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EuroNews

EuroNews is a multilingual television news channel that strives to cover world events “from a European perspective.” Founded on January 1, 1993, the Lyon, France–based EuroNews is broadcast in 121 countries, via terrestrial channels, cable, and digital satellite. It is operated by SOCEMIE, a company whose shareholders are comprised of 21 public service broadcasters from Europe and North Africa, and it receives regular subsidies from various pan-European institutions. EuroNews broadcasts simultaneously in eight languages (Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish) and follows a “rolling news” format, with news headlines broadcast every half an hour. Its professed goal—to present primarily “European news” devoid of any national bias while employing an international staff of journalists who work with footage in large part provided by national broadcasters—has forced EuroNews to develop a different model of television journalism.

History

The idea of creating a genuinely pan-European television channel that would not be identified with any country in particular but rather with “Europe” itself is considerably older than the EuroNews project. During the early 1980s, the European Community (the precursor to today's European Union) was in the midst of a series of wide-ranging transformations (e.g., addition of new members, elimination of passport controls between some members), and audiovisual policy was perceived as an important vehicle for a durable “European integration.”

Against this background, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU, a federation of national public service broadcasters) created in 1982 an experimental closed-circuit television channel called Eurikon, which aired news, documentaries, and some entertainment programs. The experiment did not enjoy much success with audience panels due to its perceived inability to provide programming relevant to local communities while also somehow maintaining its pan-European mission. As a result, Eurikon was soon scrapped. In 1985, Europa TV began operating with the support of five European public service broadcasters. The channel was explicitly set up to reflect and contribute to an (ill-defined) “European culture.” Simultaneous translations and subtitles were also provided to the highly heterogeneous European audience. While many of the innovations brought about by Europa TV were sound enough to be used later by EuroNews, this experiment in pan-European TV also soon failed due to policy and financial disagreements among the stakeholders. In 1993 the EBU tried its hand again at establishing a viable transnational, multilingual television channel that could provide “European news.”

Ownership

The new channel was not spared the financial and administrative nightmares that then characterized not only Europe's various audiovisual policies but also its wider political and economic integration efforts. The saga of EuroNews' ownership aptly reflects the transformations pan-European institutions have experienced during the past two decades. The initial backers of the EuroNews project were 11 European public service broadcasters (all members of EBU) who pledged to provide some 55 percent of the channel's operating cost. The rest of the money was to be provided by advertisers, various pan-European bodies (such as the European Parliament) and the French city of Lyons, where EuroNews's headquarters were established. The channel was operated by SOCEMIE, a company currently owned by EuroNews's 11 founders, plus 10 other European and North African public broadcasters. (Confusingly enough, the broadcasters actually own SOCEMIE through an intermediary company, whose acronym is SECEMIE). SOCEMIE stands for “Société Opératrice de la Chaîne Européenne Multilingue d'Information EuroNews” (“The Operating Society of the European Multilingual Information Network EuroNews”), while SECEMIE stands for “Société Editrice de la Chaîne Européenne Multilingue d'Information EuroNews” (“The Editing Society of the European Multilingual Information Network EuroNews”).

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