Last update - 00:00 10/06/2007
Stop threatening public radio
By Haaretz Editorial
The proposal to close or limit the activities of Israel Radio's small stations is made with seasonal regularity, in an attempt to deal with the continuing organizational and economic crisis at the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). So far the stations have been spared shutdown, among other things due to public protest. But recently the sword of closure has once more been raised.
As reported in Haaretz, from the beginning of July, the director general of the IBA, Mordechai Sklar, wants to close down for six months Reshet Aleph; the Arabic-language station; REKA international radio, aimed at new immigrants; Reshet Moreshet, which focuses on Jewish tradition; and the classical station Kol Hamuzika. He has also proposed taking off the air television broadcasts in Arabic and the English news. This is all part of his emergency plan to deal with the IBA's deficit. The proposals are also the result of unnecessary struggles between Sklar and the chairman of the IBA executive committee and plenum, Moshe Gavish.
Each one of the stations slated for closure has clear public importance. Sklar's plan to shut them down specifically contravenes the IBA Law, which states, among other things, that broadcasts must "reflect the lives and cultural values of all groups in the population from various countries, to expand education and disseminate knowledge." The IBA must also "broadcast in the Arabic language for the needs of the Arabic-speaking population, and the broadcasts must promote understanding and peace with neighboring countries."
A study of the details of the plan shows that the operating cost of the stations are very low relative to the yearly income of the IBA, which stands at hundreds of millions of shekels. Thus, for example, the direct savings that would be achieved by closing Kol Hamuzika during the second half of the year would be NIS 291,000 and the savings from closing Reshet Moreshet for that period would be only NIS 11,000. The savings that would be gained by making all the proposed changes at Israel Radio, including stopping the work of most of the broadcast technicians, would be less than NIS 10 million, while the deficit stands at NIS 154 million.
Instead of harassing radio stations that serve minorities, Sklar should cut elsewhere, such as the bloated IBA administrative staff. It is high time to reduce the IBA work week from six days to five, as is the practice elsewhere; to considerably reduce overtime pay to senior staff and to end old and expensive contracts with various suppliers that are automatically renewed annually.
IBA chairman Gavish did say last week that he does not agree to the silencing of the radio stations, but at the same time the executive committee announced that a significant cut cannot occur without a real halt to activities and damage to public broadcasting in Israel. The executive committee, to which the director general answers, must order Sklar to refrain from any damage to the stations at Israel Radio and television broadcasts in Arabic and English, and instead to cut away fat. In a few months the IBA is set to undergo general organizational reform, and in that framework the position of the stations should be ensured and the threat of their closure permanently set aside.