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TELEVISION tiona patchwork The headquarters of the French Conseil Supérieur de l Audiovisuel the countries studied apparently hold the belief that television must fulfil a triple role: to inform, to educate, and to entertain. All rules and regulations create a framework centred around these points of departure in government policy. However, the regulatory framework differs from country to country. This is because each nation has its own television tradition. However, all of the countries studied also share certain clusters of programme requirements and obligations. The regulatory models vary widely from country to country, especially with regard to the distinction between public and private broadcasting. In Great Britain, Norway, Denmark and France (to an extent), programme obligations apply to both public and commercial broadcasting. In the other three countries studied, only public broadcasting is required to fulfil programming obligations. Evaluate The Netherlands stands out in the comparison of regulatory systems for programming. Dutch public broadcasting is bound to highly specific requirements and a detailed classification system in which the emphasis is on the content of programming rather than its pluriformity. This contrasts strongly with other countries included in the study. Dutch programmes are categorized into genres, all of which must fulfil a minimum or maximum percentage: entertainment (max. 25%), information/education (min. 35%) and arts/culture (min. 25%). Only the Belgian and French systems resemble this unique Dutch model to some extent. The other countries have only general programme requirements, or none at all, which means the various models differ greatly. The study also showed that only Britain s Channel 5 fails to meet the requirements set for a particular area. Checks on compliance with the points of departure information, education and entertainment are hampered by the diversity of requirements and obligations. It appears to be difficult to evaluate broadcasting organizations results, partly because of a lack of standards for certain programme categories. Recommendations As for the regulation of programme production, the various countries show a degree of conformity. In nearly all countries, this regulation is twofold. It is intended to encourage national television production and guarantee a minimal basis for independent production. The most important recommendations in the report deal with two issues. One is research. In some countries, a detailed qualitative model is used in addition to the quantitative research system. In this way, a better overview can be provided of broadcasting results. Many of the countries studied lack the instruments for such a qualitative research. The other issue is that the total package of regulations must support the broadcasting organizations in the dynamic television market and must not become an obstacle to their development. The report recommends, therefore, that countries implement effective, flexible and future-oriented regulations which show due respect for the past and the present. In this way, the broadcasting organizations can continue to fulfil their three most important tasks to inform, educate and entertain. A Comparative Analysis of Television Programming Regulation in Seven European Countries: A Benchmark Study a report by the European Institute for the Media commissioned by NOS, February 2002 (info: ward@eim.org) DIFFUSION EBU 2002/4 53

FESTIVALS Netherlands won for Up to Six Fiction (Puppety), 11 15 Fiction (Secret Thoughts) and 11 15 Non- Fiction (The Day I Decided to be Nina). This is particularly remarkable given the tough internal competition among the dozen Dutch broadcasters comprising NOS, to have their programmes selected as part of the 80 minutes total entry time allotted by the festival. Plus ça change... admiration for those who give young people pure entertainment without sacrificing creative vision and attention to quality. At a festival where concerns were often expressed about the scarcity of humour, Nickelodeon s Spongebob Squarepants and Super RTL s What s With Andy had people laughing out loud, and talking in discussion groups about the unique characters and clever scripts. Each programme rose to the top 5 in its category. Despite this emphasis on creative vision, the mathematical model used to choose the winners sometimes favours well-made mainstream entries over risk-taking shows. To acknowledge this, Prix Jeunesse 2002 borrowed a trick from the Nordic children s TV festival, introducing the Heart Prize. Every participant was given a heart sticker to paste onto a board, next to the title of the one programme that touched him or her emotionally, for any reason. The 2002 Heart winner was a short Iranian drama, Ponds of Mirror, in which a young boy desperately searches his very dry neighbourhood for enough water to save his pet goldfish. Building from biennial evaluations of the preceding festival, the Prix Jeunesse organizers work hard to ensure that each competition is up to date and valuable for the fastchanging industry. As technologies, the competitive environment, and children s media uses change, so does Prix Jeunesse. For example, though commercial programmes have always been welcome in the competition, as recently as the mid- 90s they met with skeptical reactions, if not outright alarm. Now, commercial series are thoughtfully considered and frequently praised. The criteria for excellence haven t changed, though its marketing Taboos, too, seem to be softening. Two of the VPRO/NOS 2002 winners dealt with topics that once would have struggled to achieve the international consensus needed to win a category prize: Secret Thoughts imagined, with authenticity and humour, a young teen boy s inner thoughts as he peered down the blouse of the nurse conducting his medical exam, and, The Day I Decided to be Nina documented, with equal authenticity and respect, a 12-year-old boy s conclusion that he was meant to be female, and his first days living as a girl. This story sparked intense discussion about producers responsibility to guard children s The Prix Jeunesse Web Prize, in only its second running, also experimented with new approaches. The first contest was open only to programme-specific websites; for 2002, portal sites for channels children s services were also welcomed. The two proved difficult for voters to compare, as they have very different purposes and structures. The festival participants where allowed to vote for the Web Prize winner, as they esse outreach inviting commercial privacy, specifically whether a do for the TV festival. As a result, participation has increased. boy this age could make an attendance at the guided tour, informed decision about the where the five finalist sites were Instead, the industry has evolved to implications of telling his story on presented by their producers, was show greater acceptance even television. very strong. DIFFUSION EBU 2002/4 55

