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Language group moots GEZ boycott and support for BBC over radio
Published: 15 Jun 10 10:28 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100615-27861.html
A German language association has called for a boycott of the GEZ public broadcasting licence fees because radio stations in the country rarely play German music - instead listeners should pay the BBC.
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The Cologne-based GEZ stands for the mouthful Gebühreneinzugszentrale der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or “Fee-collection Centre of Public Broadcasting Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany.”
The organisation requires a licence of some 42.5 million owners of televisions, radios and, for the past few years, even computers and mobile phones that access the internet. The fee money funds public broadcasters such as ARD and ZDF, and is often collected by plainclothes officials who go door-to-door busting fee-shirkers.
But the VDS said beginning on September 1 the group's 33,000 members should send only €4 of their monthly radio fees of €5.76 to the GEZ. Of the remaining €1.76, €0.76 should then go to the BBC, the organisation said.
“The money for English music should go to where it comes from,” VDS leader Walter Krämer said in a statement.
The organisation wants the German language as a “form of culture” to receive more support. The call to boycott GEZ fees is the most recent action in ongoing efforts which spurred a parliamentary hearing in 2004. That event led to an increase in German music content on radio stations, the statement said.
The GEZ was unavailable for comment on the action.
Last week the country’s state premiers agreed to overhaul the GEZ system, instituting a simpler flat household rate instead of a per-device fee.
The Local (news@thelocal.de)
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Your comments about this article:
i want to learn German, i wished they put english subtitles in German shows..or show american hollywood movies in the original form and provide German subtitles.
"The Cologne-based GEZ stands for the mouthful Gebühreneinzugszentrale der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or ¦quot;Fee-collection Centre of Public Broadcasting Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany.¦quot; "
was in every articles about the GEZ ;-)
Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock,Endless repeats of 80's and early 90's soft rock .......... got the picture? The only two stations worthy of mention are the excellent MotorFM in Berlin and of course DF where the spoken word is championed, German TV is just as dire!!!!!!! Nothing but dubbed 3rd rate rubbish from other nations around the world and don't get me started on German TV of a Sunday morning!!!!!!!!! CRAP, CRAP, CRAP!!!!!!
I've always thought that diversity allows us to see the world in a different way. Listening solely to Anglo-American music is fine, but I also want to hear music from other cultures, as well.
Germany with all its wealth ought to export more culture than it currently does. The Germans on the whole have a lot of great ideas worth exporting: social justice concerns, environmentalism, quality craftsmanship and a world-class heritage.