What or who regulates European electronic media?

Hill, Kathy L. ; Manahan, Aaron

INTRODUCTION

Obviously cultural barriers differ once borders are crossed. America has the FCC to keep the electronic media inline, but what about Europe? We'll discuss the individual media related efforts of thirteen European nations. By doing this we'll better understand the differences between America's and Europe's approach to media setup and policing. The countries selected for this study will include the following: Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Spain, and Greece.

The information included on each country will be:

1. A quick history of the country

2. Information on each country's government and media

3. Cultural boundaries that may have to be crossed to successfully communicate with each nation

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland's origins date back to the 1200's when some cantons of the Holy Roman Empire joined together to form a federation This federation known as the Swiss Confederation was granted independence in 1648 and by 1815 set borders. Switzerland is a federal state that is made up of 28 cantons. The President rules both the country and the government with two legislative houses. Switzerland is a neutral country and hasn't been involved in a war since 1815.

Communicating with the Swiss is very easy to do as they have four official languages, French, Italian, German, and Romansch, but most business people in the cities speak English also (Morrison, 1994). About 65 percent of the country speaks German. Switzerland has enjoyed radio since the 1920's and some of the amateur radio stations eventually formed companies such as the Utilitas organization. Within five years, 1926, every privately owned station was available in five major cities by associations. The newspaper owners didn't like this because of the competition and succeeded in getting restrictions on the radio industry. The Swiss Broadcasting Company (SBC) is the parent company to nine of the local stations and companies. All of the media regulation is done by the Ministry of Transport and Energy, much like America's FCC. The SBC is a non-profit organization that receives funding through a licensing fee but held a monopoly (until 1983) on both the television and radio markets. Because Switzerland has only one regulating agency, they decide what is reported and are very influential. The SBC's programs must "uphold and develop the cultural values of the country and contribute to the spiritual, moral, religious, civic, and artistic development" of listeners and viewers. They "must serve the interest of the country, reinforce national union and solidarity, and aid international understanding." The majority of programming is news, religion, culture, and information, which fulfills the mandate described (Noam, 1991).

A problem the Swiss media, mainly television, has is it borders many countries. Why would you watch Swiss television that is comprised of religion and news, when you could just as easily watch something from a German station? This is becoming a problem for the SBC, and they are becoming second tier in their own country. Germany has many more resources when it comes to media, and the citizens of Switzerland know this and flock to their media. Broadcasting revenues, 75 percent, mostly come out of the tax the citizens pay when they buy their television sets. The rest of the revenue is from advertising which is the exact opposite of what we have in America. SBC's monopoly ended in 1983 with the legalization of private stations.

Switzerland had problems in broadcasting publicly because of the three languages spoken by a large portion of the country. The neighboring countries also made it difficult for them to compete. The citizen's needs for television resulted in cable TV sweeping the country because they could get the stations from other countries. Swiss Television seems like a difficult place to make a living. With the many restrictions, competitions, and overall "boring" style of television, it seems as if you are better off trying to succeed in starting a station elsewhere. The country's small population, 6.8 million, and size make it difficult for them to rely on citizens to watch and listen to only their regional broadcasts.

GERMANY

Germany is a very well known nation but has only been around for 120 years. Germany has made great progress since WWII. It is not a democratic federal multi-party republic. The government is trying to bring the former East Germany up to speed with West Germany so all types of business and politics will be affected. The languages spoken are German and English. German is the only official language, but a large portion of the inner city population also speaks English (Morrison, 1994).

German broadcasting has been run by the state from the beginning. The 1872 Telegraph law stated that "electrical telegraph facilities, which distribute information without metallic wires, may be erected and operated only with the permission of the state." This was the beginning of electronic media; they just didn't realize it yet. Many soldiers who were trained to operate radios during wartime carried this skill into their private lives. Many of them became radio enthusiasts. All of this communication was governed by the Reichspost. They held the opinion that it was "a mother hen which had hatched chicks and which was now excitedly clucking, scurrying back and forth ..." (Noam, 1994) ... The Reichspost was very restrictive and required licensing to every broadcast receiver, as well as the approval of whatever receivers were sold to the public. In the beginning only three companies could make receivers. The reasoning behind this was "the parts from foreign countries are inferior and foreigners could spy" on them if they used their parts (Noam, 1994).

