Media News - Thursday, June 05, 2008

Pursuit of profit hurting the media, say MEPs

The pursuit of profit is putting the historic role of the press as the watchdog of democracy at stake, MEPs from all political parties have warned. Measures to protect editorial independence and quality of content are desperately needed in order to prevent interference from owners, shareholders or governments, says a report adopted Tuesday in the European Parliament's culture committee. Passing 33 votes to one, with no abstentions, the report had the support of all parties. Drafted by Estonian centre-left MEP Marianne Mikko, the report has as its main recommendation that the European Commission and EU member states apply competition law to the media to ensure media pluralism. Another key recommendation of the report is the creation of 'editorial charters' to be applied in the same way in all member states to ensure a clear separation between the editorial and business side of media outlets. Such charters would also lay out principles that would aim to prevent interference by governments. Additionally, the MEPs called for the creation of independent media ombudsmen in the member states to monitor the status of the freedom, pluralism and independence of the media. The euro-deputies also want full disclosure of ownership of all media outlets to achieve greater transparency regarding the aims and background of broadcasters and publishers. The report, which has no legal weight but offers political guidance to Europe's executive institutions, also calls for the establishment of fees for user-generated content and a clarification of the legal status of weblogs. The report's first reading in the plenary of the parliament is expected next month. Meanwhile, the European Commission has launched an independent study on indicators of media pluralism in member states. It has said it will issue a communication on the subject later this year, to be followed by a public consultation on the topic. (EU Observer)

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