| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.12, 1.4.04 |
| Publication Date | 01/04/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 01/04/04 MEPS look set to berate the European Commission for its failure to take action against Silvio Berlusconi over his control of the Italian media. While the EU executive published a Green Paper in 1994 on the need to ensure pluralism in the media, a new European Parliament report states that "almost ten years on, the Commission is reluctant to act". The paper states that although the Union's 'regulatory framework' on media is "very fragmented", the Commission can take measures to protect pluralism - the guarantee that people can obtain information from multiple sources and that a range of different opinions are expressed in media reports. The EU's merger regulation and the 1989 'television without frontiers' directive both confer the necessary powers on the executive. Dutch Liberal MEP Johanna Boogerd-Quaak, the report's author, said the situation in "Italy presents an anomaly due to a unique combination of economic, political and media power in the hands of Silvio Berlusconi". At present, the premier's Mediaset empire and state broadcaster RAI account for nearly 90% of the audience share for terrestrial television in Italy. "As a result, the Italian government seems to be, directly or indirectly, in control of all national television channels," Boogerd-Quaak added. Her report, adopted by the Parliament's citizens' rights committee on Tuesday (30 March), is due to be debated by the entire assembly at its 19-22 April session. Amendments tabled by Forza Italia deputies seeking to delete the criticism of Berlusconi failed to get the required majority at the committee meeting. The report recommends that an action plan on media pluralism should be drawn up by the Commission and calls on Italy's national assembly to ensure that Berlusconi finally honours the promise made before the 2001 general election that he will resolve the conflict of interest between his business and political activities. It also warns that situations similar to the Italian one could arise in other member states. Several concerns about media manipulation in current and incoming EU countries are cited. These relate to a report published by staff at Spanish channel TVE, alleging that 'unprofessional practices' were used to ensure one-sided coverage of the war in Iraq last year, fears in Britain that the row between the BBC and Tony Blair's government over the alleged 'sexing up' of intelligence on Iraq could have an impact on investigative journalism and Article 10 of the Press Law in Poland, which states a journalist must obey his/her publisher. Meanwhile, media tycoon Tony O'Reilly's Independent Newspapers group is said to have a "seemingly dominant position" in the Irish market. Even though his firm fully or partly owns 70-80% of papers in Ireland, the national Competition Authority has ruled there is sufficient 'editorial diversity' in the country's press. A new report by MEP Johanna Boogerd-Quaak considers the European Parliament's failure to act to ensure pluralism in the media. The report is due to be debated by the Parliament at its 19-22 April 2004 session. MEPs are likely to take the European Commission to task for its failure to act over Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's control over the Italian media. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Countries / Regions | Italy |
