Circom Report

CIRCOM Regional Newsmonthlyl CR is the European Association of 380 Public Regional TV Stations in 38 countriesl Nov. 2001/No 25

A warm farewell to CR General Secretary Boris Bergant upon the completion of his tenure

DearThank Boris, you, Boris meetings – conventions. Born diplomat, always It was the end of November 1994 during the By positive and consensual, you inspired our group CIRCOM Regional Executive Committee and Marie-Paule Urban, with a new dynamic. With you and thanks to you, European Board meetings at the European we have:- developed the cooperation between our Parliament in Strasbourg when with the support of Deputy Eastern and Western members, - strengthened all our members you succeeded our friend Peter Secretary General, vocational training with a policy of active support ZIMMERMANN as General Secretary and -with to the Countries of Eastern and Central Europe, the numbers of CR members constantly rising on behalf thus pursuing our mission of East-West from the original 4 in 1983 to nearly 380 today-, a of every cooperation, created the BoG – Board of new position as Deputy Secretary General was CR member Governors, coordinated by Rick THOMPSON, created and entrusted to me. and successively chaired by Bob JARRETT, With you, under the presidency of the coordination was taken over by the CR Gerry REYNOLDS, RTE – Cork, Ireland then by Norwegian Harald BOE (NRK Oslo 94-96), the coproduction office in Munich. -a new Prix Roel DIJKHIS, RTV Noord – Groningen, The Swiss Carlo RANZI (TSI Lugano 96-99), the Category: crossborder, imagined with Jean-Pierre Netherlands - encouraged "Euromusica", annual German Reimar ALLERDT (BR Munich 2000), BERG, DG XVI, -a documentary collection (7 x televised festival of regional music and songs and currently the Greek Lefty KONGALIDES, we 26') "Man and the Forest" with U.S.S.E.-Union organised by CR and coordinated by John have worked in an intercultural, East-West of the Foresters of South Europe, -a prefeasibility FORSSBLAD, SVT Karlstad, Sweden (1987- partnership to create an efficient link between study of an innovative, multicultural and 2000), and as of 2001 by Eszter FARKAS, MTV Ljubljana and Strasbourg, and also a man – multilingual channel “EURO TV Regio”. the Budapest, Hungary - participated in the oldest CR woman outlook, sharing a common passion: Council of Europe: of their campaign against cross-border coproduction "Alpes- Danube- Audiovisual and Europe. racism, intolerance, anti-semitism and xenophobia Adria" in 1983, broadcast by 17 stations from Combining the talents, experiences and wise "all different, all equal" and the support of the Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, advice of all the CR members, we learned, as the Human Rights Direction – Media Division, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungaria - days went by, to better know each other and Christophe POIREL and Mario OETHEIMER.the organised the 1st Ethnic Festival, -coordinated especially to promote CIRCOM Regional, our European Parliament and more particularly the several European programmes: Women in Europe, International Cooperative for Reseach in support of Jean-Charles PIERRON and Kirsten "ISPO" about new technology, "Minorities in Communication, the unique international TINGSTED-ANDERSEN from the Audiovisual Europe", "Science in Europe" and many audiovisual network of 376 public regional TV Division for : - technical support for CR members others.This is the reason why, at the turn of this stations in Europe. Always in complementarily, I - videos on European subjects, - the new Prix CR European Year of Languages 2001, we all - was in charge of the development of the relations category : Current Affairs, - the European Executive Committee, European Board and all the with the European and Territorial Institutions with Training Seminar on Newsroom Management CR members-, as well as your closest colleagues - financial assistance for training seminars and the taking place in Strasbourg, and to mark the turn of female colleagues should I say- as you always CR Prix, to communicate and promote CR, to the century : - the coordination of the knew how to best surround yourself - Karmen, participate and represent CR at audiovisual coproduction Radio Canada – CIRTEF of the Katarina, Mariana, Marko, Stasa, Tina without conferences and seminars, to strengthen the series of 50 portraits- – documentaries of 26' "50. forgetting your wife Verena, want to say to you in relations between our members, encouraging et un monde" with the French-speaking network our various languages and dialects for the programme exchanges and coproductions with the of the Central and Eastern European Countries – tremendous amount of work you accomplished: A support of the management of and CR members - elaboration of the historical GREAT AND WARM THANK YOU. While France 3 Alsace. Together we carried on the CIRCOM Regional exhibition from its origine in awaiting the elaboration with you of the Year of mission that was entrusted to us with: in 1983 to date - a new European training seminar on the Regions in Europe, we will together with Strasbourg : è the Registration of our Association newsroom management organised by the CR Marija NEMCIC, our new Secretary General and at the Court benefiting from the local Code of DSG with France 3 Formation at France 3 Alsace Lefty as Captain, pursue our task in the same spirit Law èthe realisation of the CR logo, CR credits, in Strasbourg during the November session of the and maintain the cape you marked out.More than CR trophy, CR newsletter, CR booklet and European Parliament in 2000 and 2001. You, ever in these troubled times –at a time of world presentation film : the latter three being all Boris in Ljubljana, as a pioneer since 1995 : competition and of regional digital televisions- we bilingual in English and French. èthe launching èlinked CR on the world’s greatest on-line will continue to built all together with our richness with the European Commission of :an hour network with general information, video library, and diversity of languages and cultures- a weekly of CR's best European programmes and coproductions, programmes, newsletter..èrealised European audiovisual space, respectful of our coproductions (repeats twice a week) broadcast on a CR CD-ROM and had our bilingual presentation national and regional cultural specificities and of EbS, Europe by Satellite thanks to Niels booklet printed èstructured our Association essential values of Human Rights, in a democratic THOGERSEN, Nicole CAUCHIE and Diederick according to its needs, namely with the new spirit, tolerant, pluralistic, in one word: BANGERT, presented together from the France 3 Independant Statesèparticipated and represented HUMANIST! Alsace studio with Jürgen HASSEL, Prix CR CR at the E.B.U. where you also act as Vice- Marie-Paule URBAN President (89-99) and as of 2000 by David President ètook care of the multiple daily tasks of CIRCOM Regional Deputy Secretary General LOWEN. After this successful experience, the a General Secretary: finances – management – 2

