Determined Audiovisual Public Figure, Rachida Dati, Plans for Reform, Confident of Assembly Examination in June
Pushing Through Public Audiovisual Reform: What's the Plan?
Culture Minister Rachida Dati has declared her commitment to driving the public audiovisual modernization on a Determined Wednesday, May 7 during her France Inter conversation. The proposed reform backs the creation of a holding company, France Médias, overseeing France Télévisions, Radio France, and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA), under the authority of a president.
The reform plan aims for a parliamentary examination in June, initially rescheduled from April due to a crowded legislative agenda. Dati remains resilient, assuring, "We won't back down on this." She emphasizes both the President's and Prime Minister's determination to push the reform through.
Despite unions' warnings, Dati insists that the reform is necessary to "rescue this public audiovisual service." Critics of the reform argue that Radio France maintains high listenership levels, questioning the necessity of changes.
Dati calls out the hyperbole surrounding this reform. The modernization plan aims to tackle growing influence of "private entities" and resist the rise of streaming platforms through significant investments, shared governance, and strategic convergence. Dati further criticizes the public audiovisual sector for becoming exclusive to the affluent and elderly, despite strong youth and regional audiences for Radio France programs.
Addressing concerns about consolidation, Dati promises, "There will be job evolutions and transformations, particularly in digital, but there will be no entities disappearing." Dati sees digital growth as an opportunity, as the sector currently underperforms in this field. Despite this, Radio France's online platforms attract nearly half of French internet users each month.
The proposed reform aspires to unify the public audiovisual sector, but it's caught in political red tape, having been pulled from the National Assembly's April agenda. The reform's success hinges on overcoming ongoing debates and controversies within the government and stakeholders.
Enrichment Insights:
The reform's broader objectives include modernizing the public audiovisual landscape by adapting to digital trends and increasing collaboration among major institutions for enhancing public service values. It also aims to streamline the handling of France Télévisions and Radio France, potentially integrating them, and redefining INA's role in digital transformation and public access to archived content. Resistance from public broadcasters and political impasses have delayed the legislative progress. Once adopted, the full impact of the reform will depend on its final form.
- The proposed public audiovisual reform in France, as led by Culture Minister Rachida Dati, is likely to incorporate a holding company, France Médias, overseeing France Télévisions, Radio France, and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA).
- The audiovisual modernization plan, under the authority of a president, aims to address the growing influence of private entities and the rise of streaming platforms, emphasizing significant investments, shared governance, and strategic convergence.
- The French government, with the support of both the President and the Prime Minister, is pushing for the reform policy-and-legislation through a parliamentary examination, which is now scheduled for June, having been initially rescheduled from April.
- Despite resistance from unions and critics questioning the necessity of changes, Dati emphasizes the reform's aim to rescue the public audiovisual service and overcome the sector's exclusive focus on the affluent and elderly, while also investing in digital growth and general-news programming.
