Friday, May 18, 2012

EBU and Hungarian regulator discuss membership concerns

EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre and Hungary's top regulator agreed today (May 16) to establish a taskforce on how best to adapt membership of the EBU in the light of last year's restructuring of Hungary's public media sector.

Ms Deltenre was in Budapest on Wednesday at the invitation of Annamària Szalai, the President of Hungary's National Media and Infocommunications Authority.

Ms Szalai said it was important not only for the broadcasters, but also to Hungary, for the country's public service media to belong to the EBU. Ms Deltenre also stressed the EBU's interest in continuing Hungarian membership of the Union.

Magyar Radio and Magyar Television have belonged to the EBU since 1993, but their continued membership has been called into question since last year, when most of their staff were transferred to the Media Support and Asset Management Fund (MTVA) amid moves towards greater integration in Hungary's public media sector.

Ms Szalai and Ms Deltenre agreed to establish a working group to discuss the membership issue in detail and to propose an appropriate form of group membership to the EBU's Statutes Group. 

Such a form of membership might include MR, MTV, MTVA and the international satellite channel Duna, and be based on clear framework spelling out the roles and editorial responsibilities of the different media organizations.

The EBU's representative on the taskforce will be Deputy Legal Director Michael Wagner, who with Head of Special Assistance David Lewis accompanied Ms Deltenre to Budapest.

(Source : European Broadcasting Union)

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