During the 1930's broadcasting became a big part of Nazi propaganda. Hitler was on the radio all the time while other speakers would be shut down so that the citizens would be "forced" to listen to Hitler. If you listened to the enemy's broadcasts, it was considered a major crime. After the war the German's revamped their broadcasting system to more match the likes of the BBC which was independent from the state. The Allies, who also agreed that the broadcasting ways of Germany in 1930 were not acceptable, decided on this change (Casmir, 1995).

Television was in operation by 1935 and by 1936 was showing the Olympic Games being held in Berlin. Advertising on television began in 1956 and was considered controversial. At first the advertising was on in the early evening so it would not interrupt programs. Basically, the German media works a lot like ours except they are more liberal, as are many European nations. Whereas after 10 pm in the U.S., you are more likely to see more "unsavory" things on television such as an increase in swearing or lewd humor, in Germany you will find nudity and sex on the airwaves. It's not that they are any less cultured or a sexist people; it's just that they are more liberal (Noam, 1991).

They don't have a monopoly of media like Switzerland. A 1985 act prevented a dual monopoly of print and television media on both national and local levels. Setting up a station in Germany would be a lot like America except German media is more liberal. To set up a station, you'd have to realize that you would ultimately be controlled by the government, much like in America. With Germany you have a country large enough to operate without worry of smaller border countries taking away viewers or listeners. Germany also has a large enough population, 79 million, so it can rely on its own citizens instead of relying on others.

FRANCE

France, after the death of Charlemagne in 1814, quickly developed into one of the strongest and most unified countries in the world. Because it is a multi-party republic, the Prime Minister is the head of government, and the President is the Chief of State. The President appoints the Prime Minister, and he serves for seven years. The official language is French, but like most other European countries, many speak English also (Morrison, 1994).

When French broadcasting first got its start, it was both a public and private system. Soon after being liberated, it quickly became mostly government controlled for political control. Around the mid seventies, the country took a less strict approach with the industry. Eventually French media was open and able to create diversity, independence, and the overall ability to just be more open. Three government-owned networks dominated French broadcasting with matching radio stations. Eventually more non-state stations and channels were included (Noam, 1991). The private channel market soon flourished, and private stations were eventually made legal. France started off being totally government controlled and now is mostly a diverse and private group (Venturelli, 1998). By making it a more privately owned system, it allows France to have more cultured programming and more legitimacy in the rest of Europe.

Setting up a station in France would be a good thing to do as it seems that France is very open to new ideas and would not reject it a privately owned station. Because many of the French also speak English, it is a large enough country that their citizens won't receive, watch, and/or listen to other country's stations. This will allow for a more select market and more people that will listen to your station.

ITALY

Italy has existed for over 3,000 years. In the later 1800's it was a unified monarchy that vanished by the 1940's because of the War. Italy's government is a multiparty parliamentary republic with a 325-seat Senate and a 630-seat Chamber of Deputies serving as legislative bodies. The President is the Chief of State. The Prime Minister heads up the government. The official language is Italian but, as with most European countries, several people, namely business owners, speak English also (Morrison, 1994).

Italy is unbelievably open to broadcast television. There are very few cable television or satellite television channels. Hundreds of commercial television channels have graced the airwaves since the mid 1970's. One problem is this is a recently structured broadcast system that is in the clutches of one man, Silvio Berlusconi (Noam, 1991). There were three major networks at the time, and they were all controlled by Berlusconi. The Italian government realized what had to be done in order to prevent this monopoly from doing more damage than it had already done. The government tried to challenge him by passing bills and laws that they thought would give them the upper hand. Berlusconi wasn't a businessman by trade but an actor who had a mind for business. Although the government tried to stop Berlusconi and make it tough for him, they ultimately failed. Italy is still under the media rule of Berlusconi, and he believes other European nations should model the Italian way. "The wind of commercial television blows now from Italy over all of Europe. This is one of the few winds that blows from the south to the north" (Noam, 1991). Although the public broadcasting institution didn't win this bout, they aren't out of the fight completely.

