Paris wants its "CNN, French-Style "
By Olivier Da Lage
In a report submitted to the prime minister on 29 September, French deputy
Bernard Brochand recommended that France's planned international news channel
take the form of a joint venture between the private broadcasting group TF1
and the public television group France Televisions. According to the report,
whose recommendations have been approved by the prime minister, the new news
channel, which hopes to compete with CNN and BBC World, should be operational
before the end of 2004.
The French government is at present considering launching an international television
news channel that will compete with CNN, BBC World or Al Jazeera. This project,
strongly backed by President Jacques Chirac, should materialize in 2004. It
aims at making a "French voice" heard in the war of images in which
international televisions are engaged. There is a large consensus of opinion
in France in favor of the project and it is eagerly anticipated particularly
in Africa and the Middle East. However, it is facing numerous administrative
and financial obstacles.
The plan to launch an international French television service by satellite is
not new. What is new is the French president's determination to make this plan
succeed at whatever cost and without further delay. Speaking before the Higher
Francophone Council in February 2002, Jacques Chirac asked, "Is it logical
that year after year we continue to deplore the consistent insufficiency of
francophone news and broadcasting production on the world scene? Everyone can
see that we are far from having a full-scale international news channel in French,
one that is capable of competing with BBC or CNN. The recent crises in Iraq
have revealed the handicap suffered by a country-a cultural domain-that does
not have sufficient weight in the battle of images and airwaves." During
the electoral campaign in the spring of 2002, President Chirac, at the time
running reelection, referred to this issue as an "ardent commitment."
Once reelected, he gave very firm instructions that this project must not remain
on paper. France would have its "CNN, French-style".
What has reinforced the French head of state's determination is no doubt the
Iraqi crisis. France's special position against a military intervention in Iraq
outside the framework of the United Nations, as opposed to Great Britain and
the United States, made the absence of a French equivalent of CNN or BBC World
stand out glaringly. This is more especially so as the spectacular breakthrough
of Al Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV confirmed a contrario that it was possible to
break the Anglo-Saxon channels' apparent monopoly of world TV pictures. The
presidential resolve should not make us overlook the fact that the project in
itself is relatively old. CNN's role all through the Kuwait crisis had already
convinced the French authorities of the necessity of establishing a counterbalance.
Several personalities were entrusted with the task of preparing reports on this
subject but nothing was accomplished. In 1997, another report, ordered by Jacques
Chirac and the Gaullist Prime Minister during that period Alain Juppé,
detailed the modalities of such a project. However, the dissolution of the National
Assembly by Jacques Chirac and the ensuing change in the ruling majority deferred
its implementation to a later date.
A fragmented external broadcasting service:
The French situation is particularly complex. Contrary to Germany and Great
Britain, the French public broadcasting service is split into several companies.
This took place in 1974 when President Giscard d'Estaing decided to divide the
then existing radio-television body into seven companies. Subsequently, each
of these companies followed its own logic and developed an independent corporate
culture. The same situation prevailed in the external broadcasting service,
which is split between several radio stations - Radio France Internationale
(RFI) and Radio Monte-Carlo Moyen-Orient (RMC-MO), as well as Radio-France's
own independent external projects - and different television operators - the
interstate francophone channel TV5, the image bank CFI, AITV RFO (television's
overseas broadcasting pictures agency), etc.
This dispersal of strategies and budgets is very expensive and does not necessarily
achieve the efficiency required, given the dispersal of effort and the bureaucratic
and individual rivalries existing among companies and the leaders concerned.
This is why French leaders, with a view to restricting the budget, have asked
themselves whether it would not be feasible to create the new international
channel out of the existing ones.
In a way, such channels already exist. TV5 was created in 1984 in partnership
with the French, Belgian, and Swiss public television stations. Two years later
they were joined by Canadian television stations. Programs became specialized
and differentiated with the emergence of a regional coverage of Africa (1991),
Asia (1996), America (1998), and Europe (1999). The constant improvement of
the contents and coverage of TV5 did not however dissolve its "federal"
structure, which has public operators from several countries as partners, and
this complicates and slows down the decision-making process and often gives
the broadcast product the allure of a "patchwork" of French, Canadian,
Swiss, and Belgian newspapers, even though the news development specifically
produced in TV5 and the increasing number of news bulletins today give a more
homogenous character to the news content. Moreover, TV5's vocation as a francophone
television is not to limit itself to news but to cover all areas of culture,
including music and cinema. Although its headquarters is in Paris, TV5 is not
and cannot be the French international news channel.
The same definitely applies to Euronews, a continuous European news channel
created in 1993 by a consortium of European public channels that are members
of the ERU (European Radio Union). Until spring 2003, 51% of the capital was
owned by 20 public channels, and 49% by private operators, particularly British,
such as ITN and Reuters, which have since withdrawn. Euronews is now owned 100%
by 20 European public channels. Its continuous news programs are broadcast simultaneously
in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian. At one
time it also broadcast in Arabic; news broadcasting in Arabic is currently under
consideration again. Euronews is based in Ecully, near Lyon in France. Some
have considered that this could be a potential base for international French
television, particularly since the withdrawal of the British. However, the simultaneous
translation of all programs greatly reduces the channel's capacity to react.
