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La notion de certification est très importante,
car elle permet d'assortir le diagnostic du paysage audiovisuel
de chaque pays d'une proposition thérapeutique. Offert
soit directement aux radiodiffuseurs, soit à leurs gouvernements,
le processus de certification est une voie vers la réalisation
d'un véritable service public. Bien entendu, ce processus
de certification s'appuiera sur les organismes compétents
dans les régions concernées, tel l'AIBD dans l'Asie-Pacifique.
Je pense que de nombreux gouvernements pourraient être intéressés
à financer la certification de leur radio-télévision
nationale, pour bénéficier d'un label de qualité
internationalement reconnu par un organe indépendant.
2) International standards of electronic
medias' contribution to society's good governance
Professor Louis Balme, a renowned specialist of quality certification
in the industry, will conduct a research to determine the implicit
international standards which need to be formulated in order to
establish the common basis of all certification processes, which
take into account regional or local characteristics.
For a first evaluation of international standards measuring the
services a society is entitled to get from its electronic media
and the conditions needed to furnish such services, Prof. Balme
will conduct group interviews in five to six countries as different
from each other as possible.
These interviews will follow a pattern, conceived by Japanese
researchers and perfected at MIT, which produces coherent results,
easy to compare from one group to the other, from one country
to the other. There will be three groups in each test country
: one representing professionals (from TV, radio and internet),
one users (viewers, listeners and internet surfers), and the third
experts (academics, writers, regulators, etc.).
3) Measures of PSB Accountability
Paolo Baldi (EBU) and Mark Ellis (The Knowledge Agency, London)
have devised a research on objective elements which European PSBs
have to furnish their respective governments to substantiate their
public service remit. Mark Ellis intends to question audience
research chiefs and corporate affairs specialists of EBU members,
government broadcasting regulators and independent research institutes.
His objectives will be to gather and consolidate facts on which
there is no comprehensive view, but also to stimulate an active
interest in devising and promoting PSBs' specific performance
indicators.
Market shares cannot be the sole measure of PSBs' social role.
There is an urgent need to promote more meaningful standards,
but it requires international cooperation and the support of all
interested parties.
The WRTVC does not have yet the means to finance such a study.
I am working on it.
4) World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS), Geneva, December 2003.
This UN summit, entrusted to ITU, will gather heads of state,
industry moguls and civil society representatives.
The preparation of the summit is rather nebulous, but one thing
seems certain : content, not technology, will dominate the agenda.
The WRTVC supports the idea that public broadcasting is a prerequisite
of the information society, because it is the only way for a majority
of citizens, in a majority of countries, to reach the level of
information and culture needed to use IT in a profitable way.
The WRTVC intends to unite all organisations willing to support
such a platform. There will be innumerable groups represented
at the Summit, each trying to push its own interests. An isolated
organisation cannot make its voice heard. Please give me your
suggestions.
5) Carrying the torch for the WTVC project
Thanks to Javad Mottaghi, I participated in a most interesting
seminar in Jakarta about the transition of Indonesian state radio
and television to public service. I also attended the PBI steering
committee in Hong Kong, an occasion of useful contacts with PSBs
from many countries.
The WRTVC project meets with great interest everywhere. Several
WRTVC members, who were not present at our Paris meeting, but
received the notes, wrote to express their interest and support.
Reinhard Keune, the broadcasting specialist of the powerful German
foundation FES, wrote an important article entitled "Towards
a Global Public Sphere", in which he praises our initiative.
6) Financing
The Hoso Bunka Foundation, in Japan, and the Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation are supporting our work (around 100.000
Sw. Fr. altogether). I am hoping for a contribution of the Swiss
regulation authority, OFCOM, and perhaps of EBU. But time is short
until the WSIS and we need a lot more resources if we are to be
ready on time. If you have ideas…
7) General Assembly of the WRTVC
As announced in Paris, thanks to Micheline Vaillancourt and CBC,
we shall organise a general assembly of the WRTVC in Montreal,
Thursday and Friday, November 21 and 22, 2002.
At the occasion of the 50th anniversary of CBC and of the 30th
anniversary of Radio-Québec, in cooperation with the University
of Quebec and Orbicom, Micheline plans to dedicate Thursday to
a series of workshops on "Public Broadcasting in the Information
Society".
The WRTVC assembly will take place on Friday morning. There will
be discussion of the strategic plan and election of a new board,
meeting the same day in the afternoon
Thank you in advance for your support, and also for your suggestions
and criticisms. I am counting on your reactions.
Very cordially yours,
Guillaume Chenevière
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