Italy would not be a good place to start up a station. Because a monopoly is present, it isn't conductive for starting up competition.

UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom consists of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The government is in England and is a constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister leads the House of Commons, which is one of two parts of Parliament; the other is the House of Lords. The House of Commons is where the real power is (Morrison, 1994).

Britain's media is primarily composed of the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC). The BBC is government owned and operated and has been a staple in British media for more than thirty years. There are also private channels and networks, which is one reason the system works so very well. Although the BBC is popular, it is also the only publicly owned and operated network allowing the government full majority control. The critics claim there is a flaw in the government having that much control, but the rebuttal is simple; there needs to be a public monopoly so the quality of the programs will be high (Noam, 1991).

London with its size and population made way for a British revolution in program packaging and production. Now London would be included in the task of media production as well as their normal tasks of trade, finance, and shipping. London is already one of the key cities of Europe, why not media production, too. They already hold a strong film and theatre vibe, and the media is there full force. Britain moved ahead in the media game, tested the idea, and then passed them on into the rest of Europe. By doing this, they were always in a constant state of improvement. London was a big enough city so that this could be done, and the UK had enough influence that other countries listened and learned (Noam, 1991).

All of the above information makes the UK a great place to start a station. It's true that they primarily use the government controlled BBC, but they are not against private channels. If you were to work in the UK, you might find that ideas about the different media would be tested. Although sometimes frustrating, this would allow for greater achievement and overall ideas. The UK seems very conductive to new station development. With the only monopoly being in the public market, you should be able to find your niche if you plan correctly.

THE NETHERLANDS

The Dutch of the Netherlands have gone through many changes. So that we don't delve too far into history, we'll pick up in 1609 when Spain and the Netherlands reached an agreement for a twelve-year truce after many years of war. Although this truce was in effect, the Spaniards didn't believe that the Dutch were their own nation until 1648 when the Peace of Munster was enacted. The Netherlands are governed by a constitutional monarchy. Parliament consists of a 75-seat First chamber and 150-seat Second Chamber. The monarch is the Chief of State, where, as usual, the Prime Minister runs the government. The official language is Dutch, but a small portion of the population also speaks Turkish and Arabic. The majority of the Dutch speak at least two languages, and, fortunately, English is usually understood (Morrison, 1994).

The Dutch people are very well versed in languages other than their own; therefore, they play a large part in international trade. With this mentality, the Dutch are very acceptive of foreign radio and television broadcasts from across their borders. Dutch television was never very good because of all the outward signals the citizens received from other countries. Although the Dutch are quickly moving up in the electronic marketplace, the broadcast companies don't have much to work with because of the outside competition. If you take away all of the international signals and channels, the Dutch would have no problem with their broadcasting product. It's not the best in the world at getting viewers or listeners but, by no means, is it bad. The broadcasts meet a lot of the needs and wants that the average viewer might want, but when compared to other public and privately owned stations, that just isn't enough (Noam, 1991).

The public stations usually run the very common, correct religious, and mundane programming expected to be on radios and televisions. When private stations realized nothing could compete with this, they left the Dutch public stations battling for the middle ground, the traditional broadcasts. With all the public channels battling, the quality of Dutch television was raised, but they also still had to deal with the international station signals that were coming in from across the borders. Because of this quality increase, the Dutch public stations have gained viewership but are constantly under pressure to maintain the traditional ways (Noam, 1991).

This setup makes it hard to break into the market if you want to be traditional in your thinking. Sure one could start a pirate station and get it legalized, but you aren't reaching nearly as many as you would if you were involved with a public station. It doesn't seem to be a situation you could truly win if you go the public route because you have heavy competition. If you go the private route, then you lose quality. It seems best to be a station outside of the country that the Netherlands can get as well.

BELGIUM

In the early 1800's, Belgium was part of the Netherlands. When the map of Europe was being redrawn, with the help of the UK and France, Belgium was able to break away from the Netherlands in 1830. The Belgium government is a constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses. The Chief of State position is held by the King and the head of government is the Prime Minister. There are three recognized languages in Belgium, French, German, and a variety of Dutch (Flemish). Belgium is also the second most densely populated country in Europe (Morrison, 1994).