Moreover, nothing indicates that France's European partners would agree to make
Euronews the envisaged international French channel!
The same could be said of Arte, a French-German cultural channel founded in
Strasbourg in 1990. Other than the fact that its objective was never to become
a news channel, it was established in accordance with a French-German treaty
and the Germans are not in the least interested in such a project, which according
to them is not in keeping with Arte's essential mission.
A lot more promising is CFI (Canal France International), which cannot properly
be called a television channel and does not have its own production structure.
It is rather an image bank that, since its establishment in 1989, has transmitted
magazines and broadcasts produced by French operators, mainly to Africa, but
also to other regions. However, over the years, hotels and individuals in Africa
have taken the habit of tuning in to CFI as though it were in fact a full-fledged
TV channel. However, CFI was conceived from the very beginning as a T.V. "tube"
channel for broadcasters. It could possibly be envisaged as a direct broadcaster
but in no way a producer of programmes.
In the private sector, a news channel transmitted by satellite and by cable,
has existed since 1994, namely LCI, which belongs to the TF1-Bouygues group.
Another channel, >i-television, with more restricted distribution, was created
a few years ago and belongs to the Canal + group.
With regard to radio, RFI (Radio France Internationale), which broadcasts news
around the clock in twenty languages and boasts of a significant network of
correspondents abroad, has indisputable know-how in the field of international
news. But RFI lacks experience in television. Agence France Presse (AFP), the
only world news agency that is capable of competing with Anglo-Saxon agencies,
has an important network of offices abroad and very good in-field knowledge
of the five continents. However, the AFP statute is a special one. It is neither
a private company like Reuters or AP, nor a state public service; in addition,
its broadcasting experience is very limited.
Decisive budgetary constraints:
A more simple approach would certainly be to envisage a new news channel ex
nihilo . However, taking into consideration budgetary difficulties and the resolve
expressed many times by the government to cut back on external broadcasting
expenses, this is simply not possible. Total estimates to date show that the
costs of operating such a channel would be between 80 and 120 million euros
annually. By way of comparison, BBC News 24 operates with a private budget of
50 million sterling pounds annually, to which should be added all the technical
and editorial contributions provided by the rest of the BBC group; Deutsche
Welle-TV operates with a private annual budget of 83 million euros, but a real
budget of 121 million euros if we include the services of the Deutsche Welle
group; Euronews operates with an independent annual budget of 30 million euros,
but its pictures are put at its disposal free of charge by its European share-holder
channels.
The ideal "blank page" solution being excluded for budgetary reasons,
the only way left to proceed with this project is to resort to existing facilities.
As we have noted in the above-mentioned synopsis, none of the companies likely
to be interested in the project can take it on alone. Hence, various operators
must be encouraged to cooperate, overcoming their differences of corporate culture
and placing at the disposal of all synergies without which the project will
never see the day. At this stage of reflection, several contrasting approaches
are being considered by the government.
Some believe that the state can not allow itself to spend more than it already
does for external broadcasting production, and that in any case, a private news
channel, LCI, already exists. It would therefore be sufficient to provide this
channel with additional and relatively modest financing, to allow it to fulfill
the objectives assigned by the president of the republic to an international
channel.
This approach has come up against the mistrust of those who, whether in the
majority party or the opposition, believe that it is dangerous to entrust such
a mission-a "mission affecting sovereignty"-to the main private broadcasting
group, which is also number one in the world for building and public works (Bouygues).
This attitude has prevailed in particular at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This project, supported by the head of state, has also brought to the forefront
the silent rivalries existing among influential circles opposing the Ministry
of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, each believing that they should
be the department to pilot the project. Those who support this approach recommend
that this international television obtain support from the public broadcasting
sector, particularly France Television and RFI. In April 2003, the Prime Minister's
office offered an invitation to tender to the operators. Three proposals were
submitted: two originating from the two private television channels LCI and
>i-television, the other submitted jointly by France Television and RFI.
The government took some time to consider these proposals before announcing
its choice while entrusting yet one more mission to Deputy Bernard Brochand,
who submitted his report on September 29, arguing for a fifty-fifty partnership
between the private television group TF1 and the public-owned France-Televisions,
with the purpose of putting the new channel in operation before the end of 2004.
Towards private-public sector collaboration:
In the event, the government has decided to request the various operators, both
private and public, to merge their projects, which is also what the Parliamentary
Commission working on the file, recommended. In its interim report published
in March, the Commission recommended that public and private operators put together
their resources in a new structure of a cooperative character that will be split
in two: on the one side there will be the image bank which could be CFI, and
on the other side there will be the broadcaster who will take the name of CFI-24.
The Deputies evaluate the operation costs of this structure at 80 to 100 million
euros in addition to the contributions of the channel's shareholding operators.
Even though no definite decision has yet been reached, broadcasting professionals
express a certain skepticism regarding the capacity of many operators, of such
varying backgrounds and corporate cultures, to overcome these difficulties and
be able to run a well-oiled machine. The problem is that that there is no economically
viable alternative and no one has any doubts regarding President Chirac's resolve
to see this project materialize without further delay.
