Why is the project of the Congress, which seeks to control the content of the media, is interventionist?

Perulibrist Congressman Alex Flores is promoting a bill establishing that radio and television media must dedicate at least 40% of their daily programming to episodes of “national” content.

It’s about Bill No. 2170which amends the Law on Artists and the Law on Radio and Television, which stipulates that open broadcasting companies “must, under responsibility, broadcast at least 40% of their daily programs for the dissemination of folklore, national music and serials or programs related to Peruvian history, literature , culture or national reality”.

The mentioned legislative initiative also establishes that half of the specified percentage should be “out of new musicand that “this does not exempt thematic or specialty stations”. In addition, it indicates that this content should be distributed to 5 am. and 24 hours.

In turn, it states that the Ministry of Transport and Communications will be the body responsible for checking compliance with the standard and that “it will only grant or renew licenses broadcasters who can prove that they have complied with the minimum percentage of distribution of programs and payment of copyright and related rights”.

The bill has already been approved in the parliamentary committees on transport and communications and culture. It is currently on the plenary agenda for discussion and approval, despite comments made by National Society for Radio and Television (SNRTV) And Peruvian Union of Phonographic Producers (Unimpro).

Minister of Culture: “Content is not regulated”

In this regard, the Minister of Culture Leslie Urteaga, in dialogue with RPP Newsdenied that the said bill establishes regulation content in the media.

“It’s not that content is regulated (…) The bill is trying to make lift up the quota that already exists in the 2003 law and promotes the national production associated with music, associated with the curtains that are placed between interviews, the coordination that exists with the Peruvians and Peruvians who produce this kind of creations,” he said.

“It’s not that let’s force or that the content is regulated. What is it about promote much more production and willingness to create Peruvians,” he added.

The head of Mincul considered the proposal reasonable, indicating that, in her assessment, Peru is the country with the lowest percentage of the distribution of “national production”.

“Now the percentage is 10%. We are the country in which the smallest percentage is for the promotion of this national content, not necessarily related to the folklore theme. We are talking about all the creativity of the Peruvians, which could bring to the attention of the media,” he said.

“Our musicians, our creators need this growth, which 20% or 30%, do it daily,” he added.

In addition, the minister emphasized that the increase in the quota is what “is intended for discuss”in Congress, but the government agrees to increase the specified content.

“This is for debate, this is really for debate. In the plenary, this is the place where it is discussed (…) The executive’s proposal is to increase. From there, debates are generated. They send us a bill, we think we favorably talked with those who might benefit from it,” he said.

“Those who are affected or affected in any way also have the opportunity discuss and say what the offer might be. On behalf of the executive branch, we agree with its increase,” he stressed.

After the Minister of Culture stated, RPP News talked to Michelle Sayerexecutive president of SNRTV, and with Jose Ortega, composer and art producer on whether they think the project being promoted by Peru Libre is an intervention against the media.

Michel Seyer: “This is an impossible and anti-technical project”

Michel Seyer, President of the National Society for Radio and Television, believes that the legislative initiative interferes content of the media and thereby violates the democratic freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.

“What is intended check private media (…) This is a control, state project. I don’t understand a bill of this magnitude in a democratic country where there is freedom of business, speech and information,” he said.

Similarly, he felt that the goal he points out regarding the “promotion and dissemination of national music” is false.

“This is a lie, because in fact this is a quota of daily content for private media in the time interval from 5 am to midnight, from content what they want,” he said.

“They say ‘national production’. And what is national production: folklore, national music, cultural programs, literature and history. check content of private media,” he added.

In addition, he wondered if the project started with Transport Commission Parliament, and not from the Committee on Culture.

“If this project was about culture, it would be in Cultural Commission; but this is a secondary commission. The main commission is Transport. If it was a cultural project, I would not say that you need to obtain licenses and everything that is said in the project,” he said.

“There are a thousand ways in which the state can promote culture without necessarily controlling the content of the media. Take it easy. fully nonsensical think about it,” he said.

José Ortega: “It’s very serious that this sets conditions for licenses”

For his part, composer and art producer Jose Ortega described as something “very serious” that granting or renewing licenses mass media, subject to the specified quota.

“This is something very serious, because Law No. 28278, which is the Law on Radio and Television, and Law No. 28131, which is the Law on Artists, already sets a quota of 10% (…). bureaucrata person hired by the ministry, the opportunity to give or not to give a license,” he said.

He also asked if the Ministry of Transport had the “infrastructure” to monitor compliance with the new standard.

“What kind of infrastructure should MTC have to act as the supreme judge, because they are the ones who are going to impose criteria to say what program is a national reality, what is Peruvian music and what is new music. They didn’t even bother to define what is national music and what is new music,” he asked.

“You must listen to Peruvian music, but it seems to me that you do not have a minimum knowledge what the national industry is like, how music consumption works,” he added.

The People’s Artist also noted that the project “opens doors” for “political control” over the media.

“It opens a door that can be used politicallybecause if the executive branch is the one who will be the supreme judge who will decide whether this is done or not, this opens the door to many distortions and more serious problems that will not solve the problem of national culture, “projection.

In this sense, Ortega believes that the project is interventionist, since it violates what is established in the Constitution.

“Articles 58 and 59 of the Constitution proclaim the economy of market management and freedom of enterprise. (The State) wants to infiltrate the private sector when the public sector is not doing its job. The state has not done anything and wants to. Do people believe that the decision comes from the private side,” he said.