Having multiple languages spoken in your country doesn't allow a centralized version of media such as Germany has. Multiple languages require them to meet even more needs for their people (Venturelli, 1998). Belgium's placement is also a problem for local media. The country is surrounded by other countries. The Belgians frequently watch other countries' media and broadcasts. They especially like Luxembourg.

Since all of Belgium's viewers were looking to the outside for entertainment, the country united with other stations across Europe. With these new alliances, Belgium enjoys the broadcasts they wanted. Eventually though, Belgium broadcasters will have to put more money and thought into a more successful public system for the people (Noam, 1991).

Starting a station in Belgium may be a good idea in the future if they ever figure out a happy medium for international broadcasts and local. At the moment they don't seem to be concerned with finding this happy medium because what they have now is working for them. Eventually the public broadcasters will figure a way to market all of it as a total package, and the Belgian people will, hopefully, be interested. Until then, you should set up either in Brussels, the administrative capital of Europe, or in an outside country with penetration into Belgium.

SWEDEN

The Swedes come from the Vikings that lived throughout that area. Sweden was once a part of Denmark. Sweden was able to separate from Denmark in 1523 and immediately became a rival power. At one point Norway was taken away from Denmark and given to Sweden. This was punishment for Denmark because of their Napoleonic support. After around 100 years of Swedish rule, Norway was given its independence. Sweden is a parliamentary state under a constitutional monarchy. The executive branch consists of a Prime Minister and his advisors, parliament, and a Supreme Court. The official language is Swedish, which is of German relation. Most school children learn English as well so it wouldn't be too hard to find an English speaking Swede (Morrison, 1994).

In the early 1990's Sweden was known as the strictest country carrying public broadcasts, but it was still losing ground. Cable was beginning to replace over-the-air broadcasts as the primary form of distribution. Television went from almost purely public to more of a mixed system. The cable and satellite companies realized Sweden's needs and came into fill them. Sweden didn't have this kind of programming, and there was a dollar to be made. The traditional broadcasts were very conservative, and this wasn't going to last. The government needed to be competitive with the private channels. So they decided to begin a second and a third public channel just because of the sheer threat of private broadcast entry (Noam, 1991). The public felt that the public channels did not meet all of their needs, but the private channels did (Bryant & Zillman, 1994, p. 11).

The media eventually liberalized and many companies began to run cable throughout the country. The larger more important portions of Sweden were given experimental satellite broadcasts. Sweden is on its way to becoming a more stable media society which is why it may be good to set up there. Some problem with setting up in Sweden is Televerket, the near monopoly of all telecommunications. Monopolies are tough to beat especially if you try to start up a company without prior backing. Although Sweden is becoming media savvy, it would be difficult to crack into the market.

FINLAND

The Finnish people have been part of many countries of Europe. Finland was taken over by the USSR, but the Russians dismembered it instead of absorbing it. By the time World War II ended, they had territory in the USSR, so when the cold war came around, they stayed neutral and eventually became whole again. The Finnish government is a constitutional republic, which means that the President is the head of state and shares power with the Prime Minister whom he appointed. The official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish, while English is the primary language learned while in school. Older Finnish usually speak German which is important to know when dealing with the broadcasting media (Morrison, 1994).

Finland maybe small and speaks the lesser used languages, but it seems to have made its way into diversified media better than other countries. Finland enjoys a mix of public and private communication. Even the more liberal politicians approve of the public control of broadcasting. Commercial television works with public television as a way of funding. Also local printers have become much more successful in integrating into broadcasting. This allows local media to flourish in the Finnish system. They are bringing medias together, making local media stronger and much more successful. Finland was also very open to the idea of cable television. The cable programming is very open which will eventually lead to the liberalization of future programs. All of this convergence is making Finland an unlikely media power (Noam, 1991).

Finland is successful at media relations. This seems to be a great place to set up a successful station because everyone seems to work together. Finland is a smaller country, but you can be successful there. Finland seems to be the ideal set up compared to some of the other countries we've covered. Finnish don't watch outside broadcasts, which seem to be the main problem in other European countries.