The most important factor remains: what will be the content of the transmission
and at whom will it be targeted? Over and above ministerial declarations, the
articles and conditions published in the invitation to tender in April gives
valuable indications concerning this subject:
The State wishes to promote the development of an international news channel.
Broadcast mainly in the French language, this service's function will be to
ensure a more important and more visible French presence in the world battle
of images and to contribute to the pluralism of international news by offering
TV viewers the choice of a different outlook on news, marked by the particular
viewpoint of our country regarding world affairs, by its culture, and its individual
spirit, and casting a favorable light on its special historic and geographic
ties. The international news channel should also contribute towards a durable
strategy of assuring French influence in the world.
- The transmission zone will at first mainly target the Arab world, Africa,
and Europe.
- The gradual extension to North America, the Far East (particularly China and
Japan), and Central and South America should be envisaged in the proposals,
the specific costs of each being set out separately.
- The international news channel will be broadcast primarily in the French language.
- The transmission of English, Arabic, and Spanish versions should be envisaged
while specifying clearly the consequences for the editorial content and the
cost of the project.
- The channel's format shall be that of news channels comprising the handling
of daily international news, while reserving an important place for short magazines
related to cultural and economic news.
- The targeted audience should be as large as possible while at the same time
priority should be given to the political, economic, and cultural decision-makers
of the above-mentioned transmission zones. Young adults should also be given
particular attention as a target.
- The international news channel should blend into the broadcasting landscape,
particularly with regard to external broadcasting production.
- Possible synergies with societies belonging to public broadcasting sectors
and the existing private news channels should be carefully studied.
- Partnerships could be envisaged with foreign television operators.
- The project may benefit from public support, as far as its start-up investment
and operation are concerned.
- The project should be able to develop according to a schedule that takes into
consideration the available resources. It should have a step-by-step, modular
character.
- The actual launching of the channel must be possible during 2004.
Thus drawn up, the invitation to tender presents an ambitious project capable
of a very modest start-up.
What editorial policy should be adopted for "CNN French-Style"?
In the course of their work, the deputies devoted a good part of their time
to debating the editorial policy of the new channel. This policy must certainly
permit the introduction of a French vision into the battle of images that international
news channels are engaged in. The Deputies note that for the moment the world
image market is overwhelmingly dominated by Anglo-Saxon productions such as
CNN, BBC, and Reuters. Therefore, it is very important that the future channel
be equipped with an autonomous production capacity usable by other television
channels. The international news channel should also make France's diplomatic
positions known. How can this be done without the channel appearing as a simple
governmental propaganda organ? In an op-ed article in the newspaper Libération
, European Representative for External Affairs Chris Patten wrote on May 22,
2003 of the extent to which, in his opinion, it was essential that a French
voice express itself: " World pluralism needs more voices to make itself
heard, and one of these voices should be French ." But Patten also warns
the French government against the temptation of wanting to exercise a political
tutelage over this channel: " Some plead for a public management of this
French world channel to avoid any embarrassing divergences from government policy;
this would be a kind of natural compensation for the public subsidies that this
service will need to survive My reply for what it is worth is clear: if this
is your objective, it is useless to envisage the launching of a competitor to
CNN ."
Obviously perplexed by this dilemma, the deputies finally reached the same conclusion:
The purpose of the future channel should be to broadcast to the world a French
vision of world affairs and also to contribute to information pluralism on the
international scene. The necessity of such a channel for our country is justified
by the two following observations: communications have become an established
component of power in the contemporary world, and a country that concentrates
all its assets of power (economic, military, cultural, and media) will be tempted
to adopt a unilateral approach towards problems arising on the international
scene. CFI-24 should, therefore, bring a different view to that of existing
international news channels. It should also reflect the diversity of opinions
existing in the world and favor a multilateral approach to resolving international
crises.
Furthermore, this channel should not be conceived as an instrument serving exclusively
French diplomacy. Nothing would be more open to criticism than the creation
of an ORTF with a planetary mandate, as, such a channel, conceived of as the
"voice of France" would in all likelihood go purely and simply unheard.
Members of the Joint Commission consider that the independence and professionalism
of CFI-24 are two essential conditions for its success. Its objective is in
effect to be viewed throughout the whole world by a large public, but also by
professionals in the media field. A too official or unbalanced handling of news
by this channel will undeniably deprive it very quickly of all credibility,
especially given that our country has the reputation, and in part justifiably
so, of being interventionist in all sectors, including media sectors.
For CFI-24 to become one of the international reference channels its independence
from the State is thus indispensable, and this should be guaranteed - as we
have said - by its statute.
In a few months time, CNN, BBC World, Al Jazeera and others will without doubt
be joined on satellite by a little French sister. The "French difference"
that Paris is clamoring for, particularly in its independent diplomatic line
and cultural policy, should therefore be able to find its voice on the world's
air waves. For this to happen, the State's political will (another very French
characteristic) should be able to triumph over that other much less glorious
French peculiarity-the technocratic vision of France's higher bureaucracy, which,
more often than not, prevails over a strictly professional vision where broadcasting
is concerned.