn’t tuned to clear-channel KFI on AM for the live broadcasts of the Los Angeles Dodgers with Vin Scully – and you know what, Scully is still at it at the ripe old age of 81 and when the new season begins shortly it will mark his 60th year of broadcasting the Dodgers.
So what superlatives do you give a guy like this who eight years ago was named “Sportscaster of the Century” by the American Sportscasters Association. Well that same group has come up with what must be the ultimate accolade, “Top Broadcaster of All Time”.
Those who have heard Scully’s distinctive voice will never forget it. It was said at the time the clear-channel signal of KFI reached as far as Chicago so there’s a lot of people out there who could probably agree with The American Sportscasters.
Public broadcaster and newspaper in web venture trial
English is the linguafranca
Dutch international broadcaster Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) and NRC Handelsblad are beginning a 3 month content swap trial with their respective English language websites. (See RNW presser here)
This isn't the first nor will it be the last web portal joint venture of a public broadcaster and a newspaper publisher. German PSB WDR and publisher WAZ have cooperated for a couple of years without raising the hackles of competition authorities.
This may be the first JV project between an government funded international broadcaster and a private sector publisher. Expect more. Imagine the possibilities.(JMH)
Eurovision offers Obama inaugration in HD
must see TV... everywhere
Eurovision, the EBU production arm, will offer high definition (HD) TV coverage of the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States Barak Obama next Tuesday (January 20). According to the EBU statement, this will be the first live news event television coverage in HD. (Read EBU presser here)
Worldwide interest in Barak Obama has been huge and well noted. The EBU presser refers to "unprecidented interest."
And, too, it's a great opportunity for EBU/Eurovision to show off its technical capacities. Certainly there will be the opportunity for at least one promo for the Eurovision Song Contest. (JMH)
Hopefully More Americans Will Follow Obama And Read Newspaper…
Since Americans like to follow the example of their heroes, then one good example that they should follow from President-elect Barack Obama is that he really does read newspaper articles, which is one better than George Bush who once said all he usually reads are the headlines.
In a CNBC interview last week Obama said, “I think it’s important not to live in the bubble. So you’ve got to be open to outside information, particularly criticism. I’ll tell you, I very rarely read good press and I often read bad press, not because I agree with it but because I want to get a sense of, Are there areas where I’m falling short and I can do better?”
The interviewer noted that Obama hasn’t had much of a bad press up to now. “Well, I’m sure it’s coming,” he responded.
…And Not Do As Lula Does
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says he never reads newspapers or magazines “Because I have a problem with heartburn,'' he told the January issue of Piaui magazine.
Silva says he prefers to be briefed on the day’s news by aides. He never really has had a happy time with the media, complaining of ill-treatment even since he was a union leader opposing the then government in the 1980s. On the other hand he admits that becoming President was “a direct product of freedom of the press.”
He also thinks it is just dandy that the Internet has come along to compete with mainstream media, saying citizens are no longer held captive to mainstream media.
Lula has proposed a controversial new media law that would make publishing or leaking secret information a crime.
Montgomery faces buyers market
tension, pressure, pain
Mecom’s sale of its German media assets to M. DuMont Schauberg, highly rumored to be a done deal last week (January 9), has slightly unraveled. DuMont said (January 10) there is no deal until Mecom CEO David Montgomery drops the price. (More on the Mecom saga here) Mr. Montgomery needs to come up with a load of cash by the end of February.
German media reports that Montgomery wants between €160 and 170 million for Berliner Zeitung and other assets while Dumont wants to spend “less than €150 million.” The plan, if it goes forward, would merge Mecom’s titles into the DuMont’s. Most sources indicate the next bit of news will come on Tuesday (January 13). (JMH)
Internet radio for cars reported ‘coolest’ at CES
Otherwise, it was grim in Las Vegas
Blaupunkt’s internet radio for cars, first displayed last week at the Consumer Electronics Show, was called “the coolest” of the hot new products by Venture Beat (January 6). It looks like a car radio and, being from Blaupunkt, probably sounds better than most. And, so says US propaganda, will offer 20,000 radio stations.
Blaupunkt’s internet radio for cars attaches to the internet via Bluetooth through a 3G mobile phone. Compiling all these radio stations is the Australian company miRoamer. Their propaganda says they’ll sign up 30,000 radio stations.
Looks like it will be sold at auto dealers for about €300. And, yes, there will be a subscription fee. And, yes, there will be the 3G bandwidth charges.
Sanyo recently launched its table model internet radio. (See that story here) The heavyweights are obviously getting behind internet radio. One in four automobiles in Europe comes radio equipped by Blaupunkt. (JMH)
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