Prime Ministers' Conference blocks important round of radio reform in Leipzig

In the heart of Leipzig, the Prime Minister Conference (MPK)-but the unity of public service broadcasting was so urgently needed was failed to do! Despite heated discussions and urgent calls for a reform, the necessary compromise, especially when increasing the broadcasting contribution, snatched how an empty promise.

A desperate appeal from ver.di

"Good broadcasting needs good funding!", Said the urgent warning call from Christoph Schmitz-Dethlefsen , a leading head on the ver.di federal board. He left no doubt that the lean decisions of the countries in the MPK create a dangerous precedent. While the KEF specialist commission sent clear signals for necessary adjustments in the program structure, the Prime Minister simply looked away. "We are on the edge of an abyss of the variety of programs!" He called worried.

political game or real responsibility?

With the stuck no to increase the broadcasting contribution, ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio are under enormous pressure! The political games that accompanied this decision could have fatal consequences for the media landscape. "Reality will prove that this refusal will take revenge," warned Schmitz-Detlefsen and added: "The way to the Federal Constitutional Court seems to be prescribed!"

In a time when digital content and quality media are essential, these decisions are a threat to the future of radio. Schmitz-Detlefsen recalls that public service broadcasting should be accessible to all citizens-and this needs financial support. "All experts agree: good content costs money, and we have to provide that!"

a dramatic review

The repeated disagreement of the federal states is not new! Already at the beginning of the ongoing premium period there were tensions when Saxony-Anhalt refused to ratify a common state contract. A decision by the Federal Constitutional Court in July 2021 clearly pointed out the countries in their barriers when it ordered the increase in the broadcasting contribution. The impending failure to implement the constitutional obligation to determine the broadcasting contribution again is a shameful chapter for the federalism.

People's spoken by the public service broadcasting is on a crossroad: Either he receives the funding he deserves, or he falls into the dependency of political influence. The pressure is growing, and future -oriented decisions are still a long way off! Time is pushing!

With every day without agreement, uncertainty about the future of the German Radio is noticeable! The demand for a rapid increase in the broadcasting contribution becomes louder. The next steps will be crucial - for the media landscape and for millions of spectators and listeners in Germany!

v.i.s.d.p.

 Richard Rother
ver.di federal executive board
Paula-Thiede-Ufer 10
10179 Berlin

Tel.: 030/6956-1011, -1012
Email: pressestelle@verdi.de
www.verdi.de/presse