INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF BROADCASTING SYSTEMS Edited by PHILIP T ROSEN LIBRARIES GREENWOOD PRESS New York Westport, Connecticut London Library of Congress Cataloging -in -Publication Data International handbook of broadcasting systems. Includes index. 1. International broadcasting-Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Rosen, Philip T., 1946- . HE8689.6.154 1988 384 87-29986 ISBN 0-313-24348-4 (lib. bdg.: alk. paper) British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright 1988 by Philip T. Rosen All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 87-29986 ISBN: 0-313-24348-4 First published in 1988 Greenwood Press, Inc. 88 Post Road West, Westport, Connecticut 06881 Printed in the United States of America O. The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF BROADCASTING SYSTEMS To Jackie, Philip, and Beana CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii INTRODUCTION xv AUSTRALIA Jeffrey M. Rushton 1 AUSTRIA Benno Signitzer and Kurt Luger 15 BELGIUM G. Fauconnier and Dirk De Grooff 25 BRAZIL Omar Souki Oliveira 35 CANADA Thomas L. McPhail and Brenda McPhail 47 CHILE Marvin Alisky 61 CHINA Dezhen Zou, Fei Wang, and Zheng Meiyun 69 CUBA John A. Lent 79 viii Contents FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY Wolfgang Hoffman-Riem 91 GREAT BRITAIN Timothy S. Madge 105 HUNGARY Thomas Szendrey 119 INDIA John A. Lent 133 ISRAEL Dov Shinar and Akiba A. Cohen 147 ITALY Roberto Grandi 163 JAPAN Kenji Kitatani 173 KENYA L. John Martin 187 KOREA Jim Richstad and In-hwan Oh 201 MEXICO Marvin Alisky 215 NIGERIA Joseph Kinner 225 PERU Marvin Alisky 237 SAUDI ARABIA W. Leonard Lee 243 SOVIET UNION Thomas F. Remington 257 SWEDEN Timothy C. Tomlinson 269 Contents ix UNITED STATES C. Joseph Pusateri 283 INDEX 295 ABOUT THE EDITOR AND THE CONTRIBUTORS 305 ABBREVIATIONS ABC American Broadcasting Company; Australian Broadcasting Commission, later the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABT Australian Broadcasting Tribunal AIR All Indian Radio ARD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Offentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland.) Radio and television program supplier organized jointly by the West German states to operate their regional radio and their first and third TV networks BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BRT Belgische Radio en Televisie CATV Community antenna television CBS Christian Broadcasting System (Korea); Columbia Broadcasting System (United States) DBS Direct broadcasting satellite; Dong-A Ilbo Broadcasting System (Korea) FRCN Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria IBA Independent Broadcasting Authority (Great Britain); Israel Broadcasting Authority ITV Independent Television KBS Korean Broadcasting Station, later the Korean Broadcasting System xii Abbreviations MBC Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation NBC National Broadcasting Company (United States); Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation NHK Nippon Hoso Kyokai NTA Nigerian Television Authority ORF Austrian Broadcasting Corporation PBS Palestine Broadcasting Service (Israel); Public Broadcasting Service (United States) PTT Post, Telephone, and Telegraph RAI Italian Radio Audition RTBF Radio et Television Belge-Francaise SBC Swedish Broadcasting Corporation SBS Special Broadcasting Service (Australia) SRG Switzerland Broadcasting network ZDF Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (West German Broadcasting network) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This handbook represents a collective undertaking involving a multitude of scholars, librarians, archivists, government officials, and broadcasters. From its inception to its conclusion countless individuals gave willingly of their time, energy, and talent. To enumerate this august group would necessitate an additional volume entitled Who's Who in International Broadcasting. Nevertheless, failure to thank several individuals who supported this en- deavor would be remiss. First and foremost, very special thanks are due the twenty-eight contributors who prepared original chapters specifically for the handbook. This work culminates their efforts, and they deserve special acknowledgment. This distinguished group of broadcast scholars, area spe- cialists, and practitioners enthusiastically embraced the project and dili- gently worked with the editor to complete it. On a more personal note, Forrest and Ellen McDonald have guided my career from the beginning and continue to establish the standard forschol- arship in the field of American history. The continued support and friendship of Ken Hagan (U.S. Naval Academy), Terry Sharrer (Smithsonian Institu- tion), and William Keppler and Dennis Edwards (University of Alaska, Anchorage) have been vital to this endeavor. Cynthia Tiedeman of Xerox Alaska has provided invaluable technical expertise for the production of the manuscript. Finally, any listing of acknowledgments would be sorely deficient that did not mention the substantial contributions of Jackie, Philip, and Beana. Some four hundred years ago, Francis Bacon wrote: "He that hath wife and children hath given hostages for fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises." Bacon was never more wrong. INTRODUCTION It is a current conceit voiced in communications writings and at national conferences that we live in the age of the communications and information revolution. The observation comes over half a century late. Our so-called communications revolution actually occurred over sixty years ago, as these twenty-eight contributors point out time after time. Of course, the adap- tation of an existing technology to broadcasting (a technological adjustment) did begin a dynamic process that continues to evolve and unfold. But while pundits and conference keynoters rhapsodize about broadcasting and its indelible stamp on every facet of society, its study continues to offer ample opportunity to the scholar interested in large amounts of unpublished or even unexplored material. The field of international broadcasting presents an excellent case in point. American undergraduate education almost completely ignoresit. Even within the professional schools of communications, as the International Committee of the Broadcast Education Association has observed, "Inter- national aspects receive far less priority than the typical 'bread and butter' course." The same situation exists today as in 1983 when Professor Laurence Day commented in the autumn issue ofthe Journalism Educator,"Most colleges and universities have such weak and peripheral international com- munications programs that it wouldn't occur to administrators to equip them with anything more than shirt-tail services of an instructor for a class or two." So be it. Why would one care? What value would the average individual glean from any knowledge of such a seemingly esoteric and perhaps exotic subject? First, one must consider the commonalities expressed by this col- lected group of scholars. The nations they represent form a diverse collection of large and small, developing and industrialized, wealthy and not so well xvi Introduction endowed. Yet one reads repeatedly of the currentstate of major transfor- mation brought on by technological development. The theme ofconservative marketplace philosophy appears throughout these chapters, butone sees countries experiencing the ubiquitous and intrusive proliferation of tech- nology. While a conflict over degreeor implementation of government con- trol of broadcasting may exist, inany particular nation, including the United States, an even greater concern for the maintenance of national identity and cohesion pervades these pages. It is ironic that thevery technology welcomed by many nations as a means of reachinga dispersed and heterogeneous populace now threatens to homogenize thatsame populace into a market- place for mass entertainment and consumption. Even innations regulating their industry by a strict public service standard, thatmass audience is now demanding a new market orientation and thereby changing theshape of society forever. And in that change lies the threat ofan even greater revo- lution. The degree to which we understand the forcesat play in this process and the various national responses to itmay well affect our future as well as that of generations to come. Some material does already exist to aid the serious scholaror casual student. Sidney Head, for example, isa pioneer in the field of international broadcasting. He has edited a studyon Broadcasting in Africa: A Conti- nental Survey of Radio and Television (1974),a series of volumes produced by Temple University Press on communications in developingnations, and more recently has authored a comparative study entitled World Broad- casting Systems: A Comparative Analysis (1985). In addition, other scholars have conducted research in the field. Worthy ofnote are Burton Paulu, Douglas Boyd, Donald Browne, and Walter Emery. Finally, severalinter- national organizations have commissioned studieson the media of various nations, including the International Institute of Communications (London), Asian Mass Communication Research and Information Center(AMIC- Singapore), and UNESCO. Despite these efforts, however, much studyis yet to be done to overcome the general theme of neglect and indifference to this most important subject. International broadcastingisa field sorely in need of the scholarly touch. Until now, there has been a lack of comprehensive