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An incident on the Greek Macedonian border this week (Monday, March 14) illustrates both the need for and difficulties in news reporting on the movement - or lack thereof - of refugees through Europe. Reporters accompanying a group of refugees attempting to leave Greece for Macedonia were detained by Macedonian authorities, released to return to Greece only after paying a €250 fine. The group of refugees was removed to the Greek side of the border, officially closed to refugees.
According to the Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) Spanish affiliate, quoted by Europa Press (March 15), between 20 and 30 journalists were arrested, including at least six from Spain. Television channel La Sixta reporter Elena Herreros was held for nine hours in an open field. “They threw me to the ground and hit me four kicks with steel-toe boots to the legs, ribs and arm,” she said, quoted by elplural.es (March 15). “I was returned with the refugees and they said ‘Now you will live as a refugee’.” (See more about press/media freedom here)
Another report (Xinhua March 15) said the group crossed through a security fence gap near the village of Moin and 72 mostly Greek and German journalists were detained until they paid €500 fines. They were allowed to return to Greece on release, said Xinhua, and forfeited the right to enter Macedonia for six months. The report was not confirmed by other sources.
Reporting on the movement of refugees through Europe and, more recently, conditions at checkpoints and migrant camps has raised, as it should, public awareness of this human tragedy. The news coverage has not pleased authorities. Hungarian riot police forcibly arrested several reporters covering the infamous razor-wire border with Serbia last September, denied by the Hungarians, confirmed by the Committee to Protect Journalists (cpj.org September 27, 2015). AP photojournalist Luca Muzi was forced to delete video of “a police dog knocking down a Syrian refugee.”
Greek authorities, understandably overwhelmed by refugee numbers, have been blunt. “The press is not allowed in refugee centers,” said Deputy Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas. “No permission will be given to television crews and reporters to enter such premises that host refugees.”
As a footnote illuminating political tensions in Greece, Mr. Mouzalas’ resignation has been demanded, reported ToVima (March 15), because in a television interview he referred to Macedonia and not the preferred Greek designation Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Public broadcasters in Germany are directed by councils meant to be socially and politically representative of populations within each Federal State. Rules apportioning broadcasting council seats vary somewhat state to state but political parties are represented in accord, roughly, with state parliament seats. The rise of the far-right xenophobic Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party could affect decisions of those councils, including executive appointments.
The AfD is already represented on the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) broadcasting council, one seat among 43, all named last December to six-year terms through 2022. MDR serves Federal States Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD won sufficient seats in the recent Saxony-Anhalt parliamentary elections to become the Federal State’s second largest party. Increased representation on the MDR broadcasting council is possible but only when the current terms expire, explained an MDR spokesperson to tagesspiegel.de (March 14). (See more about media in Germany here)
State parliamentary gains for the AfD in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate could affect the make-up of the Südwestrundfunk (SWR) broadcasting council. “It is very likely the new Council at some point will consider a new balance,” said an SWR spokesperson. “We will see if a representative of AfD comes.” SWR is the regional public broadcaster for Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Politicians in Bremen (City-State) are acting this week to pre-empt the AfD from taking a seat on the Radio Bremen broadcasting council. A bill in front of the Bremen parliament would limit political membership on the broadcasting council to parties or “factions” with at least five seats in parliament. AfD currently has four.
The AfD claims most news media is “lying press,” controlled by their political opponents and other nefarious groups. Public broadcasting is a particular target of the right-wing nativists, as it is in Poland and, increasingly, the UK. The AfD “manifesto” calls for “abolishing” the household license fee that largely finances German public broadcasting and introducing significantly limited State-financed and politically controled radio and TV channels.
Every gathering of radio broadcasters since late last century has featured sales pitches for digital radio. In Europe that meant brass bands urging broadcasters to march along with “The Future Is Digital” and sign up for DAB (digital audio broadcasting). Some did and some didn’t. Consumers, as they are wont to do, interpreted the tune differently and bought smartphones.
