Kan, the new Israeli public broadcasting service, began transmitting last Monday (May 15th). After a long, expensive reform process, it replaces the IBA (Israel Broadcasting Authority).
Like its predecessor, Kan is a composite: one television channel, Channel 11, plus eight radio stations. Eldad Koblenz, former Director of the IETV (Israel Educational Television), has been appointed to head the group.
Early last Monday morning the new public radio station began broadcasting, accompanying the Israelis as they woke. In fact little has changed, since the programming, journalists and production team have all remained the same.
Independent news
Then, at 5.00pm local time, the public television channel came on air. Popular journalist Geula Even, part of the old IBA team, welcomed viewers with a speech in which she promised that Kan would work “courageously, impartially and without prejudice”. The late afternoon schedule began with a series of news reports, then Geula Even re-appeared to present the 8.00pm news.
There is however one major change in the reformed company: news is no longer treated in-house but by a politically independent service of 240 journalists and employees of the former IBA. Because of this, Kan cannot join the European Broadcasting Union, since the EBU requires each of its members to have its own in-house news department.
A long and painful transition
No official figures are available, but of the 1,200 people formerly employed by the IBA many are now unemployed or on early retirement.
After 52 years broadcasting, the closure of the IBA was registered on May 12th after a vote in Parliament. It has taken three years for the reform to be completed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized IBA journalists for being too critical of him and his party, and initially supported the reform. However, he changed his mind when he realised that the new public broadcasting group could be even more hostile to him, as many Israeli commentators have pointed out. Kan’s major personality, Geula Even, is the wife of Gideon Saar, Netanyahu’s main rival for the presidency of the Likud party.
The reform was finally maintained after a particularly turbulent showdown between the Prime Minister and his Minister of Finance which lead to a compromise in March this year.
Sources: Satellifax, Haaretz, La Croix, The Jerusalem Post, i24News
