Intermag General Assembly
Copenhagen
22 - 23 October 1998

P R O P O S E D  M I N U T E S

Steffen Gram from DR welcomed the Intermag participants.

Mariolina Bronzini thanked Steffen Gram and Grethe Acunto for the great organisation and the wonderful meetingroom DR put to INTERMAG's disposal for the General Assembly and welcomed the participants.

1. Intermag
 a. Presentation of the Screening List: (enclosed)
  Reports of the Swedish department of YLE could not be screened due to technical  problems. There were no further remarks.

 b. Approval of the "Proposed Minutes" of the Brussels Meeting
  There were no remarks or suggestions. The Minutes of the Brussels Meeting became  offical.

 c. Discussion on Statutes and Rules
  Mariolina Bronzini asked the participants to study the amended Statutes and Rules. A  discussion and the approval were scheduled for Friday 23.10.98 at 17.00.

 d. Intermag Marketing: Promotape, Homepage/Leaflet, Logo
  Mariolina Bronzini acknowledged the efforts being done in order to put INTERMAG on a  new track.
  Rüdiger Lentz stated that looking back at the Zagreb meeting INTERMAG was about to  collapse. All the members agreed that the system should be more effective and reliable.  The Copenhagen meeting should help to increase INTERMAG's effectiveness and  cooperation. It seemed to him that all the members want INTERMAG to continue, to be  more attractive to future members and to function properly.

  (1) Presentation of the homepage/leaflet, the promotape and the different logos by    Guido Baumhauer (DW).
  The draft of the homepage was designed and developed by SFB (Berlin). In order to  stress INTERMAG's international character, the designer put the country flag of  every INTERMAG member around the logo. When clicked on the logo, an  informative text occurs (enclosed), when clicked on the flags the name of the  respective station and its INTERMAG-programmes appear. Further possibilities are  to link the flag to the homepage of the member programme and vice versa. (Note:  Website addresses of the members will be included in the new address booklet printed  beginning of next year). The homepage text can also be printed on a leaflet which can  be handed out whenever the question comes up: "What is INTERMAG ?".  Integration or removal of flags is very easy. SFB will finish the development of the  INTERMAG homepage and present it at the next meeting.

   Most of the attending members agreed that a leaflet was not needed since every    potential member can consult INTERMAG's homepage and print it out if needed.

   Promotape
   Everyone agreed that the promotion clip is exactly what INTERMAG needed to    present itself.

   Logo:
   Most of the participants agreed on using the provisional logo because of the following   advantages:
   * since it is grey/black it works as a letterhead (fax or letter)
   *  it looks good on a leaflet or a website where it can easily be animated.
   * as discussed in Brussels a logo showing Europe is not suitable since INTERMAG-   membership is not restricted to European programmes.

   The provisional logo (no.6) was approved with a majority of 12 votes. 2 members    voted for logo no. 9 and 4 for logo no. 3.
 
  (2) Remarks and suggestions concerning the INTERMAG exchange:
   The new INTERMAG Programme Exchange System (PES) can be handled easily.
   *  No faxes: everyone will load the information directly onto the database
   * From the moment the information has been uploaded it is accessible to all members

   The members will be responsible for the accuracy of the information they put in the    computer. Cassettes will still be shipped but the new PES will improve the choice and   use of items.
 

 e. Membership
  (1) Withdrawal SWR Stuttgart. Their programmes "Teleglobus" and "Weltspiegel" will    leave INTERMAG, SWR Baden-Baden will stay, although they withdraw     "Weltspiegel". "Weltspiegel" is broadcast by four stations (BRF, NDR, SWR and    WDR) which all announced their intention to leave. (Note: One week after the    meeting NDR and WDR decided to continue contributing their "Weltspiegel").

  (2) YLE expressed its interest in a cooperation between INTERMAG members and    Mediterranean stations in order to facilitate contacts in the region as well as     accreditation procedures. Rüdiger Lentz pointed out that since INTERMAG is an    institution it should only deal with a corresponding institution instead of individual    television stations. Personal contacts are still far more useful than official ones.
   In that respect the PES could be useful as kind of a blackboard (discussion forum)    to exchange information about film projects and possible cooperation between    members.
   Vladimir Spicer (HRT) drew attention to Circom, which has been in existence for 16   years and comprises about 400 regional European television stations in 38 European    countries. He suggested that INTERMAG members who would like to improve their   contacts in the Mediterranean area might contact the Circom coordinator in order to    establish cooperation on a regional level.

