EBU News Committee Chairman and Head of International Partnerships at Spanish Member TVE opens the News Assembly

The seventh EBU News Assembly opened in Barcelona on 13 November on the eve of a general strike and protests by Spanish public sector workers who have lost patience with the perpetual economic crisis.

This backdrop lent added poignancy to a News Assembly that will look closely at what the EBU/Eurovision can do to help Members continue to generate high quality news output despite increased pressure to make cuts.

Opening the Assembly, Asun Gomez-Bueno, EBU News Committee Chairman and Head of International Partnerships at Spanish Member TVE, advised the audience that the way through the crisis lay in Members cooperating and sharing resources.

She said: “This (strike action) is a reminder that only by working together can we face the difficulties and overcome the problems. If we combine our energies we can turn our good intentions to help Members into concrete, future-proof realities.”

Ms Gomez-Bueno reminded the assembled news professionals from 38 EBU Members that quality reporting would always be a pillar of democratic society, a principle that public service media had a special duty to uphold.

EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre then took the stand, where she drove home the importance of editorial standards in news.

Citing the recent furore that led to the resignation of BBC Director General George Entwistle, Ms Deltenre said: “This could happen to any of us here, and it highlights the importance of applying a firm editorial code. I am glad that we will be talking about both public service media values and the EBU Editorial Guidelines here in Barcelona.”

During the first panel session, called “Covering foreign news in an economic crisis. Can the EBU help?” panelists from NOS, RTR and ZDF said they had been forced to make cuts in foreign newsgathering. Some had also reduced resources dedicated to their respective Eurovision News Exchange desks.

EBU Head of News & Events Jeff Dubin said these developments were “worrisome”, but praised the enduring collaborative spirit shown by News Exchange participants.

He said: “The Exchange is about solidarity and reciprocity, and that is still strong. What matters is the commitment to sharing domestic coverage with each other. We’ll study the issues and come up with strategies for different Members.”