France: Public Broadcasters on Strike Against Media Merger
The 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.
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.
The Spin
Narrative A
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
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 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.