Journalists’ continual exposure Microsoft waiting to trauma has an effect on them for UPC green light

From traffic accidents to child abuse cases, airline crashes to civil wars, Microsoft said it was ready to there’s nothing like a career in journalism for exposure to the worst the launch its interactive television world has to offer software platform in Amsterdam But reporters are traditionally Robert Frank, who became pending the green light from loathe to admit that all this bad interested after seeing the effects on cable operator UPC. news might get to them, and the journalists of 1998’s Swissair crash “Soon we’ll hear more from culture of journalism is quick to offf the coast of Canada. (UPC) on what their deployment dismiss those who crumble under “I simply had not expected to plans are. We’re ready to go, as the pressure. see signs of traumatic stress among soon as they are,” Microsoft TV’s But bravado aside, continual the news people who covered the Director of Marketing, Ed exposure to trauma has an effect on tragedy”, he says. Graczyk, said in an interview. anybody – journalists included. A “The families of the victims UPC said earlier this month it new international organisation, certainly. The recovery workers of would roll out its interactive Newscoverage Unlimited, has set course. But it had never occurred to digital television services in five out to draw attention to the me that simply reporting on a grisly European countries in September, vulnerability of journalists to story could produce these effects in using two different technology mental health problems, to build up reporters, photographers, editors.” platforms. mutual support systems for them, One will be a set top box from assist them in seeking professional Philips with software from help, and encourage news Microsoft, the other a box from management to understand and CNN to launch Arabic Motorola with software from address the issues involved. language news site Liberate Technologies. The organisation was founded by New York Times reporter. Discovery to relaunch CNN International Networks is Hungary tells Bertelsmann launching an Arabic-language ‘Mastermind’ show to give up medium Web site, based in Dubai, in an effort to expand its reach among Bertelsmann, the German media Discovery networks Europe has the 3.5 million Arabic-speaking unveiled its schedule for the group, must give up control of Internet users in the Middle East. either the Hungary-based RTL Klub Autumn/Winter season, which The number of people who television channel or Nepszabadsag, includes the revival of BBC quiz the country’s best-selling speak Arabic worldwide is more show “Mastermind”. broadsheet, Hungary’s national than 200 million. The new Web The BBC cancelled the show radio and television regulator site, CNNArabic.com, is slated to about five years ago, after almost (ORTT) said yesterday, Reuters be operational by the end of the 20 years on the air. reports from Budapest. year, and will also serve as a Now, Discovery will launch the The ORTT said Bertelsmann’s newsgathering bureau for CNN “new” programme with an control of both media was in breach broadcasts, says Chris Cramer, interactive feature, allowing Sky of Hungarian media law and must president of CNN International Digital viewers to play along with end within 180 days. Bertelsmann Networks. the general knowledge rounds of bought a majority stake in RTL, “If we’re going to blast the quiz. Europe’s leading commercial TV business forward we need to get Previously, Discovery employed broadcaster, which owns Hungary’s more into local languages,” says interactive applications on its RTL Klub, earlier this year. Mr Cramer. “I see this as the Discovery, Today magazine show The ORTT quoted Hungary’s biggest language venture overseas and about thirteen other media law as saying the controlling since the brand began.” Future documentary features. The channel intends to deploy owner, publisher or founder of a plans call for a Hebrew-language further interactive enhanced national newspaper may not control Web site, as well as indigenous- a national TV channel. Bertelsmann programming, including a sequence language Web sites in India, of “Walking with Dinosaurs”, a said the company was aware of the probably initially in Hindi. situation and would be working to coproduction of Discovery with the find a solution acceptable to local BBC. authorities. 3 Growing audience Nordic public broadcasters for media online Statistics show that as more Americans turn to the Web for open joint office in Brussels news, they are increasingly Headed by Olle Mannberg spending more time at the sites of large, high-profile offline media organisations. Jupiter Media Metrix found Brussels/Geneva The public service broadcasters of Denmark, demand for online news and Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have opened a joint office in information sites was up 14.7 Brussels to represent their interests before the European institutions. percent from July 2000, while Headed by Olle Mannberg of SVT (Sweden), the Office of the Nordic overall Web traffic growth rose Public Service Broadcasters forms part of the European Broadcasting 12.3 percent over the past year. The average amount of time House established in 1997 by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) spent on news sites has also only yards from the European Parliament. increased since last July: NYTimes.com users; 8.2 The premises are already home to “We have set up the office to learn more minutes, up from 6.8 minutes; offices of the BBC (UK), France about the European scene in WashingtonPost.com users; 7.7 Télévision, RAI (Italy), RTVE (Spain), broadcasting, telecommunications, minutes, up from 6.4 minutes; ZDF (Germany) and the EBU itself, which the media and information technology, MSNBC.com users; 6.1 minutes, runs Eurovision and other services for its but also to inform the European up from 4.8 minutes. members from headquarters in Geneva. institutions, their parliamentarians and And while so far it does not The Nordic office was inaugurated with staff about the Nordic model of public appear that news Web sites are a reception attended by the directors service broadcasting,” Nissen said. taking audience away from print general of SR, SVT and UR (Sweden), The seven Nordic broadcasters already DR (Denmark), NRK (Norway), YLE and broadcast outlets, it does cooperate heavily among themselves in look like large, national sites are (Finland), representatives from RUV the production, technical and policy making it harder for smaller, (Iceland) and by numerous officials fields. including Erkki Liikanen, European The EBU’s 70 core members include regional news sites. Commissioner for the Information the national public service broadcasters ''Extraneous sites or weak Society. of every European country. EBU local sites or television sites In an inaugural speech, Christian activities include operation of the where there's a lessening of Nissen, director general of DR, compared Eurovision and Euroradio networks, the investment are weeding the arrival of the Nordic broadcasters exchange of news, sport and cultural themselves out,'' said Merrill with that of the Vikings more than 1,000 programming, the Eurovision Song Brown, editor of MSNBC.com. years ago. “But we are not here to trade Contest, technical research, training, fish, wool and mutton for silver, wine and legal advice and defence of public Videophones give women,” he said. They were in Brussels service values. in the interests of information and reporters an edge European cooperation.

