We need more people informed
#222
My Dear Friend of Democracy,
Everyone knows the need for more political education to counter populists. But what are European politicians doing? They are talking about cutting costs in public broadcasting. They are not only talking. In Liechtenstein, they abolished it entirely over the weekend. In Germany, numerous stations are to be closed.
However, political information is already a niche product in many public broadcasting programs.
For example, Germany. If you want to follow elections in Europe (such as last weekend in Georgia or Bulgaria), you get disappointed. The only station that would be eligible for this, Phoenix, showed documentaries such as "Dream Destination Southeast Asia" or "From Mont Blanc to the Mediterranean". The news channel is underfunded. If you want to find out about political Europe in Germany, you have to watch foreign programs, you have to be able to speak at least English. And then your are still missing the German perspective.
Europe needs more, not less, political education!
The central mission of public television is precisely this: education. Why is there no news television à la BBC or CNN in almost every European country, where everyone can find out about what is happening in their country, in Europe, and the world—around the clock, in their language? Best journalism for an enlightened society! That is what we need.
Instead, we are having austerity debates that ultimately help Putin, extremists, populists, and conspiracy theorists. Once these people gain a political majority, the irony of history strikes. Then, there will be no more debates about austerity measures in public broadcasting, instead there will be big spending, then public broadcasting will be put to the service of a bad cause.
✊ It is high time for groundbreaking reforms. For more political education. Especially through public broadcasting. I don't know whether this will require more money. Perhaps it can be done with reallocation. What I do know is that currently politics are discussing the wrong topic.
See you in Europe,
Johannes