[11/09] Broadcasting Authority replies to statement by Leader of Alternattiva Demokratika (08/05/200

Media Release 11/09

Broadcasting Authority replies to Statement by
Leader of Alternattiva Demokratika

With reference to the statement made by the Leader of Alternattiva Demokratika regarding the requests made to the Broadcasting Authority for the broadcasting of political programmes by the AD on private stations, the Authority would like to clarify facts.

With reference to the statement made by the Leader of Alternattiva Demokratikaregarding the requests made to the Broadcasting Authority for the broadcasting ofpolitical programmes by the AD on private stations, the Authority would like to clarifyfacts.

The request by AD was made to the Broadcasting Authority through e-mail on Saturday 25th April 2009 and the Authority immediately approved this request on 28th April on the following conditions:

• that during each week only one programme can be broadcast of not      more than 72 minutes (including 12 minutes of advertising) and with the      possibility of only one repeat during that same week;
• that no political adverts can be made during that programme; and
• that the programme has to be balanced.

From these conditions it is clear that it is not true what was reported as the statement of the Leader of AD that the Authority tried to impinge on the choice of subject of these broadcasts or that it obliged AD to include representatives of other political parties for these programmes. On the other hand, the Authority must insist that programmes broadcast on a TV station which has not been licensed as a political station should not contain programmes that contain explicit political propaganda. And for this reason, the Authority insisted that such programmes should be presented in a balanced manner.  Besides, the Authority would also like to point out that the above conditions imposed for such programmes are identical to the same conditions imposed during the last general elections when another small political party made the same requests.

The Authority was very much surprised by the insinuation made by the Leader of AD that the Authority was trying to obstruct this political party’s power of speech when the AD very well knows the Authority’s conscious efforts for adequate broadcasting space to small political parties especially during the last weeks before any election.

Just a few weeks ago, the Broadcasting Authority issued a directive to the public broadcaster and to all private broadcasting stations that, amongst others, obliges these stations that in matters of political controversy during the last weeks before the elections for the European Parliament they should invite representatives from the four political parties (PN, PL, AD, AN), although naturally it is not expected that the smaller parties are granted equal broadcasting time as the larger parties. The Broadcasting Authority has allocated adequate airtime to the smaller parties in its own scheme of political programmes that will be broadcast during the last weeks before the elections, consisting of political debates, party political productions and political ‘spots’.

Lastly, it is to be noted that a few years back the Broadcasting Authority had even licensed a national radio station to be run by AD which, however, opted to transfer the licence to third parties.