For the past months, a crisis was brought viscerally close to home, Plan to watch Italy chief's news media boosted by the media's use of satellite communications technology that allows reporters to send back Here is the long-awaited plan for how Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will deal video reports from places where with the inherent conflicts of interest that result from owning a number of the news satellite camera trucks and ordinary media outlets that cover him and the other companies with business before his camera crews could not go. government: Parliamentary leaders from his own coalition will appoint the members CNN uses a satellite videophone of a watchdog group that will monitor possible conflicts, and report back to created specifically for such purposes Parliament. by British company 7E Even some allies of the prime minister, who is also Italy's richest man, allowed Communications. The size of laptop that the plan, was far from an ideal way to handle the situation. The political computers, the machines have opposition said the proposed solution was just more evidence of the persuasiveness allowed the cable news network to of the problem. transmit footage from areas ''He's trying to use what's happened in the world to hope that the public will unreachable by competitors using ignore it, but it's a confirmation of the problem rather than a solution to it,'' said the more traditional means. Thendevice opposition leader, Francesco Rutelli. weighs about 10 pounds can be The prime minister owns three private networks, a newspaper, a soccer team and operated by a single reporter. extensive land, publishing and insurance holdings. As prime minister, he is Reporters using the units can technically responsible for the management of state television stations as well, power them with an ordinary camera meaning that 90 percent of Italian national television channels are in his hands. battery, or a car battery. A high- Most political commentators said the plan is probably the only option at this point, quality camcorder or video camera is since Mr. Berlusconi refuses to sell his vast holdings, never said he would, and was used to capture the video images, elected anyway. which the videophone then relays via satellite to a remote station. 4 Nets divided over RSF launches The weakest link victim footage international network rewrites history

Newsroom executives scrambling to Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) has Hong Kong's dominant broadcaster convey the drama of the terrorist attacks announced the formation of an international TVB has paid E25,230 to a losing grappled over whether or not to show network of affiliated press freedom contestant on a popular quiz show after graphic video of victims leaping from the organizations, aimed at strengthening mistakenly kicking him out of the game. attacks on the World Trade Center. information exchange, battling impunity and Student Gary Chan was eliminated Many networks and stations showed focusing wider attention on countries where during the final round of ''The Weakest shots of the buildings collapsing where it repressive laws and regimes infringe Link'' after the presenter ruled he was impossible for viewers to distinguish on journalists. answered a question incorrectly. between bodies and debris. But some opted The network brings RSF together with four The question was: ''Which year did East for shots that seemed more clearly to be other IFEX members - Democratic Republic and West Germany reunify?'' With little people jumping to avoid flames. of Congo's Journalistes en danger (JED), the hesitation, Chan replied: ''1990''. Chan CBS did air footage of bodies plummeting Glasnost Defence Foundation (Russia), was immediately overruled by the sharp- from the World Trade Towers in prime Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS-Peru) and tongued host, actress Dodo Cheng, who time, although a spokeswoman said the PÉRIODISTAS (Argentina) - as well as the said the correct answer should be 1989. scenes didn't show people landing. Bangladesh Centre for Development, After receiving a complaint from a Fox News network executive producer Journalism and Communication (BCDJC), viewer, TVB said Chan's answer was Bill Shine said his network regretfully Burma Media Association, Afghan Center for correct because the official German showed footage once or twice. ''That was the Promotion of Communication (Pakistan), unification was indeed 1990 -- although early, it