[ad_1]
“Society decides how big the public law system is”
| Reading time: 4 minutes
Thomas Bellut, director of the Second German Television
Source: dpa / Andreas Arnold
Following the blockade of Saxony-Anhalt, the debate on increasing the radio license fee continues to accelerate. The director of ZDF, Bellut, now wants to clarify what “the country” expects from public broadcasts.
WITHThe director of the DF, Tomas Bellut, is in favor of a social debate on the mandate of public broadcasters in Germany. “Ultimately, society decides how strong and how big the public service system is,” Bellut told WirtschaftsWoche. There is no way around the debate. We must “clarify what the country expects of us.”
After Saxony-Anhalt blocked a higher transmission rate in Germany, public broadcasters also see possible consequences in their homes. ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio also want to go to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe to fight for the adjustment from 17.50 euros per month to 18.36 euros.
Little by little it is becoming clear what it would mean if the 86-cent plus calculated by an independent commission does not arrive. The Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) would be missing an additional 35 million euros a year. This was announced by the director Joachim Knuth of the German press agency. “In addition to the 300 million euros that we already have in the next four years of cuts and cuts ahead.” In May it was learned that the public chain will toughen its austerity measures in the coming years. The NDR is one of the great houses among ARD broadcasters.
Other stations have also given numbers. A selection: ZDF would lose about 150 million euros annually from January. Broadcasting Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) would generate a deficit of 60 million euros over the next four years. The smallest ARD station, Radio Bremen, would lose around 800,000 euros a month. In Südwestrundfunk (SWR) it will probably be 39 million euros per year, so the deficit would be as high as in NDR. And in Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) it would be around 15.6 million euros a year.
NDR Director Knuth emphasized in view of the legal action in Karlsruhe: “I assess what happened in Saxony-Anhalt as a calculated violation of the freedom of transmission, against free information. Due to a perceived dissatisfaction with our information, our content has been mixed with our funding. In my opinion, that is not possible. “
The ARD broadcasters want to file the lawsuit in the Federal Constitutional Court this year. ARD President Tom Buhrow announced Wednesday in an interview with the dpa.
The ARD also assumes that cuts to the program will be necessary if the contribution increase does not materialize. “One thing is clear: With many reforms, cuts and austerity measures, we have generally exhausted what can be done behind the scenes,” said Buhrow, referring to the austerity efforts of recent years at ARD houses. “Now we are at a point: if the premium adjustment calculated by the commission responsible for KEF does not arrive, you will see and hear it clearly on the program.”
Bremen supports the lawsuit
Saarland and Bremen want to present their own opinion on the media amendment to the Federal Constitutional Court. Among other things, it must address the special financial situation of Radio Bremen (RB) and Saarland Broadcasting (SR), as announced by the federal states on Thursday.
According to the information, Saarland and Bremen also want to point out that breaking the ratification procedure in this case is contrary to the principle of pro-federal behavior. “If a country wants to deviate from the KEF vote, it has to present viable reasons in accordance with the State Broadcasting Agreement and discuss them with the other countries with KEF,” declared the Saarland State Chancellery and the Bremen Senate Chancellery. “None of that happened.”
He regrets the failure of the state treaty to amend the media, Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) said. “With this process, the Rubicon has crossed over into federal media policy in Germany.” Public service broadcasting has once again proven its importance to democracy, especially during the Corona crisis. Independent, reliable and comprehensive journalism has never been more important. “That is why the financing of public broadcasting services should not become the bone of contention between political parties,” he said.
Bremen Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) said it was right that broadcasters wanted to take legal action. Their constitutionally protected elementary interests are affected. “If institutions can no longer guarantee that they are financed in accordance with the legal mandate, the sponsoring countries run the risk of being held liable,” he added. This applies in particular to small SR and RB institutions. For this reason, Bremen has decided to support the action of the institutions in the emergency procedure through its own legal representative ”, he explained.
Saxony-Anhalt blocked the planned increase
On Tuesday, Saxony-Anhalt, ruled by blacks, reds and greens, blocked the planned increase in radio license for all of Germany. The CDU had been vehemently opposed to an increase and, in theory, could have formed a majority in the state parliament with the AfD as the largest opposition party with many seats.
Saxony-Anhalt blocks increase transmission rate
The state parliament in Magdeburg will not deal with the disputed state treaty in the black-red-green coalition until the end of the year. Therefore, the planned increase in the license fee by 86 cents has been reversed.
Source: WELT / Dirk Schommertz
Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) withdrew the bill days before the vote. Because all federal states, without exception, have to agree to the corresponding state treaty, the blockade cannot make the adjustment on January 1, 2021. Saxony-Anhalt was the only wavering candidate among the federal states. The license fee is the main source of income for public broadcasters. It would have been the first increase since 2009.
