Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.03.1995, Side 23

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.03.1995, Side 23
Lögberg-Heimskringia • Föstudagur 17. mars 1995 • 23 U.S. Public Radio/T.V. Comparisons with lceland, Canada & Europe By Ron du Bois Stillwater, OK It was a pleasure this summer to visit Iceland. Its national radio and television stations (like those of Canada and Europe), are paid for by public taxation. Iceland has one public television station and one commercial television sta- tion. Viewers may subscribe to the latter on a voluntary basis. Commercial television is not fully self-sustaining and (oddly to us) requires additional private billing. Icelanders are content with national public television alone. An addi- tional fee for commercial program- ming that puts popular appeal before in-depth quality and educa- tional content does not set well with highly literate and educated Icelanders. Television programs in Iceland are never interrupted by commer- cials save for one block of time in the evening when all commercials are available for viewing. It is quite interesting for an American visitor to view one commercial after the other in one block of time and to ponder — why this couldn’t be done in the U.S.? Icelanders live in a world in which scrambling for the mute in order to kill advertising and increased decibels is unnecessary. Icelanders view commercial interruptions as unnecessary, unde- sirable and uncivil — they view commercials only if they wish to, not bécause (as in our system) it is impossible to avoid them except by the remote control. Business values do not rule civility. I have long held similar views subsumed by a contra- dictory American assumption — that placing business above civility is “normal”. We pay eighty cents per capita per year per annum for public tele- vision and some twenty cents per annum for public radio. Canadians are having economic difficulties similar to ours yet are willing to pay $28.00 per capita per annum to sup- port the arts which includes out- standing public radio and television without commercial interruption. Neither Iceland nor Canada are threatening to cancel or reduce full support nor public radio and televi- sion nor generous support of the arts. In my view National Public Radio/Television should be declared national cultural treasures. Americans and their leaders should be proud to fully support them. What ever merits commercial radio and television possess, need we accept as “normal” violence and hype-interrupting advertisements? In Iceland, nudity is not considered objectionable but American pro- grams depicting mindless violence are not allowed on public televi- sion. Icelanders for the most part don’t admire the attitudes depicted and don’t believe they promote mature social behaviour. They believe that repeated exposure to violence and anti-social behaviour has a negative impact on children. Why are we the exception to the rule that every civilized nation is able to support public broadcasting as an alternative to commercial pro- gramming? They understand what we do not — that marketplace val- ues corrupt ethical and cultural val- ues, civility and quality of life. Personnel in commercial radio and television are fully aware their rat- ings depend on appeal to the “great public beast”. No doubt Americans love heroes. But we must look carefully at “heroes” who propose to eliminate support for National Public Radio/ Television, the National End- owment for the Arts, etc. Were we connected to reality it would prompt us to cultivate a sense of the ridiculous of which such “heroes” are inevitably a part. Should we abandon federal sup- port for national cultural treasures, it will be seen by smaller and less wealthy nations as regressive — the expression of reverse priorities by a far larger and richer nation — as a perverse abandonment of the best in American values and quality of life. Ron duBois is an Emerítus Prof. of Art, Oklahoma State University. His wife is Dr. Thora Asgeirson duBois. Newfoundland progress called lesson for lceland s T. JOHN’S — Battered Newfoundland has impor- tant lessons to teach the so-called miracle fishing state of Iceland, an analyst from the North Atlantic nation says. Topping Sigfús Jónsson’s list: How do you diversify a fishing-based economy when your fish stocks decline to record lows? “There are various new developments in Newfoundland we could learn from,” Mr. Jónsson said at a weekend con- ference on development in island societies such as Newfoundland, the Isle of Man and Iceland. Despite your extreme difficulties with the fishery, there are many positive things happening here,” he said, citing development of marine information technology as an example. Mr. Jónsson’s views fly agaiqst the perception among some casting Newfoundland ás a ne’er-do-well compared with Iceland, which has about half the province’s population of about 600,000 but a far more sophisticated fishing industry. Unlike Newfoundland, Iceland has an extremely liter- ate, educated work force less reliant on income-support pro- grams that have become a fix- ture in Canada’s poorest province. And while New- foundland has a perennial unemployment rate of about 20 per cent, the rate in Iceland is only about 5 per cent. In the past two years, declines in groundfish around Newfoundland have left thou- sands of fishermen and plant workers without work, relying on federal relief programs. Since 1982, when he spent a year in Newfoundland on an academic fellowship, Mr. Jónsson has been comparing the two societies. Both were settled by Europeans — Iceland in the ninth century, Newfoundland beginning in the 16th century. Both relied on cod, but Newfoundland never developed the mechanized, flexible fishing industry that Iceland did. Now, Iceland, a rocky land dotted with geysers, hot springs and volcanoes, faces declines in groundfish stocks that have forced fishermen to seek stoclcs off Norway.- Last summer, the squabble turned violent when a Norwegian Coast Guard cutter blew two cannon holes in an Icelandic trawler. Mr. Jónsson, a former mayor of Iceland’s second-largest city, said his country is full of prob- lems, which include an overly expensive and inefficient agri- cultural sector, an inefficient education system and over- priced health care. Robert Greenwood of Newfoundland’s Economic Recovery Commission calls Iceland’s economy “extremely vulnerable” because of its dependence on the fishery. Courtesy Globe and Mail J along with the host chapter, The lcelandic Canadian Club of Toronto welcomes all those interested in lcelandic Heritage and Culture to attend the 76*h Annual INL Convention \ "Connection and Continuity MAY 5, 6 & 7, 1995 Roehampton Best Western Hotel, Toronto, Ontario Registration fee: $50 (includes Friday reception, Saturday lunch, banquet & dance) Registration Deadline: April 19, 1995, Individual Saturday Banquet tickets: $25 each Promises to be an exciting weekend of entertainment and good fellowship! Display tables are available for organizations and individuals for $10. Please contact the INL office at 699 Carter Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 2C3, (204) 284-3402 or fax (204) 284-3870 for more information.

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