[Swprograms] Israeli (Ha'aretz) Editorial: No value for the licensing fee

[Joel Rubin <jmrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570626.html

By Haaretz Editorial

The minister responsible for the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA),
Ehud Olmert, will tomorrow ask the cabinet to agree to the dismissal
of IBA chief Yosef Barel. This demand is supported by the findings of
reports by the State Comptroller and the attorney general, both of
whom accuse Barel of corrupt management practices.

The findings were made public about a year ago, but Barel has not yet
been dismissed because the ministers fear the results of such a vote.
The director general of the IBA has a long arm, as the State
Comptroller's report revealed. His control over who appears on
television, who is interviewed on the radio, who is sent to cover the
ministers' or the prime minister's doings abroad or in development
towns, is worth millions. As of yesterday, Olmert was the only
minister to have announced his position on the issue. The fear is that
if the dismissal is not approved, the politicians who supported it
will pay the price in air time.

But not even the firing of Barel will cure the IBA. The political
cauldron will immediately begin to be stirred ahead of the selection
of a new IBA chief, who may reward politicians in a similar manner.
Even now, there is talk of deals between ministers along the lines of,
"I'll support the director general you want, and you'll support a
chairman who is one of my buddies."

The close connection between the prime minister and his ministers and
the IBA has to be broken. Communications experts have been
recommending reforms for years. Committees have been established and
reports written, but nothing has been done because of the affection
politicians have for direct control of radio and television
broadcasts.

Meanwhile, Israel's citizens pay a licensing fee but are not receiving
proper value in exchange. The IBA raises NIS 800 million annually from
the public and produces few and inferior programs that do not even
rise to the level of the commercial channels. Some of Israel Radio's
programs sound like pure government propaganda. When television head
Moti Eden boasts of the high ratings for "Friday with Michal," he
clearly does not understand the job of the head of a public
broadcaster.

As part of the streamlining dismissals Barel was so proud of, some of
the most talented and independent IBA people were sifted out. Others
had left even earlier. For years, the IBA paid salaries to worthy
producers, directors and journalists who were frustratingly
unemployed. Only when they were ejected onto the free market did their
energies and talents become obvious.

The dismissal of Yosef Barel is only the first necessary step in the
required revolution. In order for public broadcasting to become a
vital and interesting alternative to commercial television, it must
finally be allowed managerial and creative independence, a
precondition for good performance. A public supervisory body must be
appointed to ensure that the public broadcaster does not become a
carbon copy of Channel 2. This supervisory body must not be political
or in any way dependent on cabinet ministers.

The world has successful models of public broadcasting services that
provide their viewers and listeners with a break from ratings and
advertising, and attract a high proportion of viewers thanks to
quality of programming. There is no reason that talent and creativity,
plentiful here, should not produce a worthy public channel in Israel. 

_______________________________________________
Swprograms mailing list
Swprograms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://dallas.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms

To unsubscribe:  Send an E-mail to  swprograms-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown above.