  (3) There were no further changes of titles and formats.

  (4) New members
   Mariolina Bronzini welcomed Lourenço Medeiros from the Portuguese public station  RTP who was attending as an observer.

   Mariolina Bronzini reported a contact of Joachim Horn (MDR) with the BBC, which   could lead to a closer relationship and perhaps a future membership of BBC     programmes. It seems that the BBC is interested in offering some of its reports to    INTERMAG but at discount prices. Several members were not pleased with this idea:
   Mary Gestrin (YLE) remarked that other members could then also demand special    membership and claim money for their reports.
   Rüdiger Lentz was also opposed to paying the BBC for reports. Under no     circumstances should INTERMAG become an organisation for buying and selling its   members' productions.
   Diarmuid de Paord (RTE) thought that BBC reports are not exclusive to the point    that a special membership is justified. Furthermore it would set a dangerous precedent   which could cause other members to start charging for especially attractive     programmes. If the BBC joins, it should do so as a regular member according to the    INTERMAG statutes.

   INTERMAG needs new members, not only for financial reasons, but also to expand    the variety of its offerings. Every member was encouraged to contact stations or    programme producers. Interested programmes could be invited to the Brussels    Meeting.

   Mariolina Bronzini thought the website will be useful as an introduction of what    INTERMAG is about. In that respect she mentioned her contacts with Greek    Television, PBS Malta and France 2.

   Guido Baumhauer reported a discouraging contact with Phoenix, Germany's     information channel. They clearly declined a membership in INTERMAG because    they feel it is an old-fashioned institution. Guido was asked to get back to them once   INTERMAG has a more modern system.

   Mary Gestrin also suggested that INTERMAG could approach former members with   the new INTERMAG structures. Perhaps they would be interested in rejoining    considering the new developments.

 f. Election
  Because Rüdiger Lentz will be leaving the Deutsche Welle Brussels Studio to go to  Washington for five years he has to give up vice-presidency.He proposed that Reinhard  Behm from Deutsche Welle Brussels should take over his function in INTERMAG
  Since there were no other candidates Mariolina Bronzini and Reinhard Behm were  unanimously elected as President and Vice-President respectively for the next two years.
  Mariolina Bronzini thanked Rüdiger Lentz for his efforts as Vice-President.

g. Miscellaneous
  (1) UN offers news items and reports to Intermag for free. INTERMAG will not include   these productions in its offerings. It is up to each member to deal with the UN on a    bilateral basis.

  (2) The date for the Brussels meeting in 1999 was set for 26 and 27 March.

  (3) There is as yet no invitation for the next General Assembly. Aleid Marquart from    NOVA will check if NPS could host INTERMAG's autumn meeting.

  (4) Cooperation with "Europe by Satellite" (EbS)
   EbS is a satellite offer broadcast 10-11 hours daily by the European Commission with   free use of material: EU press conferences, parliament sessions, etc.

   It seems that the EU could offer a 2 hours slot every week for a mix of INTERMAG   reports on the satellite. Vladimir Spicer was appointed by INTERMAG to approach    the EU Directorate General X (Information, Communication, Culture and Audiovisual   Media) in order to investigate how this could work and report the results at the next    INTERMAG meeting in Brussels.

   If a cooperation is established, the ICC would be responsible for bringing the     INTERMAG tapes to the Commission. These tapes would be broadcast in the original   language. The EU service is free of charge. It was agreed that the slot offered on EbS   would be a good opportunity for marketing the INTERMAG idea to journalists and    others in Europe. The INTERMAG promotape should be included into that package.   In order to avoid rights problems, a crawl with the INTERMAG logo or with    information about INTERMAG should be inserted over the pictures transmitted by    EbS.

   Vladimir Spicer suggested the ICC could organize a press conference at the launch of   INTERMAG on the satellite.

2. Presentation of the new INTERMAG Programme Exchange System.
 Guido Baumhauer gave a summary of the developing of the INTERMAG PES. For further information he can be reached at: guido@skypro.be.

 Peggy van der Kreeft, a member of DW/PES Development Team, explained to the participants how information is put into the new system and gave a demonstration.

 Rüdiger Lentz remarked that according to experts this is the only existing workable system which allows stations and/or editorial departments to cooperate. The new system is supposed to make the programme exchange among INTERMAG members more efficient. This new technology, which took only 12 months to develop, is ahead of any other on the European market.

