France: Public Broadcasters on Strike Against Media Merger

Facts

• Staff at France's major public broadcasters have been on strike for two days to protest against the government's plans to merge their services into one large public broadcasting service.¹
• Public broadcasting unions called for protests on Thursday and Friday against a reform of public broadcasting that was voted on by the Senate last June, but amended in the National Assembly committee in mid-May.²
• On Thursday, the French parliament began examining the bill — which would establish a large public media institution called 'France Médias' — introduced by Culture Minister Rachida Dati.³
• Media workers gathered near the Ministry of Culture in Paris, claiming their livelihoods were at stake and called for sending 'a radical message.' The unions are reportedly preparing for another possible strike on May 28.⁴
• Dati defended what she described as an 'ambitious' and 'long-awaited' reform — which would reportedly affect some 16K employees — arguing it would protect the public media sector from tough competition from private companies.⁵
• The merger would include France Télévisions, Radio France, and the National Audiovisual Institute. The decision to add France Médias Monde (RFI, France 24, and Monte Carlo Doualiya) to the body has yet to be taken.⁵

Sources: ¹RFI, ²Actual News Magazine, ³The Local France, ⁴France 24 and ⁵Yahoo News.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by UNI Global Union. French public broadcasting is already in decline, and employees are facing increasing insecurity and job losses due to restructuring and austerity measures. As powerful multinationals increasingly restrict the public sphere in favor of the mainstream, public service broadcasting is crucial for unbiased opinion-forming in a democratic and pluralistic society. The new bill will further erode the financial and editorial autonomy of public service broadcasting and must be stopped.
• Narrative B, as provided by Connexionfrance. In a world of increased competition between traditional media platforms and the internet — particularly social networks — a restructuring of public service broadcasting is vital to make it more competitive and stronger. Fears that the quality of reporting will suffer as a result are unfounded, as the bill will not standardize professions or activities. The joint holding company already exists, and as the status quo is untenable, the reform must finally be implemented.
• Narrative C, as provided by Le Monde diplomatique. As far as the reporting quality is concerned, the debate about merging the French public broadcasters is irrelevant. If it ever was, French reporting has long since ceased to be 'free and independent,' as shown by issues in Gaza war coverage in recent months. French public broadcasting journalists may be worried about their jobs, but not about journalistic standards. For the media to fulfill their democratic function, reforms of a widespread systemic nature are needed.

Predictions