ARTE TV
Presentation by Mr A. Bussek
By Lilly Klymowsky
After having completed our morning program, we were warmly received at 'Arte', Association relatif télévision européen. As it happened to be lunchtime we were able to partake in a rather sumptuous buffet. Whilst filling our tummies we were able to absorb the beautiful scenery of Strasbourg by glancing through the huge panoramic windows, which Arte¹s headquarters boasted. Once totally satiated, we were moved through to an assembly room for a presentation of Arte's work.
Our speaker was Mr. Bussek, who ironically seemed to be having some trouble getting the television to run the video. I quote 'I will try to make this thing work. I hope the sound is strong enough to make this thing happen'. After a somewhat precarious start our speaker finally got his presentation going. Like the majority of our speakers this week, Mr. Bussek has a very broad background. As a law student in Germany he acquired a particular interest in European Union Law. This interest resulted in the attainment of two PhD¹s of which, one is German and the other is French. His career took off as a law director. After seven years he moved on to be a program buyer and producer for ZDF, finally ending up at Arte.
Arte is an east meets west kind of broadcasting station. It illustrates beautifully the alliance of the German and French, languages, cultures and customs and attempts to exemplify the essence of Europeanism. Arte hosts a wide diversity of programmes, which are broadcast simultaneously in French and German. Special attention is given to socio-political backdrops and history, whilst also touching on current European affairs. 'Understanding the world through experience' is the fundamental philosophy behind Arte. Although Arte is publicly subsidised half by the Germans and half by the French, it is broadcast throughout Europe.
The question may arise what the juridical relevance of our trip to Arte actually was. Arte has a small law department, which, however, has significant legal know-how. Employees are required to be familiar with both German and French national law. The spectrum of cases brought before the department requires the staff to have a good grasp of all fields of the law. As our speaker informed us, the cases range from car-crashes and contacts concerning the coffee dispenser to complex cases concerning audiovisual law. The latter can be subdivided in private audiovisual law and public audiovisual law. The former concerns mainly contacts necessary to realise the production of a programme, while the latter handles the distribution of programmes through all possible means, from satellite to ADSL.
Visiting Arte served to demonstrate the wide diversity of European Law whose tenets extend to every facet of daily life. Our thanks were received with the customary Gallic charm!
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