NORWAY

Much like Sweden, Norway's origins lie in the Vikings. Norway was once under Denmark but when Denmark was punished for siding with Napoleon, it was given to Sweden. In 1905 Norway was given its independence. During World War II, Norway tried to remain neutral but was occupied by Nazi Germany. Norway went from believing in neutrality to believing in collective security and was one of the founding members of the United Nations. The Norwegian government is a multi-party constitutional monarchy. There are three branches of government, the King, the cabinet, and the Prime Minister who heads up the government itself. Norway's official language is Norwegian, which has German roots. Fortunately English is also widely spoken in Norway (Morrison, 1994).

The Norwegian government was not open to electronic media. They also didn't like the decentralizing of the public system although they were extremely strict about advertising on public television. Pirate stations began to broadcast to Norway's public system. When cable television reached Norway, it also brought channels of neighboring countries allowing the Norwegians to enjoy more channels and networks. Outside countries realize that not everyone's cable or public television is desirable, so they pipe in their own shows and networks. Although this is happening in Norway with cable and pay-TV programs, Norway imposes very restrictive rules on them (Noam, 1991).

Norway needs to have to loosen its grip on public television and the rules and regulations it puts upon cable and outside broadcasts or increase the quality of its own public broadcasts. This makes Norway a very unattractive place to set up a station if you want it to succeed. Norway's size hurts them, but there is and will always be a need for local programming. They may not be able to

compete privately or commercially with the bigger countries, but they can have high quality local programming. My suggestion to Norway is to pump more money and more liberal views into the way they handle their media.

DENMARK

Continuing with historically Viking related countries, we begin upon Denmark. As we know Denmark used to be much larger but was punished for associating itself with Napoleon, a problem that resulted in the taking away of Norway. Denmark's government is a constitutional monarchy much like many other countries in Europe. The power is held by the Prime Minister who heads up the government, and the rest is held by cabinet members. Danish is the official language of Denmark although they begin to teach English around age ten or eleven, so a majority of them speak it rather well (Morrison, 1994).

Denmark went through many changes in just the past decade. Television had one public channel with limited viewers. The government realized this was not going well, so their broadcasts began to include outside programming brought in through cable television. This led to more diversity in the networks, and people like diversity on television. This led to commercial television which would bring a national advertising outlet, meaning more money brought in, more stations, more shows, and more interest. Now there are more imported channels coming into Denmark, and the government is helping them. The reason this is working better is because the Danish Government has integrated with these channels from the outside. Commercial channels make more money so the government doesn't care if they are from within the nation or not. The future holds new things for the Danes such as satellite, etc. Danish channels give the people local broadcasting, as well as the commercial channels. The influx of money from the commercial channels allows the government to raise the quality of programming for their public channels, which results in more money for them. They are still trying to get through all of the walls but steady progress is being made. Eventually domestic and international broadcasts will be integrated into one package allowing the viewer more choices and local broadcasts. This is similar to satellite TV in the states holding the local channels, which they did not before.

Denmark is progressing through this converging media age, and it may be a good time to set up a station in this nation. If it is a public station you will hopefully have a high enough quality to succeed. Private stations may have to be brought in by cable, but it seems to be working now. As long as you have the eyes of the Danes, you will be fine. The best idea is to pipe in your channel for now, until the Danish government becomes a bit more liberal with their media laws so that possibly a private or commercial station may flourish within its boundaries.

SPAIN

Stepping away from the Norse countries, we venture into Spain. Spain was a neutral country during World War II but was kind to the Nazi's. Because of this, they were not allowed into the UN until 1955. King Juan Carlos didn't put much emphasis on the military and wanted Spain to stay under civilian rule, but now Spain is a constitutional monarchy. The king is the Chief of State and the legislative power is held by the Cortes (parliament). The head of government is the Prime Minister who is responsible for the Cortes, as well as his deputy and ministers. The official language of Spain is Spanish, but in the northwest, many speak their own languages and dialects so it gets a little more confusing (Morrison, 1994).

