Global Task Force For Public Media
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The Global Task Force for Public Media () is an international association of a working group of leaders from seven national public broadcasters formed in September 2019. It is currently chaired by Norbert Himmler, director-general of Germany's public broadcaster,
ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
. The task force seeks to contribute to the public discourse on the issues and challenges facing public media such as financial pressure, competition for audience share in the digital market, and online disinformation. Its mandate is to defend the interests and values of public media on a global scale. Seven values are listed in its mission statement: access, accuracy, accountability, creativity, impartiality, independence and high standards of journalism.


History

The task force was originally made up of public media leaders from Canada, Australia, Germany, France, the U.K., New Zealand and Sweden. Its membership was expanded in May 2020 to include Yang Sung-dong, president of South Korea's public broadcaster,
KBS The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS; ) is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters under the government of South Korea. The KBS operates seven radio net ...
. On February 19, 2020, Tait published an open letter in the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' in support of the British, Australian and Danish public broadcasters, which had experienced funding and staff cuts and, in the case of
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
, been served with search warrants. In April 2020, in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the task force issued its first statement, in which it highlighted the services provided by its members and other public broadcasters to the citizens of their respective countries in a time of crisis. In July it published a statement in ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' condemning actions by various Eastern European governments that have curtailed the independence of public broadcasters in the region, including Trójka and
Telewizja Polska Telewizja Polska S.A. (; TVP), also known in English as Polish Television, is a Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster in Poland, founded in 1952. It is the oldest and largest Polish television network. After 2015, when the right-wing po ...
in Poland,
Radiotelevizija Slovenija Radiotelevizija Slovenija () – usually abbreviated to RTV Slovenija, RTV SLO (or simply RTV within Slovenia) – is Slovenia's national public broadcasting organization. Based in Ljubljana, it has regional broadcasting centres in Koper and Ma ...
in Slovenia, and
Česká televize Czech Television ( ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting six channels. Established after breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslovak Television founded in 1953. H ...
in the Czech Republic. The statement also criticised the decision by government authorities in Hong Kong to review the management and practices of
RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service of Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...
, the local public broadcaster. In September, an English version of the statement was published in the Canadian newspaper ''
The Hill Times ''The Hill Times'' is a Canadian twice-weekly newspaper and daily news website, published in Ottawa, Ontario, which covers the Parliament of Canada, the federal government, and other federal political news. Founded in 1989 by Ross Dickson and Jim ...
''. On January 11, 2021, the task force published an op-ed in the ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'' condemning the growing threats to journalists’ safety, citing recent examples of
CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...
reporters being assaulted in Washington, D.C., and Vancouver following the
2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months after his defea ...
. The piece argues that a connection exists between
disinformation Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic dece ...
, online violence and real-world abuse and attacks. On February 13, 2021, the task force expressed concerns about the decision by Chinese authorities to ban
BBC World News BBC News is an international English-language pay television channel owned by BBC Global News Ltd. – a subsidiary of BBC Studios – and operated by the BBC News division of the BBC. The network carries news bulletins, documentaries, an ...
from broadcasting in mainland China and Hong Kong, saying the actions restrict access to trusted sources of news and
media freedom Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is int ...
within the region. In its statement, the task force described access to independent journalism as a basic right and critical for citizens everywhere to be informed. As of December 2024, the task force was composed of David Anderson, managing director of
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
(Australia); Norbert Himmler, director general of
ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
(Germany);
Delphine Ernotte Delphine Ernotte (; born 28 July 1966) is a French telecommunications and media executive. She is the chief executive officer of France Télévisions, the President of the European Broadcasting Union, and a former executive at Orange S.A. Early l ...
, president and CEO of
France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...
(France);
Tim Davie Timothy Douglas Davie (born 25 April 1967) is a British media executive, and the Director-General of the BBC since September 2020, taking over from Tony Hall. He was previously appointed as the acting director-general of the BBC in November 2 ...
, director general of the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
(United Kingdom); Jim Mather, board chair of
RNZ Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classica ...
(New Zealand); Anne Lagercrantz, director general of SVT (Sweden); and
Catherine Tait Catherine Tait (born 1958) is a Canadian business executive who formerly served as the 16th president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She succeeded Hubert Lacroix for the position after being appointed on April 3, 2018, and beginnin ...
, president and CEO of
CBC/Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its English-language and F ...
(Canada).


References

{{Reflist


External links


Official site
Public broadcasting Task forces