(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 22 September 2003 IPI press release: Vienna, 22 September 2003 IPI Conference on Public Service Broadcasting, Bucharest, Romania (19-20 September 2003) Public service broadcasters from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as representatives from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Council of Europe, the European Commission and international non-governmental […]
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 22 September 2003 IPI press release:
Vienna, 22 September 2003
IPI Conference on Public Service Broadcasting, Bucharest, Romania (19-20 September 2003)
Public service broadcasters from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as representatives from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Council of Europe, the European Commission and international non-governmental organisations, met in Bucharest, Romania, from 19-20 September 2003 for the international conference, “How to Guarantee Independent Public Service Broadcasting” (see: http://www.freemedia.at/Ev_Romania03.htm).
Organised by the International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, and the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, in cooperation with the Council of Europe, the conference sought to analyse – ten years after the 1993 IPI symposium “From State-Controlled Broadcasting to Public Broadcasting”, which resulted in the adoption of the Vienna Declaration on Public Broadcasting” (http://www.freemedia.at/declarat.htm) – the state of editorially independent public service broadcasting in the countries of Central, Eastern and South East Europe.
“The role of public broadcasters in countries in transition is particularly important because, largely for economic reasons, television remains the main source of information for the majority of the population,” said Peter Schieder, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
“Without a genuinely independent public broadcasting service, freedom of expression and information simply does not exist. Yet even in countries with longer democratic traditions, where alternative sources of information are plentiful, problems may and indeed do occur. The attacks of 11 September and the ensuing events have also had a significant impact on the situation of public broadcasters and the media as a whole,” Schieder said.
“Governments and parliaments must respect the media as a legitimate reflection of public opinion, public concerns and social developments,” Johann Fritz, Director of IPI, said. “They must provide the media with free access to information; allow public broadcasting to be impartial; recognise the value of an independent media in contributing towards the development of a well informed society; and ensure diversity within media ownership to prevent private monopoly and state control. Finally, governments must be held accountable to the conventions and agreements they have signed.”
For more information, please visit the IPI Website: http://www.freemedia.at
