Germany

[DE] TV Programme Criticised

IRIS 2004-2:1/21

Peter Strothmann

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

On 27 January 2004 the Conference of Directors of the Regional Media Authorities (DLM) dealt with questions concerning the acceptability of a so-called survival show (" Ich bin ein Star ­ Holt mich hier raus! " "I'm a Celebrity ­ Get Me Out of Here!"), in which "celebrities" were put in a camp in the jungle and required to perform certain unpleasant tasks. Viewers voted to decide who was to leave the camp and be eliminated from the competition. Immediately broadcasting of the show started, the Regional Media Authorities had asked the Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (Commission for the Protection of Youth in the Media ­ KJM, see IRIS 2002-9: 15) to investigate the programme. At its meeting of 21 January 2004, the KJM came to the conclusion that despite reservations concerning its content, the programme was questionable where it came to matters of protecting minors and human dignity, but legally admissible nonetheless. The DLM argued, however, that in future, the self-regulatory organisation, Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Fernsehen (Voluntary Self-Regulatory Authority for Television ­ FSF, see IRIS 2003-7: 8) should assume more responsibility. The FSF should not just examine media law questions along the lines of the self-regulation intended by the legislator, but also discuss questions such as programming ethics with broadcasters. The DLM reminded the FSF of its responsibility to society, particularly in view of the fact that plans for programmes adopting the same format had already been announced.