Draft Minutes

1. Opening of the General Assembly
   by Gerhard Losher (BR),INTERMAG President a.i.

2. Approval of the ”Proposed Minutes”
   The Minutes of the INTERMAG General Assembly in Warsaw, October 1-2,2010 were approved

3. Membership
   

• MTV/”Panorama”: We all agreed that the actual media situation in Hungary is complicated. As Gerhard reported 550 staff members were fired at MTV in August, another 500 will have to go in December. Unfortunately it seems that especially journalists criticizing the new government are released. Gerhard attended a meeting in Hungary where he met editors from MTV. “Panorama” left the exchange but basically MTV would like to stay in INTERMAG with a suitable programme. At the moment the personnel situation is unstable to the point that it’s difficult to designate a responsible editor. Next year MTV wants to continue membership with a new programme. The attendants were asked whether they would approve MTV membership and they did so unanimously. The general opinion was that we should support journalists who want to work for the future.

• RAI/”Buongiorno Europa” has definitively been abolished.

• Membership of RAI/Rome: it is still not clear who’ll replace Mariolina as a RAI contact. Speciali and Storia are not very active in the exchange but they are still paying members. However Mariolina will try to find a contact at RAI.

• HR leaves INTERMAG: According to Georg Hafner HR has reduced their reports on foreign topics. As a regional TV they only deal with regional subjects. This seems to be the trend with ARD. There used to be 7 foreign affairs shows and now there are only three left. Consequently HR sees no further use in membership.

• A new SVT programme dealing with travelling is going to start in January. They had considered membership but as the show is produced by a private company there are some doubts whether it is suitable for INTERMAG. This discussion is not closed yet.

• Torstein Nilsen reported of some difficulties promoting INTERMAG with his responsible editors but he is hopeful that in the future cooperation will be more intense.

• Udo Biss and Gerhard Losher will tackle MDR/Windrose. This programme could fit perfectly in the INTERMAG exchange. Both Udo and Gerhard will contact the chief editor.

• Udo Biss had a talk with Monika Sieradzka from Polish TV. She joined us in Warsaw two years ago. She seemed quite optimistic that they would have a suitable programme next year.
  Note: Meanwhile Monika Sieradzka contacted me in Brussels and would like to receive the INTERMAG offerings to see what we have in store. They will decide on membership in January 2012.

• There was a complaint concerning IBA: it is imperative that IBA broadcasts reports ordered from an INTERMAG member dealing with the region and especially Palestinian matters uncut. The local correspondent might encounter difficulties and even be in danger if they don’t follow this rule.

• BBC: it has always been the hope of INTERMAG members that BBC would join the INTERMAG community again (they were among the founding members!). The presidency is going to take steps in this direction.

We are actually 14 members.

4. Amendment of Intermag Statutes Proposed amendments attached

Seeing the fact that Mariolina Bronzini had to leave before the end of the term it seemed a good idea to have two vice-presidents of which one could fill the gap in case this situation should occur again. Since the statutes do not consider this case they should be altered. Gerhard proposed some changes. They were approved by all the attendants without abstention or a dissentient vote.

6. Election presidency

Mariolina Bronzini took the floor. She thanked everyone for 17 wonderful years and expressed her regret that she had to go. She forwarded Gerhard Losher’s candidacy for presidency. Gerhard Losher was elected unanimously as president.

As vice-presidents Ingrid Thörnqvist and Udo Biss were asked to be candidates. They both had proved to be very committed in the past and their representation would be a good mixture of channels. They both were elected unanimously.
Gerhard Losher thanked Mariolina for an excellent job and wishes her all the best for the future.

7. Exchange

• To simplify the exchange we could consider hiring a translation office or a private translator. The CC looks into this matter.

• Every programme should do a special effort to send out offerings every week. Euromaxx – which broadcasts every day – will try to send out a list of free items to the members in English.

5. Projects in planning

The attending members were asked to bring some information on future projects.

• BR/Euroblick:
  - Youth Unemployment in Europe: three items in one programme
  - Ukraine
  - Hungary: situation of the Roma, cultural management in the provinces
  - How does Europe Function?: legislation, social affairs, political affairs

• DW/Europa Aktuell:
  Special Edition (28.12.2011): 20 Years after the End of the Soviet Union

• SVT/Aktuellt
  Migration (November 2011): as a result of the European Crisis
  New Jobs: where to find new jobs, how to get out of unemployment, jobs in the service sector. The development of new sectors and new ideas.
  Rapport is still collecting ideas but they would mainly focus on positive aspects in their reports as they did in programmes on Africa.

9. Next Meeting

There were several suggestions for the next meeting.
Helsinki: to approach YLE again. One obstacle could be the language: only 6% of the Fins speak Swedish.
Prague and London are also possible targets.

The presidency looks into the matter. Also considering the fact that in 1962 the first meeting leading to INTERMAG took place which is exactly 50 years ago . Quite an anniversary! So perhaps something special would be appropriate.

Udo Biss also suggests to open up the meetings and visit the local broadcaster or another institution relevant for our line of work.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

9. Screening Session

List attached

Proposed Amendments of Intermag Statutes

(please compare to the Statutes attatched)

1. General Assembly (III.Structures, paragraph 1)

Present phrase:

General Assemblies/Screenings are organised every year either by one of the members, on invitation of a non-member broadcaster.

Amendment / addendum:

General Assemblies/Screenings are organised every year either by one of the members, on invitation of a non-member broadcaster or in a city chosen by the presidency based on a proposition of the General Assembly. The General Assembly is financed with the member fees.

Reason:

Experience showed that the General Assembly preferred not to be invited or hosted by a distinct broadcaster. When there is no more hosting Institution, the expenses of the Assembly are to be financed with the member fees. The choice of the venue should be made based on a vote of the General Assembly but in case of logistic or current needs the presidency should finally be allowed to decide upon the most practical meeting place.

2. Presidency(III.Structures, paragraph 3)

Present phrase:

The General Assembly elects the President and the Vice-President for a period of two years.

Amendment / addendum:

The General Assembly elects the President and two Vice-Presidents for a period of two years. Should the president for any reason have to quit his obligations, new elections for presidency are to be held on the next General Assembly. Until that the Vice-Presidents commonly manage the current affairs of Intermag.

Reason:

Due to the fact that every commitment for Intermag is unsalaried, it is advisable to share the Presidency.

3. Co-ordination refers to …

Present phrase:

The CC refers to the President or the Vice-President.

Amendment:

The CC refers to the President and the Vice-President(s ).

Reason: Every member of the Presidency is to be held on the same information level.

4. Editorial amendments:

In case of changing the statutes for 2 Vice-Presidents all phrases in the Statutes concerning the Vice-President are to be altered from Singular to Plural.

INTERMAG General Assembly Rome

September 30 - October, 1, 2011

Screening Session