was wrong and accidental. We Institut des Mass Médias (IMI-Ukraine) and the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. have [other] video in house that we've Tunisia-based Observatoire pour la Défense A spokesman for Television Broadcast purposefully not shown and will not show,'' de la Liberté de la presse, de l'Edition et de la Ltd (TVB) said ''the question was not Mr Shine said. Création (OLPEC). exact enough'' and said it had agreed to CNN and MSNBC declined to show the Meanwhile, RSF has announced the pay Chan the same prize as the winner. desperate jumpers. ''We tried to opening of two new bureaus in Montreal, ''The Weakest Link'' is a winner-take- exercise good judgement and restraint and Canada and Moscow, complimenting its all quiz show with one of eight be responsible with what we show,'' said existing bureaus in Tokyo, Bangkok, contestants kicked out after each round. Eason Jordan, CNN's head of Washington, D.C., Abidjan. It also operates The prize on the Hong Kong version can newsgathering. nine national offices in Austria, Belgium, reach E422,000 the highest ever in local Fox's two New York City stations took France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, television history. CBS' approach of showing snips of video, Sweden and Switzerland, and a global while WNBC-TV says its policy is not to network of roughly 100 correspondents. show jumpers. IFJ calls journalists not to risk their lives UK government plans Journalists line up Following the recent arrests of to promote digital TV journalists in Afghanistan trying to cover the events, the International Federation of to cover US strikes Journalists expresses its concerns that The UK Government has proposed Reporters from publications all over the journalist are an easy target for the Taleban steps to improve the reliability, US are vying for the opportunity to cover who charge them with spying. ''Journalism is about telling truthful stories, quality and geographical reach of the developing story in Central Asia. While theexcitement lures many to the conflict not espionage and it is ridiculous to suggest digital television (DTV). zone, Steven Butler, foreign editor for the that [...] reporters [are] guilty of anything The measures include the launch of Knight Ridder Washington bureau warned, other than enthusiasm to carry out their job," a pre-Christmas campaign to ''You have to get the story, but if you're not said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary of publicise digital TV, radio and careful you can get shot.'' the IFJ, the world's largest journalists' group. equipment in general. The BBC will Many editors are sending reporters with ''No story is worth the life of a journalist and take part in the high-profile push to local language skills or past experiences in media organisations should ensure that their raise awareness of DTV services, other dangerous places such as the Persian reporters are properly trained, equipped and along with many UK retailers and Gulf War, the Balkans, Chechnya or Latin informed about the problems they will face,'' said Aidan White. manufacturers, in order to convey America. Reporters have to know how to work The IFJ warns journalists against taking accurate information to consumers. under difficult conditions and figure out unnecessary risks and says that special The draft plan includes an outline practicalities like how to get money, file attention should be paid to the needs of for enabling DTV industry their stories or even where to get safe freelance reporters and photo-journalists who executives and members of the drinking water. Perhaps more importantly, are often most vulnerable when reporting government to further the they have to have a sense of when they are from high-risk areas. development and adoption of digital in real danger. ''These are dangerous times for everyone in services in order to reach their goal ''The things you have to do there are the region and journalists need to be more of switching off the UK analogue things you only learn from doing,'' San careful than ever,'' says the IFJ. Michel Peyrard, who works for Paris Match signal by 2010. Jose Mercury News national/foreign editor, Dan Sneider, said. ''These are magazine, is still being held under Taleban Currently, around eight million custody and reported to be treated well. He households have DTV access in the not things you learn in journalism has been charged with spying, UK. school.'' an offence which carries a death penalty. 5