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BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOVE 30 MINUTES IN LENGTH En an no musume (Daughter from Yan an), Japan 2001 Director Kaoru Ikeya BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM LASTING 30 MINUTES OR LESS Obec B. (Village B.), Czech Republic 2002 Director Filip Remunda SPECIAL MENTION Devil s Playground, USA 2001 Director Lucy Walker Ochota na angela ili Cetyre ljubvi poeta i poricatelja (Hunting Down an Angel or Four Passions of The Soothsayer Poet), Russia 2002 Director Andrei Osipov 63

RADIO and the next one will take place on Friday 10 January 2003. Last year, 14 EBU member stations supported 18 acts performing at the Festival: VRT Studio Brussels/ Belgium, DR P3/Denmark, YLE RadioMafia/Finland, Radio France Le Mouv /France, ARD/Germany, MR/Hungary, RUV Rás 2/Iceland, RTE 2 FM/Ireland, RAI Radio Due/ Italy, NOS 3FM/Netherlands, RDP Antena 3/Portugal, SR P3/Sweden, RSR Couleur 3/Switzerland and BBC Radio 1/United Kingdom. As previously, NOS/Netherlands, VRT/Belgium and DR/Denmark collaborated technically for the production and the broadcast of the event. A live satellite broadcast was made available on the night, and a deferred pink offer of 20 of the best concert recordings took place in April 2002. Over 20 different EBU stations ordered at least one of these recordings not bad if you bear in mind that most of the acts proposed were by definition not very well known. Not only does the commitment of the EBU organizations involved in the technical co-operation remain intact, in 2003 they will be joined by ARD/Germany, BBC/United Kingdom and SR/Sweden. DR/ Denmark will probably not take part in the co-production next year, but it could very well join Radio France Le Mouv at the Transmusicales de Rennes, another exciting Festival. And the EBU s involvement does not stop there. A non-commercial CD compilation will be released and inserted in the professional music magazine Music & Media, highlighting members commitment to and support of new music. During the festival weekend, EBU delegates are also invited to take part in panel discussions related to radio and attracting Dutch and international experts from the music industry (record companies, clubs, concert and festival organizers, promoters and, of course, fellow radio colleagues). All involved believe that there is a great deal of good music coming out of European countries and that it is not heard enough. Thanks to this unique collaboration among broadcasters, organizers, artists and record companies, the Eurosonic Festival is the ideal platform to discover new talent. We hope that next year s event will be even more successful with more EBU stations taking part. So please come and join us! www.iprecom.nl/noorderslag/ index.html ONIC65 Festival DIFFUSION EBU 2002/4 65

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