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Week of November 21, 2016

Political appointments not budgets determine public broadcasters fate
rehabilitate this

The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) has been around for years, more State broadcaster than public in the standard definition. Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) was formed by an act of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) in 2014 and is due to replace the IBA in January or March or, maybe, sometime in 2018. The independent Army Radio will also close.

Unhappy with the new IPBC is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who announced intentions to “rehabilitate” the IBA, meaning cut budgets but not State control, and vacate the new IPBC. Shortly thereafter he proposed closing both, reported ynetnews.com (November 4). Mr. Netanyahu is also Israel’s Communications Minister. He “reportedly wants to keep the valuable political appointments the IBA provides and is concerned that (IPBC) will be too independent and critical of the government,” suggested Haaretz (November 15). (See more about public broadcasting here)

Jumping into the discussion is Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. “I will support any and all frameworks there are for public broadcasting so long as they are inside the existing budget framework,” he said at a recent media conference. “I can live with any framework, the IBA or the corporation, but there will be public broadcasting and there will be money for news and creative Israeli programming.” Earlier in the month he said he’d veto “any proposal to shutter the new broadcaster,” reported Bloomberg (November 1).

IBA is set for downsizing and eventual closing, hard assets to be sold off. Roughly 600 employees have signed contracts with IPBC anticipating the shift. Changing the plan at this stage will be noticed by everybody.

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