|
|
|
Transitional
Notes: Hungary In mid-March, thousands (as many as thirty and as few as ten, depending on what you read) took to Budapest’s streets to protest the firing of a large number of radio and television personalities from Hungarian radio and television. Hungarian radio officially fired about 100 employees claiming that the layoffs would lead to a “renewal of mass information” prompted by “the majority of listeners whom we thank.” After the protest, a surprised head of Hungarian radio and television expressed wonderment that “the demand for objective information is generating such extreme passions among those committed to press freedom.” Politics, and the upcoming election, may also have been a serious factor in the process of privatization this year. In May 1993, after a four-year moratorium on all new commercial broadcasting, the Hungarian government opened up local radio and television airwaves in spite of an agreement it had with other political parties not to end the ban before a new media law was passed. Under the moratorium, in addition to the state radio and television, there is one private, commercial national radio; two private, commercial regional radios in Budapest; a national, commercial FM radio owned by the state entity, MR; and a national AM commercial radio jointly owned by MR and a private concern. There are no private commercial television stations, though one private television production company places 2 hours of programming per day on MTV. On the other hand, over half of Hungarian households now have access to satellite television, cable, or both. According to Peter Molnar, a former Fidesz MP who was recently a fellow at Cardozo for a month, pirate radio took up part of the slack. “These stations were created by groups of young people, some students and intellectuals.” The biggest pirate radio, Tilos (“Forbidden”) Radio, covered all of Budapest and was connected to an eponymous cafe which helped to support its very low budget. Government tolerated this pirate, perhaps because it restricted itself to culture and the arts, steering pretty clear of politics. The station also argued that it was constitutionally protected. Tilos, according to Molnar, was significant as a protest against the continuation of the moratorium. But more important, it represented a new type of broadcasting entity: neither state run nor commercial. In the summer of 1993, the government decided that under the old 1986 press law, the Cultural Ministry could award licenses for local radio and television stations and the new frequency management law was published. There were three frequency licenses to be awarded in Budapest and 25 companies applied. Radio Tilos did not get one of the licenses, though one of the pirates, a college-based station in Pecs, received an award. Poland Poland’s effort to establish a new national private television channel had, in the last weeks, disintegrated into embarrassment and controversy. On March 1, Polish President Lech Walesa sacked the head of the National Radio and Television Council on Tuesday following the council’s controversial award of a private television license to the Polish company PolSat. A number of major multinationals applied. These included Bertelsmann, rumored to be favored by Lech Walesa, Time Warner, CNN, Cap Cities ABC plus a group of old Radio Free Europe journalists. PolSat, with a mysterious past, and no evident international partner, got the nod. The day afterward, it was stated that Rupert Murdoch’s global media interests, the News Corporation, would acquire up to one third of the company. “The president decided to recall (chairman) Marek Markiewicz who does not guarantee that he will stick to the broadcasting law,” the presidential office said in a statement. “One reason (for Walesa’s concern) is the fact that one company was given licenses for national satellite, private and also regional television,” the statement said, referring to the PolSat decision.” The President is apparently also contending that the award to Solorz violates Article 36 of the licensing law “jeopardizing the interests of national culture, decorum or manners, the state’s security and defense, or violate state secrets.” The Czech Republic On February 5, the first nationwide commercial television station in Eastern Europe went on the air in the Czech Republic and opened in prime time with the 1984 Hollywood movie “Ghostbusters” dubbed into Czech. TV Nova is financed and controlled by the Czech Savings Bank and the Central European Development Corporation, whose principals include Mark Palmer, the former United States Ambassador to Hungary, and Ronald Lauder. Mr. Palmer said his group had put $47 million into the station and hoped to break even 5 years into its 12-year license. For its first year, Nova TV is required to run Czech-produced programming 19 percent of the time, but the content requirement has an escalation clause. Funding for the venture comes primarily from the parent company of Nova’s North American partner, Central European Development Co., which supplies 75 percent of the capital. The group is committed to invest at least 1.6 billion koruny ($53 million) in the project. The legal license holder is a Czech entity called Central European TV for the 21st Century. A 30-second prime-time slot sells for $ 964 to $ 1,000, compared to $ 3,750 for the same slot on state-run TV, which reaches many more viewers. |
Last Updated: 11/20/99 |
|
© 1999 Post-Soviet Media Law &
Policy Newsletter |