As the media access point of choice for millions, smartphone sales outstrips all other consumer electronics devices. In Germany last year, for example, nearly 10 million were sold, according to a GfK industry market report (March 10), more than double TV set sales. Crunching those numbers a bit differently, German private broadcasters association VPRT estimated sales of all FM-enabled devices, other than automobiles, at 6.7 million, barely changing from 2014. Just over a million (1.02) internet radio devices were sold, up 22% year on year, and 950,000 digital broadcast receivers left the stores, up 32%. The big winner was Bluetooth-enabled speaker systems, up 66% year on year to 2.9 million units. (See VPRT presser here - in German)
Digital radio supporters have, more or less, given up attempts at forcing changes in consumer behavior with lobbying for FM broadcasting shut-down, applying the gentler approach of providing exclusive (and compelling) radio channels on the digital platforms. And successes have appeared. (See more about digital radio here)
But getting DAB or DAB+ chips into smartphones has been something of a challenge. Manufacturers have resisted, largely because radio isn’t their game and DAB/DAB+ chips have been both power and data hogs. Some of those concerns have been overcome as digital broadcasting support group IDAG and South Korea’s LG Electronics unveiled the new LG Stylus 2 smartphone with a DAB+ chip and a clever app to help folks tune-in soon.
“This breakthrough will allow broadcasters to reach even more people with their content,” said EBU radio chief Graham Dixon in a statement, coinciding with the RadioDays Europe conference and expo. Public broadcasting association EBU (European Broadcasting Union) has long championed the DAB cause, being invested in the intellectual property. (See EBU statement here) The LG Stylus 2 is a smart looking smartphone and will come at a “mid-tier price.”
State control of broadcasting is no longer a relic of past sins. Authoritarian governments in Hungary and, more recently, Poland have dusted off old icons to obstruct public broadcasting and threaten private broadcasting. Politicians in the Russian Federation and Turkey have done their share. The expressed reasoning - support for “culture” or “the free-market” - intends to obscure the obvious: state control.
The chill is coming to the UK, said BBC Radio director Helen Boaden at the annual RadioDays Europe broadcasting conference in Paris (March 14). "In some European countries, a change of government heralds a changing of the guard at public service broadcasters as well. Public service broadcasting subjected to undue political interference over a sustained period becomes state broadcasting. I don’t believe that is what our audiences want.” (See more about the BBC here)
UK Culture Minister John Whittingdale, stalwart of the Conservative Party, has called in recent days for BBC Radio channels to exit middle-adult audience targets (25 to 49 year olds), clear off shows that are “too popular,” and, remarkably, have sports channel BBC Radio Five Live to drop live sports broadcasts. Chasing radio listeners away from those “too popular” BBC channels and shows, he’s said, will benefit under-performing commercial competitors. He also favors ending the BBC Trust, which buffers the public broadcaster from the politicians. (See more about media in Poland here and media in Hungary here)
"It has also been suggested that our stations should not be so popular; that we should deliberately turn away audiences who want our range and distinctiveness,” said Ms Boaden. The argument is that if we made BBC Radio less appealing… those listeners would flock to commercial radio. Real life suggests otherwise.”
Real insight into the world of media in digital transition is, more often than not, shared cautiously. Huge consulting fees are commanded by those with “secrets” to offer. Giving it away is, they say, for amateurs.
For those pondering the future and wondering if that digital light in the tunnel is really a freight train the big question can be simply reduced: How did Amazon founder Jeff Bezos change the Washington Post? Mr. Bezos is, without argument, a digital champion and the Washington Post (WaPo) is the legacy US newspaper he bought in 2013.
“When the owner of Amazon buys you, suddenly everyone in the office is a digital expert,” said WaPo managing director Emilio Garcia-Ruiz in an expansive interview with El Mundo (March 12). “This was especially true among top executives. Suddenly they all had ideas.” Mr. Garcia-Ruiz was named WaPo managing director in charge of “digital initiatives and operations” shortly before the acquisition by Mr. Bezos was announced.
For Mr. Garcia-Ruiz, essentially a WaPo lifer, the transition meant a certain calm. “I don’t have to worry about arriving to the office and someone telling me to lay off 20 people. For the first time in 15 years, we have the opportunity, not just to survive, but win and win big.”
But, but, but where is the future? “A few weeks age we had a meeting about virtual reality for people at the newspaper,” he noted. “I thought five or six would come. There were 60. When the session ended, I had a lot of emails with proposals, ideas and questions. Changing the newsroom culture ensures they are enthusiastic about innovations.”
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