From: antenna@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Horvitz) Newsgroups: rec.radio.noncomm Subject: New broadcasting in Czechoslovakia Keywords: radio, reform, piracy Date: 15 Mar 91 06:58:52 GMT Organization: Whole Earth Review This is a summary of some information I have about the current situation of new broadcasters in Czechoslovakia. Corrections and updates would be very much appreciated. While most of this information comes direct from various sources, some of them do not speak English fluently - though their English is much, much better than my Czech or Slovak! Translation problems and the haste of phonecalls (due to cost) may have led to misunderstandings, for which I apologize. First, an excerpt from a letter from Stanislav Michniak of Radio TLIS, an unlicensed student-run station (Asmolovova 53, 842 47 Bratislava, fax 42-7-231-533), which is waiting for a license and trying to buy a 250-watt FM transmitter: "In the end of January a very interesting meeting was held up in our country. It was the lecture given to applicants for an independent radio and TV broadcast. Many legal, organizational and technical problems were explained, fees were made clear, etc. The lectures were organized by Research Institute of Telecommunication. They are going to deal frequencies from available spectrum. People from Radiocommunication gave expert advices, too. Broadcast licenses will be given by the governments after a new broadcast law will be issued. A movement for speeding it up is going on. Some groups are pushing the government. Independent Organization of TV Stations (NOTES) is very active. Recently, Union of Applicants for the Independent Broadcast has been established. They all try to influence the government and suggest to create that law..." The Union mentioned by Stanislav was founded in December 1990 by some of the more professionally experienced TV and radio applicants. An English translation of their charter says the formal name is "The Independent Television and Radio Broadcasting Union." The Union is open to all applicants for broadcasting licenses in CSFR. Its main purpose is to represent its members in negotiations with federal and republic organs on broadcasting matters, especially during the drafting of the federal law on broadcasting. A 13-member Union Committee oversees their day- to-day activities. Some of the better-known license applicants represented on the Committee are NTV, Bonton, and Masseba TV. I don't know if a Chairman or Vice-chairman have been chosen yet. No sooner was the Union founded than a break-away group was organized by Radio Stalin. Don't be fooled by the name "Stalin" - it's meant to be ironic. These are dissident/counterculture students who felt the Union's membership fees are too high, and the Union Committee will be dominated by commercial projects. About a month ago, Radio Stalin came back on the air in Prague (they operated briefly last autumn), once again without a license. And as before, their transmitter was quickly seized by the Communications Ministry. But this time, for reasons that are still unclear, their transmitter was returned. Apparently they had put it on top of a tall building in central Prague, without bothering to ask permission from the magazine which occupies the building. They were allowed to resume broadcasting from a less favorable location, which reduces their coverage area. Although their signal is weak, the fact that they were allowed to continue broadcasting at all aroused a great deal of interest. They quickly enlarged their base of support by sharing their transmitter with 8-10 other applicants for radio licenses. This expanded venture was renamed "Radio Ultra," and now includes such reputable groups as "Radio Forum," the OF program on the federal radio network. Radio Ultra's existence is having the desired effect of pressuring the government to speed up the process of legalizing independent broadcasting. According to Milan Jakobec, Secretary of the Federation Committee for Independent Broadcasting (the group drafting the new law and taking applications for licenses), some "provisional" licenses for radio broadcasting in the Czech Republic will be issued in just a few days, even though the broadcasting law is still not finished and won't be debated in Parliament until the summer. The decision to issue provisional licenses, before passage of the new law, was not welcomed by the Ministry of Communications. However, they agreed to cooperate...so long as they can collect VERY high fees for (a) use of a frequency, (b) transmitter time leased from them, and (b) special cables connecting the studio to the transmitter. The estimates given to Jakobec of the broadcasting fees range from 500,000 to 1,000,000 crowns ($18,000-$36,000) for one year, depending on the power output. The Ministry set these fees without consulting other groups or government bureaux, apparently ignoring the social and cultural consequences - namely, that only applicants with a lot of money and/or foreign partners can afford them. And whoever goes on the air will be forced to recover these costs by selling advertising. Public service broadcasters, and student stations like Radio TLIS and Radio Stalin, will probably not be able to raise the necessary cash. I wrote a briefing paper for the Union outlining arguments to try to convince the Ministry (a) that they cannot act unilaterally on an issue with such important social and cultural consequences, and (b) if license fees are required, payment should be deferred for 6 months so the stations have time to try to generate support from their listeners. I would appreciate hearing from anyone with more information on these subjects, especially about new broadcasting stations in Slovakia, and opinions on Radio Ultra's programming. ------- Robert Horvitz Radio Consultant, Internews Network Independent Electronic Media Program for East & Central Europe -- !.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.|.!.| Robert Horvitz 1122-1/2 E St. SE Washington, DC 20003-2232 USA antenna@well.sf.ca.us ...{apple,pacbell,hplabs,ucbvax}!well!antenna