“Journalism Training BBC rethinks Differences in the Media” political coverage conference in Maactricht The BBC director general, Greg Dyke, A seminar on Portaying Differences in the media and expanding a market is has ordered a major review of the organised by European Journalism Centre, Maactricht supported by the Iris corporation’s political coverage amid Association, Nov 16-17. growing evidence that Westminster and This two-day awareness-raising workshop is part of the project “Outlook II. Whitehall are a big turn-off for the under- Reflecting social and cultural diversity through the media” led by the IRIS 35 audience. The review, which will involve Association. consultation with politicians, academics, This workshop is aimed at journalists/editors from key local and regional viewers and journalists, was prompted by newspapers. Under the central theme of expanding your market and boosting concerns that voter apathy in the general circulation, it will look at how newspapers can better portray the different ethnic election may have been linked to media and other groups living in their area and better tackle issues such as prejudice, coverage of political issues. discrimination and living in a multi-cultural society. Mr Dyke is known to have privately The trainers are Rebecca Franceskides, Media diversity trainer and journalist, expressed concern that younger viewers IRIS asbl, Brusssels Lionel Morrison, OBE, MIPR, Journalism and training find politics boring and that the consultant, National Uniion of Journalists, UK Tony Goldman, Journalism and corpporation was not connecting with this training consultant, Diversity Online, UK. audience in its coverage. Senior figures said Mr Dyke was perturbed by research conducted by Labour CNN and illegal settlements after the election, which showed that viewers under 35 were no longer interested in politics and he wanted to find a way of Just as the BBC last month ordered its reporters to use the phrase “targeted reaching out to the grass roots. killings” for Israel’s assassination of Palestinians (see EJC Media News of 07 Labour and Tory MPs will be invited to August 2001), CNN – under constant attack from right-wing Jewish pro-settler take part in a conference on media lobby groups – has instructed its journalists to stop referring to Gilo as a “Jewish coverage of politics, with other possible settlement”. guests including those who serve youth Instead, they must call the settlement, built illegally on occupied Arab land markets such as editors of magazines such outside Jerusalem, “a Jewish neighborhood”. This extraordinary climbdown in as Dazed and Confused and ID. favour of the Israelis follows months of internal debate in CNN, which has been The project will look at “how the BBC constantly criticized by CNN Watch and other pro-Israeli pressure groups covers politics and to come up with fresh monitoring all its reports on the Middle East. ideas to ensure the way we report politics Many journalists at CNN headquarters are angered by the new instruction. remains relevant and engaging in the 21st “There’s a feeling by some people here that what we are doing is searching for century, devolved UK”. euphemisms for what is really happening,” said one of them. However, by censoring the word “settlement’ for Gilo, CNN is perpetrating a lie. Gilo was illegally annexed by Israel after the 1967 war – now just “occupied” as CNN wishes its viewers to believer. UPC to start digital A CNN spokesman in Atlanta said last night: “We have no response to make to you. We don’t want to get into a discussion on this…In fact we’d rather not say TV in Vienna anything about this at all”.

