Advancements in technology - Publishers outline requirements for collaborating with ARD and ZDF.
ARD and ZDF aim to work together on technology for their media collections to prevent duplicity. The software should be publicly accessible (as open source), allowing other platforms to utilize it as well. This was divulged by ARD head Kai Gniffke and ZDF director Norbert Himmler in early May.
Yet, the Association of Southwest German Newspaper Publishers (VSZV) sees significant hurdles in this partnership. Like the Federal Association (BDZV), Southwest publishers have protested against certain internet offerings from ARD institutions for years as being overly textual and thus resembling unauthorized, "press-like" competition.
Concerning the dispute about press-like competition, VSZV Chair Lehari, who is also a BDZV board member, remarked: "We're compelled to go to Brussels and to court because we can't reach an agreement." For instance, there has been an ongoing legal feud with the Southwest Broadcasting Corporation (SWR) over its news app "Newszone." Gniffke is the ARD chair and also the SWR managing director.
Lehari added about the possibility of a technological collaboration with public broadcasters: "Given such conflicts, I can't imagine shouting 'Hooray for technology' and saying 'Let's do it immediately!'" Instead, she demanded: "There must be clear conditions that must be met first, including trust-building measures."
Furthermore, the VSZV chair stressed that "the rules of the game must be clear" for a technological union. This also entails the fundamental question: "Does it fall within the public service mandate to oversee technology?" The VSZV is hosting its yearly meeting in Stuttgart on Wednesday.
VSZV Annual Report [https://www.vsrv.de/sites/default/files/vsrv_jahresbericht_ginst_2020.pdf]
