Monday, February 18, 2008

Changes likely in Polish broadcasts to Belarus

Poland is the major funder of two stations broadcasting into Belarus. But the country faces the ire of other donors and governments after its failure to assist in broadening the reach of an international project also based within its borders: the European Radio for Belarus (ERB).
The previous Polish government was more interested in supporting the two other projects, but there are signs that the new government, which is more internationalist, pro-Euro-Atlantic, and conciliatory than its predecessor, sees the value of compromise and the need to share the bulk of their initiatives’ funding with others. There is already talk of cutting the budgets of Radio Racja and BelSat by half.
Transitions Online believes that the three current services could be merged into one. Unfortunately, although the article was accessible free of charge earlier today, it now requires a subscription, which costs US$44.
(R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)