Over 150 top public broadcasting executives attending the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have called on decision-makers to look closely at budget cuts across a number of countries - for example in Hungary, Lithuania, Kosovo, Poland – which it said were threatening the independence, the mission and very existence of public service broadcasters.
“Properly-funded and balanced public service media reflecting all political views are the vital bedrock of every democratic society in Europe,” said EBU President Jean-Paul Phillipot of RTBF, Belgium. “Some governments are using today’s financial crisis as an excuse to reduce funding of public media to a level which threatens their independence and makes it impossible for them to carry out their mission.”
While the EBU acknowledges that good governance may require efficiencies, the current economic crisis cannot be used to undermine the ability of the broadcasters to deliver balanced reporting. The real purpose of cuts must be clear, and they should not serve to undermine a strong and independent public media organisation. As stated by the European Parliament in its resolution of 25 September 2008 on pluralism in the media, the tasks assigned to public sector broadcasting require long-term funding and independence.
Yesteray’s EBU General Assembly approved a project to deliver assistance to Members who are in a particularly challenging situation – financially, technologically, politically or in the programme area. The Union, which is committed to solidarity and unity among Members, has launched a number of initiatives to strengthen public service media in those countries where it is needed. Actions include a package of 500 quality European TV programmes for broadcast, bilateral cooperation between EBU Members, and initiatives designed to secure funding for digital infrastructure.
EBU Director General Jean Réveillon has written, on behalf of the Executive Board of the EBU, to the President and Prime Minister of Lithuania asking them to reconsider a planned 19% cut in government funding for the country’s public service broadcaster LRT, following a similar cut this year. He also wrote an open letter, on behalf of the Executive Board of the EBU, to the members of the Kosovo Parliament urging them to restore the licence fee, recently suspended by the country’s Constitutional Court, of Kosovo’s public broadcaster RTK.
(Source: EBU)
