In Defence of Public Television

State media company, RTVE, recently announced its intentions to close its production facility on the Canary Islands. It has two, in Las Palmas and in Tenerife.

This year, TVE is celebrating it's 50th Anniversary (1956-2006) and, if I am not mistaken, has had a presence in the Canary Islands for around 40 of those years.

During their recent coverage of the islands' carnivals, presenters have mentioned the fact that they and colleagues are collecting signatures to support saving these facilities.

Camera operators and other technicians were all wearing T-Shirts with logos like the ones shown here, saying "Yes Please" to TVE in the Canaries and "No" to the closure.

That they were able to do so, uncensored by their bosses, is, I think, quite an important testament.

Of course, there are those worker's livelihoods at stake. There is also the quality of programming for viewers to consider. TVE's continuous coverage of local events, especially the recent carnival parades, is generally of the best quality. Whilst those are mostly of an entertaining nature, what happens when something important occurs on our islands and needs to be reported impartially?

The Canary Islands now have a population of over 2 million, so this is no sleepy backwater any more. The islands also have an unique character and culture, that just isn't reflected in "generic programming". We may be in the same country, but Spanish news from the mainland, is largely irrelevant to us here.

Yes, we have local independent stations too and there should be healthy competition. But, perhaps, because I have grown up with the institution of the BBC faithfully reporting the most impartial news, I think there is a place in that mix for public media.

It is my opinion that we need TVE's presence here.

This afternoon, again actually within an TVE broadcast, a most touching letter from representatives of the workers was read out in which they said they had never expected to receive so much support, which they have received from many points around the globe, including; from Texas and Florida in the United States, Venezuela and most countries of Europe.

A website has been set up where you can find images and other material to download in support of the action and, also to add your signature to the petition, electronically.

Every signature is important.

If you believe as I and, obviously, those many supporters feel that the public TV should remain in the Canaries, please add your support to the cause. Their website can be found at:

http://www.desde-canarias.com

How to sign

Just in case you don't speak Spanish, here is an explanation of the electronic signing process. From the front page of the above site, click the button marked FIRMAR (To Sign).

It will bring you to a form that looks like this:

Only two pieces of information are mandatory, (shown in bold text), your name and your ID number. Folks outside of Spain could use a passport number here.

Put your first name and surname(s) in the top box and your ID number in the bottom central one (D.N.I.). Optionally, in the second box (poblacion), you can enter your location, i.e. the town and country where you live. Your email address and website (if any) can be added in the third and fourth, optional, fields.

Click the button to "Add my support to TVE Canaries".

That's it. Quite painless. Just your name and your website address (if any) show up on the site after you have signed. Neither your ID number, nor your email address are shown publicly, so you have no worries about privacy issues.

(NB: Please feel free to pass this on. Given that there is unlikely to be much coverage of this issue, in English, if it is appropriate to you or your audience to do so, please feel free to quote from or copy this post in it's entirety.)

Related:
Empleados RTVE y RNE exigen la continuidad del servicio público en Canarias