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Satire has once again made news. Considering everything else in the news, we should be grateful.
Swedish public television broadcaster SVT has a regularly scheduled satirical show called Svenska Nyheter (Swedish News). True to form, the show might just offend certain people. In the recent episode last Friday (September 30), the show turned its attention to the weighty geo-dynamic of relations with Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is easily and often offended. (See earlier report on satirical portal The Onion here)
The first joke-stream was about “Veto Turk” president Erdogan making demands of the Swedish government in quid pro quo for supporting Sweden’s NATO membership application. Then a segment was renamed Kurdiska Nyheter (Kurdish News) with Kurdish comedian Kadir Meral. After a few biting words about president Erdogan’s physical presence, he stepped into the Turkish demand to hand over Kurdish dissonants residing in Sweden. “You want to bring home critics and activists from Sweden. That is, everyone who doesn't suit you and whom you hate! Do you do that when you shop online too? 'Oh, what an ugly (shirt) in the wrong size, I have to have it!’" (See more about media in Sweden here)
Well, government-controlled media in Turkey had, as usual, a conniption fit, calling the program a “disgrace.” The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly summoned Ambassador Staffan Herrström to discuss the “insulting content,” reported Swedish media portal Journalisten (October 6). The Ambassador reminded his Turkish counterparts “that there is freedom of speech in Sweden.”
Just a short week ago, media and finance watchers were set for what they expected to be the imminent confirmation that Bertelsmann/RTL Group chief executive Thomas Rabe had selected the winning bid for French broadcaster M6 Group. Whomever chosen would certainly change the course of French broadcasting just another week or so after Herr Rabe announced a bidding beauty contest after the French Competition Authority smacked down the fusion of TF1 Group and M6 Group, which had been announced with considerable fanfare two years ago. So this week (October 3), Herr Rabe announced that Bertelsmann/RTL Group will be keeping M6 Group, operator of very profitable TV and radio channels. Time flies.
Officially, family-owned Bertelsmann SE, controlling shareholder of publicly traded RTL Group, said the company still wants to pursue “national champions” to compete with streaming entrants like Netflix. Exiting the M6 Group at this time is problematic because French ownership rules demand a five year transaction pause after a license is renewed. Main channel M6 is up for license renewal next May. Time is too short to close on an exit before that deadline strikes, the statement referring to “legal risks and uncertainties.” (See more about mergers and acquisitions here)
Billionaires lined up to place their bids for M6 Group, all rather conspicuously clamoring for entrance to top-tier French broadcasting without spending years in the process. The three main bids were all in the €1.6 billion range. Today, they are disappointed. Tomorrow, they will find something else to buy.
By coincidence (winkie blinkie) the Financial Times (October 3) published in advance of Herr Rabe’s latest decision a rather comprehensive profile of Bertelsmann, which just held its annual management meeting in Gütersloh, near Cologne. Two observations popped out. Bertelsmann has already moved on to the big publishing deal, acquisition of Simon & Schuster by Bertelsmann subsidiary Penguin Random House. As it, too, is tangled in US anti-trust rules and howling competitors, there is only so much executive and lawyer time available. Second, not insignificantly, Bertelsmann does not need the money. (See more about Bertelsmann/RTL Group here)
“Bertelsmann is in the unusual position of enjoying more excess capital than at any point in its history,” wrote the FT. “But (Herr) Rabe’s consolidation bet is faltering just as the economic winds turn against his businesses.” Herr Rabe remains optimistic. Consolidation “will come back,” he said, quoted by the FT. “No doubt. It’s a matter of two to three years, max.”
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs published an arrest notice for former state TV Channel One producer Marina Ovsyannikova, reported St. Petersburg news portal Lenizdat (October 3). She had been condemned to two months house arrest since being detained for attending a protest in July, which could result in ten years in a Russian jail. Ms Ovsyannikova gained certain notoriety in March for walking onto the Channel One news set, behind the anchor, carrying a “stop the war”poster, for which she received a fine.
Speaking to Russian propaganda channel RT (Russia Today) on Saturday (October 1), ex-husband Igor Ovsyannikov, an RT producer, said she had “fled in an unknown direction” with their 11 year old daughter. He added that the daughter does not have a passport and has been banned - by him - from leaving the country. Ms Ovsyannikova was due to be released from house arrest on October 9, reported independent Russian investigative portal Mediazona (October 3). (See more about media in the Russian Federation here)
After a brief detention for the March Channel One protest, Ms Ovsyannikova was given an exit to Germany via publisher Axel Springer for contributions in Die Welt. That lasted 90 days and she returned to Russia for divorce proceedings. During that time she was sought out by various international news organizations for views on Russian media. In one, with VOA, she talked about how RT employees were “scared.” She also attended at least two protests, which added to her police record. (See more about press freedom here)
As lines increase of Russian citizens seeking to exit for safer environs lately, it is possible Ms Ovsyannikova could be among them.
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