GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – French and French-speaking Switzerland media are abuzz speculating over the likely outcome of a debate Wednesday evening 2 May between French presidential candidates Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande. The 2.5 hour debate will be televised during prime time.
US new agency AP reports that “experts say past debates have never swung a French election, regardless of who comes off better in the televised showdown”.
One person who won’t be commenting live on the debates is journalist Anne Sinclair, the American wife of Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK), former head of the International Monetary Fund. She was scheduled to be a commentator on BFM-TV, reports Figaro, but after the Guardian ran an article 27 April where DSK accused Sarkozy and other “political enemies” of orchestrating his downfall.
DSK was considered a front-runner for the French presidency as a Socialist, before being arrested in New York for attempting to rape a hotel maid, charges that were later dropped.
The final round of voting is Sunday 6 May. Hollande has been leading in French polls.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – TV writer and commentator Andy Rooney, possibly the longest-serving television personality around, has ended his TV career at age 92. His final “60 Minutes” show for CBS in the US aired Sunday night 2 October. He began his career in 1949, writing for the “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” show and he has worked for “60 Minutes”, where he gained a reputation for being smart and grouchy, since 1978.
“There’s nobody like Andy, and there never will be. He’ll hate hearing this, but he’s an American original,” said CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager said in a press release.
Rooney has quit the show and television, but he’s not retiring, he says, pointing out that a writer never retires.
Links to other sites: CNN, Hollywood Today, Washington Post on Rooney’s best essays
Morley Safer interviews Rooney on CBS
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a Sunday night television address to the country’s citizens that he has no intention of stepping aside under pressure from Western nations and the UN, but he promised reforms, including elections in February.
Reuters reports that the reluctance of the Gaza Strip’s Hamas organization, based in Damascus, Syria, to publicly show support for the Syrian government, has led to Iran pulling out its funding, leaving Hamas with a cash shortage. Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, counts on a mix of foreign aid and taxes collected in the Gaza Strip, but revenues from taxes have been “inconsistent” according to the news agency.
(2 videos, Qaddafi on TV and street fighting) Muammar Qaddafi is widely reported to be holding onto power only in Tripoli, but with renewed violence. In a televised interview on Libyan state TV Thursday afternoon 24 February Qaddafi blamed the protests on Osama Bin Laden. The Guardian blog on the Libyan situation as it unravels quotes his speech: “What is happening now in Libya is not people’s power, it’s international terrorism led by al-Qaeda … All they want is to kill your kids, that’s what Bin Laden wants, he should be happy now, that’s what he wants.”
The Globe & Mail in Canada carries photos of Qaddafi over four decades.
Raw footage of street fighting and crowds protesting, from AP
Libyan TV on Al Jazeera, with Qadaffi speaking, English interpreter
To watch or not to watch, that is the question
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – One of the summer’s hottest debates could take place in the office: to let or not let the staff watch the World Cup football matches. Two IMD buiness school research fellows in Lausanne offer some pros and cons in IMD’s latest online debate. Karsten Jonsen says yes, great idea, arguing that a sense of “belonging” is important for individuals and companies can help foster this.
“It is important in office environments that people are able to make social connections and “bond” outside their normal work tasks. This helps build trust in a team, which can lead to smoother and more effective collaboration and higher job satisfaction. Social events like the World Cup bring people together and help augment the team spirit within the organization.”
On the other hand, says Willem Smit, “Allowing people to take time out to watch football during working hours is simply too costly, untimely and unfair.” He calculates that lost work time during the tournament will come to at least $10 million and possibly as much as $20m. And why stop at football, he asks. Why not be fair to those who are not big football fans and let them watch Roland Garros tennis or Wimbledon?
Ed. note: IMD’s Great Debate page allows you to comment and join in the debate.
Advertisements for abortions will appear on British television for the first time, starting 24 May, but the planned ads have prompted anti-abortion groups to vow they will fight for ways to stop the ads running, arguing that they break advertising codes. The clinic that is running the ads, Marie Stopes International, says it wants people to discuss abortion more openly. Abortions with some limitations are legal in the UK and are covered by the National Health Service. The Times reports that about half of all teenage pregnancies are aborted.
Links to other sites: Marie Stopes International, Sun, Times
A new study by universities in Michigan in the US and Montreal in Canada, with 1,300 children, draws a link between hours of television watched when little and poor performance by children as they get older. Higher junk food consumption, increased body fat, more bullying by others at school and worse performance at school were some of the results of watching more than the recommended maximum of two hours a day.
Links to other sites: BBC, Yahoo News Canada
Wine and beer now allowed on radio, TV
More ads, different spots - and a drop of wine on Swiss TV, radio
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Ofcom, the Swiss federal communications supervisor, will issue directives during the summer of 2010 for more advertising space and time on radio and television. The new regulations will bring Switzerland into line with European neighbours, who have more advertising time, in order not to create a disadvantage, in particular for Swiss public TV and radio.
Swiss TV news on computer
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s federal communications office (Ofcom) director, Martin Dumermuth, told the Berner Zeitung newspaper Thursday that he plans to propose in January a change to the current license fee regulations. Owners of television sets and radios are subject to fees, but Dumermuth would like to include computer and cell phone owners. He was quick to point out that the goal is not to increase license fee revenue: the same amount would be collected, but spread among a larger group, reducing the fee for each type of equipment.
US President Barack Obama told the US Wednesday that the time for bickering over healthcare reform is over, as he stepped directly into the fight after weeks of leaving it mainly to Congress, to push for his plan for a non-profit public insurance plan. His appearance on prime time television was aimed primarily at the American middle class, says NPR, and he took pains to reassure those who like their insurance plans that these would not be affected. The speech comes as his public ratings have been sliding. BBC, Fox News, The Globe & Mail, Canada, Huffington Post
Obama has faced harsh critics over healthcare reform, but another battle has been grabbing public attention, over US troops in Afghanistan. Growing public resistance to building troops, which Obama’s advisors have been warning him about, came into the limelight with the publication by Associated Press of photos of a dying soldier, despite the family’s wish for them to remain private. Guardian, UK, MSNBC
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss Federal Council (cabinet) has told Parliament it does not want the country’s political parties to advertise on television or radio in the run-up to elections, nor does it want to see it pursue legislation to enable this. The decision comes as a result of debate since 2005 over a move to better balance political advertising by giving the parties equal broadcast time.
US President Barack Obama, while maintaining the trade embargo with Cuba, has eased some restrictions that particularly affect Cuban-American families: cell phone companies and television broadcasts to the island will be allowed and US citizens will be allowed to make unlimited family visits to the island and provide unlimited financial aid to their families. NPR
