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Private offer made for public radio station
looking for an anchor
Liechtenstein’s only radio station – State-supported Radio L – could be privatized if the Principality accepts an offer by the operator of the only television station. Peter Heeb, principal owner of 1FM TV, has offered to takeover Radio L, which the Principality has operated since 2004 when the original private owner gave it up.
For those geographically challenged, Liechtenstein is nestled between Switzerland and Austria, population 35,000. Herr Heeb has been involved in various television stations in Switzerland and Germany. He’s offered, according to agency APA (September 3), CHF 500,000 to the Principality, which has been considering a household license fee to fund Radio L.
Herr Heeb’s ownership plan, reported Liechtensteiner Vaterland (September 2), would be to offer the Principality’s two newspapers 25% stakes. If that gets no traction, he’ll offer 50% in 1% slices to citizens. “For this new project,” he said, “an anchor in the Liechtensteiner population is crucial.” (JMH)
Diversity of opinion not welcomed by generals
“infamous” channels closed
Authorities in Egypt continue their crack-down on media outlets considered disruptive. Four Arabic-language television channels, including Al-Jazeera Egypt, were ordered off the air, reported Ahram Online (September 3). Three Islamic channels were cited for “one-sided reported” favoring the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera Egypt, known as Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, was called a “threat to national security.”
Shortly after the Egyptian Army deposed President Mohamed Morsi, with considerable popular support, Islamic channel A-Hafez was temporarily closed. An administrative court in Cairo made that permanent this week, charging the channel’s owners with “inciting hatred” and “undermining national security.” The channel, described as “infamous for its derogatory language” by Ahram Online, lost a defamation lawsuit brought by Egyptian actor Hany Ramzy who had asked the government to close the satellite channel.
“I don't understand the rationale behind such court orders,” said liberal Dostour Party member Khaled Dawoud. “We should get accustomed to the broadcasting of views we do not sympathize with and stop blaming the media, as we live in an age of diversity.”
Egypt25, the Muslim Brotherhood’s TV channel, was also ordered closed after Army Chief General Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced a “media code of ethics.”
A crew of three foreign freelancers working for Al-Jazeera English were expelled from Egypt Sunday night (September 1) for shooting video without a permit. (JMH)
Say goodbye to the TV tax
No, not really
The household license fee supporting public broadcasting continues transformation from a devices tax. Households with computers, smartphones or tablets in Poland without TV or radio receivers will see an extra 10 PLN a month, about €2.35, on their electricity bills from January 1st 2015, said the Ministry of Culture, reported by wirtualnemedia.pl (September 3). The change had been to take effect a year earlier but the government needed “sufficient time to implement the new media law.” (See more on media in Poland here)
Nearly every household in Poland has a TV receiver, over 97% according to the Ministry of Culture. Compliance with the current license fee has been quite low. The new rules effectively require payment from all households with any device that can possibly receive public radio or television channels. Households in Poland will no longer be required to register ownership of radio or television receivers. (JMH)
Broadcaster rethinking medium wave
Still useful
Czech broadcaster Londa has put a hold on plans to launch a new radio station on medium wave. The company was granted authority in January for the station targeting folks over 45 years and it was due to fire up this summer. Londa operates top rated Radio Impuls and RockZone.
The company cited organizational and technical reasons for asking media regulator RRTV to withdraw the license. “It does not mean that we don’t still believe in the usefulness of AM broadcasts,” said a Londa spokesperson, quoted by media portal mediar.cz (August 26).
Czech public radio launched all-talk national channel Radio Plus on medium wave in March. Internet and satellite station Rádio Dechovka received a medium wave license and began low power tests in August after which the folk music station will operate on a 10 kW transmitter covering the entire country.
While medium wave broadcasting has been curtailed in a few countries - and FM threatened in others – the rise of platform neutrality has been a boost to radio operators. Digital radio has a hold in some countries and web radio continues to grow. But the stark reality is that most receivers pick up FM and, quite often, medium wave. And there are plenty of transmitters and frequency allocations. (JMH)
Title change settles power struggle
Bad numbers, digital divide remain
There has been over the past two weeks high drama at a most unlikely place, German news magazine Der Spiegel. The venerable title – Europe’s best selling news magazine – has been going through a major crisis over a personnel decision. Well, it could be a bit more than that.
Earlier this year Wolfgang Büchner was hired into the prestigious post of editor-in-chief at Der Spiegel, starting date set at September 1st. Herr Büchner comes with noteworthy news credentials, most recently editor-in-chief at news agency dpa. He had previously been managing editor on Spiegel Online.
Herr Büchner’s “change agent” mission, according to German media watchers, includes a shift to more hard news and, perhaps more importantly, bridging the Der Spiegel print staff with the Spiegel Online digital staff, separate by more than bricks and mortar. In April both the Der Spiegel editor-in-chief and the Spiegel Online boss were sacked rather unceremoniously because, said various reports, they couldn’t get along. (See more on media in Germany here)
As new bosses often do – and quite rightly – Herr Büchner hired a deputy, the high profile journalist, editor, author and TV talk show host Nikolaus Blome. The Der Spiegel staff revolted. Herr Blome had been deputy editor and head of the Berlin bureau for national tabloid Bild, where he had been considered a rising star for owner Axel Springer.
In most companies, even German media houses, staff doesn’t get much of a voice in top management choices. This is different. The Der Spiegel (print) staff are majority shareholders, 50.5%. Gruner + Jahr, owned by Bertelsmann, holds just above 25%, the remaineder held by the family of the late founder Rudolf Augstein. The staff collectively opposed the appointment of Herr Blome, fearful his right-wing populist views would leach into the more traditional leftie Der Spiegel.
And they were joined by at least one of the Augstein heirs in a “power struggle,” as described by German media watchers, with Herr Büchner and Spiegel Verlag CEO Ove Saffe. Daughter Franziska Augstein called Herr Blome’s appointment a “disaster” that her father would “never have let happen.” Son Jakob Augstein, who shares a point-counter point TV show with the conservative Herr Blome, called him an “eminent political journalist.”
By the end of last week a compromise was reached. Publicly, at least, it came down to changing Herr Blome’s title to “member of the editorial board,” implying limited power. The wrangling among shareholders, family members and management only “obscures the real issue,” said business journal Wirtschafts Woche (September 2). Ad sales and circulation have fallen dramatically. And as with so many publishing houses, the divide between higher salaried print staff and less costly online staff is a simmering battle. (JMH)
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