Al Jazeera says western media ‘envy’ Arab TV UPC Telekabel, the Austrian cable TV provider and subsidiary company of the Dutch cable operator United Pan-Europe The chief executive of Qatar’s slammed Western media as “envious” of the success of his channel, which he described as “objective and Communications will begin broadcasting independent.” digital TV in Vienna this month. “(Some) Western media envy Al Jazeera’s successful coverage of international news,” The basic offer includes 50 TV Mohammad Jassem Al Ali told AFP without naming the media concerned. channels, 40 digital audio channels, and “Al Jazeera gives the US viewpoint as much space at it gives the Afghan viewpoint,” near video-on-demand, an interactive TV Ali said, noting that the channel has three correspondents in the United States and is the application with web contents and e-mail only one authorized to broadcast continuously from Taleban-ruled territory in Afghanistan. via TV. At the same time, he stressed that Qatar was rapidly evolving into a parliamentary Each DTV subscriber will get an democracy that embraced the whole scope of human and civil rights. email address and can work directrly on US officials said they had expresseed concern to the Qatari ruler about Al Jaeera’s allegedly biased coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks. the TV screen with an infrared keyboard. “There is no pressure on us by the emir who, since the launch of Al Jazeera, encouraged The UPC digital TV will cost E23.90 us to be independent and professional,” Ali said. per month. About 19,000 Telekabel Since its launch in November 1996, Al Jazeera has gained considerable popularity clients in Vienna will get the new set-top among viewers in the Arab world, while annoying many governments for tackling political, computer via a smooth roll-out campaign social and sometimes sexual issues previously regarded as taboo, as well as providing a during the next months. platform for Arab dissidents. 6 Bergant snapshots Boris 7

Circom Report

The “CIRCOM Report” is a monthly publication of CIRCOM Regional, the European Association of Public Regional TV Stations- available on the CR Internet site and coming to CR member stations and personnel either through E-mail or as an A4 size printed newsletter, through the CR General Secretariat from Ljubljana. The French version of the CIRCOM Report is conceived and published by the Strasbourg Secretariat with support from the Region Alsace, the Conseil General du Bas-Rhin and the City of Strasbourg. The “CIRCOM Report” is planned and edited in ERT3, Thessaloniki, Greece. Production and Design: Eleni

Bergant snapshots Masoura. Phone (3031) 299611-610 fax (3031) 299655. E-mail: [email protected] All member stations are considered as potential contributors for this publication, with stories about new and innovative ideas, co-productions, exchanges, modern technologies, etc. Especially welcome are short stories Boris and one-liners. *Sony and Eutelsat are the official CIRCOM Regional sponsors Festivals, workshops and more around Europe and the world

NOVEMBER UK) www.ef-commerce.co.uk/itvbiz Nov. 14-17: Sportel Monaco (Monte Carlo, Monaco) JANUARY 2002 www.sportel.org Jan.15 – 20: 37th Solothurn film Festival Nov. 19: International Emmys (New York, USA) (Solothurn, Switzerland), www.intlemmyawards.com www.solothurnerfilmtage.ch Nov. 20: Digital Rights Management Seminar (Artis, Jan. 21 – 24: NATRPE 2002. Annual Conference Amsterdam), www.europedrm.com and exhibition (Las Vegas). www.natpe.org Nov. 21-29: International Documentary Film Jan.25 – 27: Moondance International Film Festival Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Festival (Boolder, U.S.) www.idfa.nl www.moondancefilmfestival.com Nov. 22 – 27: Festival Du Film Jules Verne (Paris, FEBRUARY France) Feb. 4-8: Milia 2002. The World’s Interactive Nov. 22 – Dec 2: IDFA (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Content Marketplace (Cannes) www.amilia.com www.idfa.nl MAY Nov. 23 – 25 : Streaming Media Europe 2001 May 16-17: Fourth Annual TV Meets the Web (ExCel,London), www.europe.streamingmedia.com Seminar (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Nov. 27-30 Western Cable show (Anaheim, USA) http://tvmeetstheweb.com www.cable.com JUNE Nov. 28: Digital Content Europe (Liverpool, UK), June 13-14: European Radio Forum (Vienna, www.digitalcontenteurope.com Italy) by EBU Nov.28: Interactive TV Business Models (London, 8

