Status: 03/16/2023 5:18 p.m
After several crises in public service broadcasting, transparency is to be increased and committee control strengthened. To this end, the country leaders have submitted a draft for a fourth media change treaty.
The prime ministers of the federal states have agreed on uniform rules for more transparency and control of public broadcasters. The planned fourth media change state treaty will now be forwarded to the state parliaments for preliminary information, explained the chairwoman of the broadcasting commission, the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer.
The reform discussion arose, among other things, through the affair at Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb). In addition to the director Patricia Schlesinger, who was fired without notice, the focus is on the resigned chief controller Wolf-Dieter Wolf. The Berlin Attorney General is investigating. Both rejected the allegations against themselves. There have also been various allegations against executives at Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) in recent months.
Dreyer: Public broadcasting in a serious crisis
Dreyer explained that public service broadcasting was in a serious crisis. The contract that has now been presented is suitable for regaining trust. The SPD politician explained that the new rules set high standards for public broadcasters, regardless of the respective state law. As examples, she cited rules on transparency in production costs and executive salaries, rules on bias for committee members and the appointment of independent compliance officers.
The new regulations should apply to all broadcasters of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio. It is planned to add sub-paragraphs on transparency, compliance, committee supervision and conflicts of interest to Paragraph 31 of the Interstate Media Treaty entitled “Statutes, guidelines, reporting obligations”.
Ratification required in 16 state parliaments
The state treaty amendment is to be signed by the prime ministers in the summer, after which it must be ratified by all 16 state parliaments. Dreyer said she hopes the contract can come into effect early next year. She spoke of an important step in the reform of public service broadcasting. The recently appointed Future Council should develop further building blocks. The advisory board consists of eight experts.
As a consequence of the events at rbb, the directors of ARD had already decided on a joint compliance guideline in November. This defines minimum standards, including management principles and a code of conduct.