No, this is not a replay, but a whole new chapter in Shlomo Karai's journeys to the reform he longs to carry out in the television market. For the third or fourth time in his short term as communications minister, Qari on Monday published the details of his reform plan, which is supposed to shake up the market, and not for the better. And if there's anything this government likes to do, it's proposing reforms and hoping that no one notices the problems.
Because Karai's new reform does not serve television consumers and is not supposed to regulate the industry, but only to turn the market into a jungle without supervision or checks. Like a mechanic who says: Your brakes are worn, so we'll remove them completely and good luck on the road.
Karai: "To say that I am looking to control the media is a complete lie" // From Shlomo Krei's Twitter account
The Karai Reform, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
In fact, Karai's reform is basically intended to make things easier for Channel 14 and provide it with substantial benefits. It is supposed to harm the corporation, but not at the level of closure, as a lesson learned from the previous reform proposed by the minister. And also damage the pocket as much as possible to channels 12 and 13 (including an instruction to replace signs so that they are no longer marked on the sign).
He is pushing for more commercial channels – with an emphasis on a right-wing channel that will air on weekends, possibly hurting the ratings of Studio Six – even though it has already been proven that three channels are too many and cannot survive financially. In the future, anyone who wants to will be able to open a channel and broadcast without restrictions or outside interference because a rift will cancel the only bodies that still oversee broadcasting - the Second Authority and the Cable Council.
How important are they? Today, when something terrible is broadcast, we can send them a complaint, and sometimes they can influence the channels. Qari proposes abolishing the regulator and replacing it with a supreme supervisory body whose nine members will be elected by the government. Even measuring ratings will be the responsibility of the government. Karai wants to control the TV, without saying that he controls the TV.
Channel 14. Superlative benefits, photo: from Channel 14
Television needs reform, but certainly not one that takes what's bad – chasing ratings, shrinking content, politicizing or reducing the selection to news and reality TV only – and in fact gives complete freedom to continue behaving like this without restrictions. A reform that winks at the base, arranges jobs and destroys what's left of television. This reform summons a dirty word.
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