Spain has had to overcome many nasty media environments; the old fascist government had a bad attitude toward private broadcasting. They had a strong public system of broadcasting, but it was used primarily for propaganda. Oddly enough it permitted some private broadcasting as long as it was involved with the church, labor organizations, or municipalities. If one of these organizations wanted to broadcast, the government would even reward it for doing this. Eventually the old ideas left Spain and a new democratic government came into place. This allowed them to start bringing in mixed media from the outside and inside. Although it started in the form of radio, television soon followed. Radio was first liberalized because they wanted it to be the official radio of Spain, which allowed the government to control what was broadcast but not to the point of propaganda. This is the model they used for television when it first began. Eventually international media began to come in and this added to the diversity of the country's media as well as more privately owned media networks (Noam, 1991). Spain is making serious headway in the media business. Recently they were primarily putting out propaganda, but now under they realize what a mixed media can do for their society. Spain is a large enough country that if they get enough privately owned and commercial networks and stations, they may not have to rely on those of outside nations as much. This would be great for the Spanish government because they could make a high quality program and maybe even sell it or pipe it in to bordering Portugal or other nations. If they continue to proceed in the manner that they are doing, Spain may very well be resting on a very lucrative untapped media market. Lots of Europe has broadcasts in German, English, and Swedish, but there isn't a Spanish market doing nearly as well as the Norse and Germanic counterparts. It may take a few more decades, but Spain is well on its way to being a great place for station set up.

GREECE

Finally, we come to Greece. The Greeks were said to have been the ones to invent democracy, and with all of the great minds that have come out of that area, who could doubt that. Today though, Greece is a presidential parliamentary republic. The President is elected by parliament but again the real power is held by the Prime Minister who is the head of government. The official language of Greece is Greek, which is one of the oldest languages (Morrison, 1994).

Greece's form of broadcasting was not the best way of doing things up until 1990. It had one of the oldest ideals of broadcasting, which West Europe had found obsolete many years ago. There were very few public channels and very little cable. When the government finally changed from its traditional society, it did not help out the media convergence. The technological change resulted in five rival broadcast systems. There is now cable in Greece, but it is very sparse. The only way they can receive outside signals is through satellite reception and even that is not good. There are very few broadcast freedoms in this nation. They need to reach out to other nations although this may be difficult because of their geographical location (Noam, 1991).

Possibly Greece will not see any huge movements towards a more positive media experience until they achieve a better understanding of what is needed. They do have the satellite broadcasts, but they should put more money into it. There doesn't seem to be enough people that care about it for anything radical to be done. Greece needs to find itself on the broadcast spectrum before the rest of Europe gets so far ahead they can't catch up.

CONCLUSION

We have examined 12 different European nations and one major problem seemed to keep coming up. The problem seems to be media quality. Obviously the larger nations have it and profit from it greatly, but the smaller nations are unable to compete with this high of quality so they don't do as well. It's not impossible for one of these smaller nations to succeed. Take Belgium for example, they are bringing in commercial, private, and public stations and doing fine. A lot of Belgium's success is based on their primary location but some of it is their liberalized media laws. Laws that restrict the number of private stations so the public station can stay number one hurt the country in the long run. More of these nations should look to allow the support of commercial and privately owned stations. Many believe this will cause too much competition for the public station to withstand, but, I believe, a little competition is what the public stations need. If they continue to broadcast without competition, they will get lazy and not care as much about their quality. Privately owned stations in the area, as well as commercial will keep the public stations always striving to be better. This works out for everyone in the long run because it's quality that counts.

Every country has its limitations; it's just finding ways around these limitations that will make them successful. Greece is in a difficult spot, but there is a solution to their problem. Media convergence is the way of the future, and you can't miss out on an opportunity and expect to maintain a successful country's media. We all live in an age where we have to count on one another to successfully work together, and when you are as close as Europe is, this is a must. Europe is a nation without borders, and they need to begin acting like that. The creation of the Euro has certainly helped, but maybe someday, there will be a centralized law for media or broadcasting that will liberalize their entire media system so that they all get the programming they need and want.

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Kathy L. Hill, Sam Houston State University

Aaron Manahan, Sam Houston State University