FRANCE

Expert assessment: appointing directors of public media

This statement is not entirely accurate: the board of directors of France Télévisions comprises 14 members and a chairperson, serving five-year terms; five of these members including its chairperson are appointed by France's broadcasting authority, the High Council for Broadcasting (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel – CSA).59 The board of directors of Radio France consists of 12 members, serving five-year terms, with four of these members appointed by the CSA. Until recently, the CSA was also responsible for appointing directors of France Télévisions—however this procedure was amended by the Sarkozy Government in 2009. Under the current system, the director of France Télévisions is appointed by governmental decree for five years with approval by the CSA and in consultation with relevant parliamentary committees. These changes have sparked criticism from free-press advocates who claim the new system brings France's public media under the Government's direct control.

The board of directors for France Télévisions is composed of two members of Parliament (one appointed by the National Assembly, the other by the Senate); five civil servants appointed by the Government; five members appointed by the CSA who must be "qualified" to serve in the capacity of broadcast regulation; and two members appointed by the staff of France Télévisions.60 As noted above, the CSA appoints the chairmen of the board of directors, who also serves as the chairman of the board of directors for France 2, France 3 and La Cinquième. The board of directors of France Télévisions appoints the managing directors of each of these stations.

The board is also responsible for designing and producing TV programs for national, regional and local broadcasts, as well as for editing and broadcasting audiovisual media and on-demand media services. Although public service media are legally required to provide programming that falls within its public interest obligations, France Télévisions offices are granted independent editorial discretion when covering news.

It should be noted, however, that the independence of public service media has been a long-debated issue in France, some of which was due to the CSA's role in appointing the director of France Télévisions. Because members of the CSA are appointed by the Government, the regulatory body has faced criticism for lacking political independence. 61 Hence, its former role in appointing France's public media directors had sometimes been controversial, as critics claimed this allowed for de facto governmental control over public media directors. The changes in 2009 actually increased concerns by free-press groups and opposition politicians who claimed the new procedures worked to tighten the Government's control over public media, further eroding its independence.62

58 See "Criticism 9" in "Criticisms and answers formulated on the subject of the proposed media act examined in a European context," Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, December 20, 2010 available at: http://www.kormany.hu/en/ministry-of-public-administration-and-justice/news/criticisms-and-answers-formulated-on-the-subject-of-the-proposed-media-act-examined-in-a-european-context.
59 According to Article 47(1)(4) of the Freedom of Communication Act 1986 (No. 86-1067 of 30 September 1986), not including 2009 amendments, available at: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/html/codes_traduits/libertecom.htm; an unofficial English-language translation of the Act number 2009-258, 5 March 2009, provided by the University of Luxembourg, available at: http://wwwfr.uni.lu/content/download/31271/371434/.../France_translation_1.pdf.
60 Freedom of Communications Act, Article 47(1), as amended by Act number 2009-258, 5 March 2009, an unofficial English-language translation of the Act number 2009-258 dated 5 March 2009, provided by the University of Luxembourg available at: wwwfr.uni.lu/content/download/31271/371434/.../France_translation_1.pdf.
61 For a summary of the CSA, see "Television Across Europe: France," EU MONITOR ING AND ADVOCACY PROGRAM (EUMAP), Open Society Institute, 2005, p. 661, available at: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/media/articles_publications/publications/eurotv_20051011/voltwo_20051011.pdf.
62 See "Sarkozy wants public television chief to be appointed by government," Reporters Without Borders, June 26, 2008 http://arabia.reporters-sans-frontieres.org/article.php3?id_article=27651; see also: "EFJ Condemns Appointment Process of French TV Head," European Federation of Journalists, 8 July 2010, http://europe.ifj.org/en/articles/efj-condemns-appointment-process-of-french-tv-head.