Changing experience- the national and the regional television Last month, the head of the news room from the national television in Bucharest, decided to meet some of the reporters of the regional television stations. He initiated a programme that for a week two of the reporters should go and work at the news department at the national TVR. So, two of my colleagues from Cluj went to Bucharest and worked for a week and after them, it was me and another colleague of mine who went there. They arranged everything for us: hotel, a daily time table (the first two days to stay with the team which works with the regional news room, another two days with the reporters and going out with them on locations where they shot their packages and, generally, to see how they work, and the last day at the international news gathering). They treated us as if we were some kind of observers or students and not as their colleagues who do the same things at home. Everything was meant for us to see how they work and to understand what’s happening at the other end of the “wire”- in the collaboration between the national and the regional television in Romania. The idea was good and it was a good experience for me, after all. But, it didn’t work as they planned it all the way. 13 countries to join the European Union At the time I was in Bucharest, the boss of the news Since the Helsinki European summit n December 1999, thirteen countries have been preparing to join the EU: room decided to bring some new people to work at · Turkey, which submitted its application in 1987 but does not yet meet the political criteria laid down in the correspondents office, the one the regional TV Copenhagen in 1993; stations work with, and the old ones were moved to · Cyprus and Malta, which applied in 1990; another department. Afterwards, they discovered there was nobody left to teach the new ones what to · A group of ten central and eastern European countries (CEECs) that have been looking towards the do and the boss asked me and my colleague to teach European Union sine the fall of the iron curtain in 1989 and attained candidate status in 1994-95. them everything: how to edit a package and how to · Six of these countries have been involved n accession negotiations since 1998 (Cyprus, Estonia, Poland, deal with the regional televisions or correspondents the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia) and the remainder since Slovakia, Romania and since 2000 and so on. So, I had a busy week working at the (Malta, Latvia, Lithuania Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria). In parallel to this process they receive pre- national television, instead of “observing and accession funding to finance the on-going process of improving businesses and infrastructures, while understanding” how things go there. familiarising themselves with the management and implementation structures necessary for the Structural ALINA TAMAS Funds and the Cohesion Fund. TVR Cluj, Romania Whispers

MTV Europe has struck a deal with satellite xxx broadband network provider Europe Online to launch News World 2001, the annual forum for the MTV Live, a new designed exclusively broadcast news industry will be held in Barcelona, for IP broadband distribution, on PC’s throughout Nov. 13-16….The future development of the set- Europe….Between 200 and 2010, 22 countries are top-box is set to resemble something out of a forecast to more than double their net TV advertising science fiction movie, with promises of a box revenues….Global TV advertising is still experiencing capable of monitoring and billing the electricity fast track – growth with net revenues forecast to supply, whilst it plans and pre-records the almost double to us $175 billion by 2010…. evening’s television….Ted Turner will be speaking xxx in Anaheim, Nov.28 during the Western show…. On Demand Television along with the overlapping xxx developments of Personalised Television and The 2002 Annual Guide to European Broadcasting, Interactive Television is set to transfer control of Cable and Satellite is premiering in December, viewing to the consumer and revolutionise the packed with statistics and country-by-country business model….MTV Live announced a deal with analysis….The Radio Commission of COPEAM will satellite broadband network provider Europe Online take place in Nimes, France Nov. 23. Among the to make the service available on PCs throughout sponsors are Radio France and France Bleu Gard Europe, with further carriage agreements to be Losere….The Algerian Television ENTV will host in announced….Eutelsat has a new Atlantic Bird 2 Algiers, Nov. 9-12, a meeting of the coordinators of Satellite to provide broadband and broadcast the news exchanges of broadcasters-members of services over Europe, the Americas, North Africa and CoPeAM to relaunch the Mediterranean ERN in the Middle East…. collaboration with EBU and ASBU