The new institute should define parameters on measurement of performance and quality

The implementation of the Institute for Public Communication, and the migration of public and university channels – which were created by the Law of Cable – to open networks of radiobroadcast were two of the main subjects of the first day of debates of the 2nd National Forum of Public TVs. the creation of that institute was a claim of associations related to that field, and, on Tuesday (26), received the support of the Ministry of Culture and of the Chamber of Deputies.

The legal consultant of the Ministry of Communication, Marcelo Bechara, guaranteed that the government intends to financially enable that structure, and to allow space in the digital network for contents of community and university broadcasts.

"We have to create public and democratic mechanisms, to find out what Brazilians throughout this country want to watch. That institute can be an instrument by means of which we can establish a dialogue”, affirmed Deputy Luiza Erundina (PSB-SP), vice-president of the Committee on Science and Technology, Communication and Computer Science.

New parameters
The president of the Administration Council of the Foundation Padre Anchieta, Jorge da Cunha Lima, explained that the project on an institute for public television represents advancement for the construction of new parameters for the measurement of performance and quality, which contemplate the objectives to which Public TV was created. According to Cunha Lima, there is an absolute legal void in the public television field. “The decree 236, dating from the times of the military dictatorship, is still used to regulate public television in Brazil”.

He explained that that institute will operate not only as a performance gauge, but also as the convergence core for several projects related to the public television field, and a forum for permanent discussion. “An organization which will be open to the establishment of partnerships with domestic and international learning, research and production centers”, emphasized Cunha Lima.

The political scientist Carlos Novaes also considers the creation of the institute as important. He classifies it as “a requirement from pluralism of experiences in the public field in Brazil”. According to Novaes, one should abandon gauging methods used by commercial television. “The polls are generally made in the axis Rio-São Paulo, and are seeking the average standard, which will please the average population”, he said, “which means excluding considerable parts of our population. Alternatively, the contents of that institute should benefit the reasoning on television in Brazil (which is scarce) and be freely accessible to all”.

Capillarity
The Director of Programs and Audio-visual Projects of the Culture Ministry, Adilson José Ruiz, stressed that that institute should be capillary, to reach small community broadcasters, in addition to being interactive.

The debates will continue until Wednesday (27) at the headquarters of the Interlegis Program, of the Senate. The forum is an official instance of the National Communication Conference. The event was organized by the Brazilian associations of Public, Educational and Cultural Broadcasts (Abepec); of University Television (ABTU); of the Legislative Television and Radio Broadcasts (Astral); and of Community Channels (ABCcom).

From the newsroom/PCS
With information from the organization of the 2nd National Forum on Public TVs.
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda