Why I love my state-owned television networks...

Government-run media outlets would be worse that media owned by big companies. That’s basically what someone (Jared, if I remember correctly?) said at the end of the class yesterday. Okay, I know, I am French, citizen of a ‘nanny state’, so I may be a little biased when it comes to government intervention... but clearly, I don’t agree with this theory that public ownership of media is necessarily bad.

Let’s take a look at what we are doing in France. (I am aware that I am always talking about France... I did not know that I was such a patriot before coming to the USA...)

We have six “big” television networks in France: three of them are government-owned, three of them are privately-owned.

Among the private channels, we have:
- TF1 (30% marketshare), owned by Bouygues, an industrial group which earns a lot of money from state contracts (Martin Bouygues, the CEO, was the groomsman at Nicolas Sarkozy’s second marriage and is the godfather of Louis Sarkozy)
- Canal+ (3%) is part of the Vivendi Group: it is a premium television network (like Showtime or HBO), but it also broadcasts for free four hours a day.
- M6 (12%) is part of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann.

Among the public channels, we have:
- France2 (18%): generalist channel
- France3 (12%): regional channel
- Arte (2%): Franco-German channel (can be compared to PBS)

And who broadcasts the best newscasts? The best news magazines? The best political shows? In my mind, it is definitely the public networks, not driven by purely commercial motives and therefore less obsessed by their ratings.
> France 2 for instance broadcasts a daily political interview in its morning shows, two 30-minute newscasts, a weekly and a monthly political magazine, and several investigation magazines.

Just to understand the huge gap between public and private networks in France, let’s take a look at TF1. The private channel does not broadcast any political magazine, and its "news" magazine are more trashy than informative...

Yesterday for instance, what were the reports on the 30-minute midday newscast of Jean-Pierre Pernaut?
1. The weather (0:40)
2. Letters sent by French children to Santa Claus> what a good editorial choice! (1:48)
3. Soccer game between France and Ireland (8:34!!!!)
4. Swine flu (4:28)
5. Traditions in United Kingdom (1:34)
6. A cell-phone bill of 159,000 euros (1:54)
7. A company who has troubles hiring plumbers (2:49)
8. Should parents be able to choose the birth place displayed on the ID card of their baby? (02:10)
9. Twilight 2 (1:58)
10. Chantal Goya, a French singer successful in the 80s (2:32)
11. The Christmas tree in Strasbourg (1:32)
12. The good weather on the French riviera (1:38)
13. A dance school in Paris (4:23)
14. How to cook beef? (3:27)

It’s really funny to watch, especially if you like to learn about French traditions. I love when they are doing a report about traditions from my region, but come on, is that really news? That’s what happens, in my mind, when the newscast is only driven by commercial motives... you are trying to get more and more viewers, and you forgot your watchdog role.

Government intervention is not always such a bad thing... don't you think?

By Mathieu D.