3. Screening and User Validation Workshop

 a. Screening Session
  Basically one item of every programme was screened. Since there was additional time,  more programmes could be presented.

 b. User Validation Workshop
  Parallel to the screening the participants had the opportunity to test and evaluate the new  INTERMAG PES.

4. Discussion on the Future of the INTERMAG Programme Exchange System

 a. Approval of the amended Statutes.
  There were no objections and the amended Statutes were approved as amended.

 b. Results Workshop/Financial Outlook
  28 INTERMAG members participated in a test of the PES. This User Validation  Workshop was set up by DW.

  Overall assumption: very positive esp. searchibility, speed, lack of effort and preview  facility. Most people thought inserting the data was hardly or not at all effortful. The  suggestions made by the testers will be analysed and implemented till the end of 1998.

  After the changes have been implemented a manual will be distributed by e-mail. If there  still are some questions concerning the technical side, the technical developer Tecmath is  always willing to give assistance by phone or mail. The e-mail based system will start as of  16 November 1998. E-mail address of the INTERMAG Coordination Centre:  intermag@skypro.be.

  It was agreed by all members present that all information sent to the ICC or uploaded into  the PES will be in English as this is the official INTERMAG language.

  The schedule is as follows:
  16.11.98 Offerings will be sent by e-mail, those who don't have an e-mail address still     receive the offerings by fax. A template will be sent out by DW to make the     use easier.
  01.01.99 Beta-test of the PES: 12 INTERMAG members participate.
  01.04.99 Start of the new Programme Exchange System

  To start phase 2, the technical board is looking for 10 to 15 programmes to upload data  and if possible video. The following stations volunteered: SFB, MTV, HRT, DR, RTE,  ORF, DRS, MDR, YLE, RAI (Milan), DW. NPS needs to check with its superiors.

  The INTERMAG participants agreed to start with the test phase for the new PES. The  presidency will send a letter of intent to the EU including the results of the testing in  Copenhagen.

  The cost question of the new system was brought up. The good news is that it's not going  to be more expensive although there are no clear figures yet. According to the  questionaire, the members would be willing to spend 3,000 - 6,500 Euro per year. The  basic price per member-programme would be about 3,000 Euro. However, stations with  more programmes will be subject to a new schedule of fees and discounts which has yet  to be established and distributed to all members. This calculation will be discussed latest at  the next INTERMAG meeting in March 1999.
  Diarmuid de Paord remarked that the costs for the INTERMAG PES are likely to  go down since technology is getting cheaper.

  Guido Baumhauer stressed that this is not about additional costs. The 3,000 Euro  mentioned would be the general INTERMAG fee per year, not costs additional to the  shared INTERMAG bill and also include the price of the hardware (encoding card). The  encoding card will be sent to all INTERMAG members for free. Furthermore, no more  items will be sent in vain since the reports that are ordered will most certainly be aired.  This will considerably reduce mail and copy costs. He also asked that those who have  serious objections should voice them now and not wait until March 1999.

  The group took a survey of those present regarding those who had the authority to decide  to join the new PES and those who were required to leave the decisions to their superiors  because of the costs involved. Some members feared that saying "no" to the new system  would be equal to leaving INTERMAG. Rüdiger Lentz pointed out that the costs are not  the important issue and that the money which has been spent for the old system would  simply be transferred to the new one. However, most participants agreed that more facts  and figures on the new PES are needed i.e. the precise list of what is required and a  calculation of the costs.

  Rüdiger Lentz also pointed out that there are many advantages. Concerning the costs he  stressed once again that apart from the suggested yearly subscription fee (about 3,000  Euro) there will be no additional costs involved. These are the shared INTERMAG costs  and it should be clear that no one is making any profit with this new system. Furthermore:
  * the members will gain in time but also in money
  * the necessary video-card will be offered to the programmes by Deutsche Welle

  Aleid Marquart (NPS) offered two arguments that should make financial departments  accept the new system even if it would cost a little more:
  * there will be no more orders for items which are not used, 99% will be broadcast
  * more items will be used since everyone will be able to view them beforehand which    could encourage some of the members to watch reports they normally would never    order.

  The bottom line is:
  INTERMAG must work more efficiently in the future if it is to survive.

By the next meeting in Brussels the group will have more experience with the new system and will have a clearer idea regarding the costs involved. The final decision about PES will be reserved for then.
 

End of the meeting: 17.30.