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To understand a culture get a grasp on its humor. Social scientists study this. Humor helps people relate. An ill-drawn joke will stop any conversation. Satire is more complicated.
Finnish cartoonist Ville Ranta is “known for bold and polarizing” drawings, said one biographer. His work for newspaper Iltalehti is well-known in Scandinavia and, certainly, France because they love biting cartoons. He lives in the far north of Finland, where winter is dark like the sense of humor.
This week (January 17) Iltalehti published Mr. Ranta’s take on current events. The subject was the divisive Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who continues to block NATO membership by Finland and Sweden unless Kurdish refugees in those countries are deported to Turkey. Naturally, human rights activists have been outraged, not the first time. (See more about media in Finland here)
The Ville Ranta cartoon depicted Mr. Erdogan in three bubbles; one suspended upside down, another buck-naked and the third as a dog, each noting the escalating number of “terrorists” he has demanded. The headline: “Erdogan’s price list for mockery.” Several media outlets republished the cartoon.
After Kurdish activists protested in Stockholm by hanging an effigy of president Erdogan from a construction crane, leftist satirical newspaper Flamman (January 17) offered €1000 to cartoonists for Erdogan submissions. In 2020 president Erdogan threatened a defamation lawsuit against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for another cartoon. A trial began in a Turkish court the following year. The proceedings are ongoing.
“By publishing the drawing, we remind our readers that freedom of expression must be protected, especially when times are difficult and conditions are tough,” said Iltalehti publisher and chief editor Perttu Kauppinen, quoted by Swedish public broadcaster SVT News (January 17). “The reactions have been mixed, as always with political satire. Some say ‘brilliant’, others that you shouldn't provoke Erdogan and that nothing good can come of it.”
Reaction from government-proximate media in Turkey was uncharacteristically tepid. "The scandals never end in Sweden,” wrote Daily Sabah (January 17). “After the shameful demonstration in Stockholm, the Swedish press has caused another scandal. Flamman magazine launched a contest to insult Erdogan.”
Press freedom advocates are accustomed to bad news. Tyrants and authoritarian leaders hold the upper hand. Just as all seems hopeless, a bit of light shines.
Philippine news outlet Rappler co-founder and chief executive Maria Ressa was effusive in a public statement after the country’s Court of Tax Appeals acquitted four charges that originated under former president Rodrigo Duterte’s rule, reported Rappler (January 18). “Today, facts win, truth wins, justice wins,” she said, noting that others remain jailed in the Philippines.“ Ms Ressa founded Rappler in 2012 after two decades as CNN bureau chief in Manila and Jakarta.
“I think our victory is not just Rappler’s,” she said to CNN (January 18). “It is for every single person who’s been unjustly accused with politically motivated charges.” Left outstanding, however, are nearly two dozen other charges. Ms Ressa is currently free on bail while appealing separate cyber crime charges from 2020. Signing the order, the Court’s justices cited “failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.” (See more about press freedom here)
Ms Ressa was jointly awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Dmitry Muratov of the Russian Federation for “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” Mr. Muratov co-founded Novaya Gazeta, subsequently shuttered by Russian authorities. This week a Moscow District Court imposed a RUB 500,000 (roughly EUR 6,700) against the publishing company for an article published prior to the suspension, reported Lenizdat (January 18). Current Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the late dictator, appears interested in distancing himself from his father’s legacy and that of former president Duterte.
“The acquittal of Maria Ressa,” wrote Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) secretary general Christophe Deloire, posted to social media (January 18), “is evidence that the fight for press freedom is also made up of victories. It pays to roll up our sleeves.”
Media outlets - all of them - have a hyper-magnetic attraction to sports. This is not at all new. It has, however, grown exponentially. Sports attract sports fans, who attract sponsors and advertisers, who line-up sports stars for photo-shoots and other cameo appearances. Set the cynicism aside: it’s all good fun, more or less.
European media rights for Olympic Games through 2032 were awarded this week by the International Olympic Committee. That includes the Milan/Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, a yet to be placed 2030 Winter Olympics and the Brisbane 2032 Summer Olympics along with the related para-Olympic Games and Junior Olympics. And the winners are: Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), owner of Eurosport, and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), trade association for European public broadcasters. The duo already hold rights for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. (See more about sports rights here)
The rights package covers television, radio, social media, websites and streaming while WBD also has pay-TV rights. Recent Olympic Games events have drawn record audiences in Europe. The Tokyo 2020 Summer Games attracted 372 million European viewers to WBD and the Beijing Winter Games drew 156 million. By contrast the US audience via NBC Universal for Tokyo 2020 was a tepid 15.6 million per night, the Beijing Winter Games just 11.4 million. (See more about sports and media here)
The IOC deal with WBD and EBU is a certain gift to European public broadcasters, which will offer free-to-air services. They have fought tooth and nail to maintain “must see” relevance in the streaming age. UK right-wing politicians - and certain well-known publishers - have launched, for example, a full scale war of attrition against the BBC, projecting the pain from voters over the Brexit lunacy. (See more about public broadcasting here)
“This deal is a game-changer for public service media and demonstrates the abiding strength and solidarity of our union,” said EBU president and public broadcaster France Télévisions chief executive Delphine Ernotte Cunci, quoted by FranceInfo (January 15). “Through its members, the EBU has the potential to reach over one billion viewers across Europe via linear and non-linear platforms. And that’s why I’m so pleased to welcome this partnership with the IOC and Warner Bros Discovery, which will ensure the Games will be available to the widest possible audience across Europe.” That, of course, is the IOC’s primary mission.
International news organizations continue to take up space in the Baltics. There are several reasons, as that old saying goes: location, location, location.
RFE/RL officially opened new offices in Riga, Latvia and Vilnius, Lithuania last week, with formal fanfare. It follows German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) moving its Russian service offices to Riga from Moscow in December. Both moves were announced last year as news outlets recognized the futility of placing staff in harms way.
Funded by the US Congress and independent by statute, RFE/RL is using the new Riga facilities with programs targeting Russian language speakers. The Vilnius office provides reporting to Belarus. DW is likewise independent of German government offices and is funded through the federal budget. (See more about international broadcasting here)
Both broadcasters noted their intention of serving the Baltic region, which has significant Russian-speaking populations. “Having served Latvian and Lithuanian audiences during difficult periods in their histories, we are excited to be able to return now to work together to provide new generations who are still denied freedom with access to unbiased reporting,” said RFE/RL chief executive Jamie Fly in a statement (January 12). He noted that RFE/RL reporters are “still on the ground” in the Russian Federation. “It has to be done very differently than it was before the full-scale invasion (of Ukraine by Russian Federation forces).”
“We want to integrate well in Rīga,” said DW director general Peter Limburg to Latvian public broadcaster LSM (December 10). “We don't see ourselves as helicopter journalists that fly in and wait here for the storm to pass. Rather, we want to take a lot of Latvian culture and local life with us while we're here. We are planning here for the next few years, not for the next few months.” (See more about foreign correspondents here)
Riga, in particular, has become something of a regional reporting hub, creating some stress with over 200 foreign media workers in the city. Russian exile TV channel Dozhd TV (TV Rain) had its broadcast license revoked by the Latvian regulator only to be returned by the Dutch regulator. Located in Riga for nearly a decade, Russian exile news portal Meduza has begun providing Latvian language translations, reported Russian news portal Lenizdat (January 15), perhaps to assuage political disquiet.
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