"Changing Nordic Mediascene" Conference, Helsinki, 4 May 2004

The Union of Radio and Television Journalists in Finland organises a conference on Tuesday May 4th 2004 from 1 p.m. to – 5.30 p.m. at Finnish Broadcasting Company’s headquarters, Radiokatu 5, Helsinki. It is a unique opportunity to hear from top experts insights into the future of the television in Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

The conference languages are Finnish, Swedish and Danish.

<CENTER>PROGRAMME</CENTER>

1.00 p.m. ”Where waves do us carry”
Competition and technology in the new mediaworld
Chairperson : Bengt K.Å. Johansson, Sweden

1.45 p.m. The future digital-television in Finland
What scope of programmes for the Finnish PSB and who’s going to pay for it?
Chairperson : Seppo Niemelä, Finland

2.30 p.m. Coffee

2.45 p.m. The Privatisation of TV 2 in Denmark - Public Service, Money and the EU
The new government promised to privatise TV 2 in three months. Now almost three years have been gone and TV 2 still hasn’t been privatised. How come?
Professor Frands Mortensen, Department of Media Studies, University of Aarhus, Denmark

3.30 p.m. Panel discussion

4.30 p.m. Buffet-refreshments

The conference is organised by the Union of Radio and Television Journalists in Finland as part of the International Federation of Journalists’ Campaign Public Service Broadcasting for All.

Registration : by April 26th to e-mail address [email protected]

Additional information Timo-Erkki Heino e-mail: [email protected] or telephone +358-09-1480 2655, mobile +358-40-749 1472,


Presentation of the Key Speakers:

Bengt K.Å. Johansson has during his career worked as an ambassador and as a minister in the Swedish government. At the moment he is chairperson of the parliamentary committee which is preparing the proposal for the new licence charter of the Swedish Public Service Broadcasting companies.

Professor Frands Mortensen is the head for the Department for Information and Media Studies at University of Aarhus in Denmark. During his career professor Mortensen has been a member of the Royal Danish Media Committee 1980-1985, member of the Royal Danish Media Committee 1994-96 and head of the section for radio and TV and the section for new media. He has been the head of the research project “The Aesthetics of Television” 1993-1998, sponsored by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities.

Professor Mortensen has published 11 books and over 100 articles on different aspects of mass communication (see http://www.imv.au.dk/medarbejdere/fmorten/publikationer.html).
He has conducted research for Nordic Council, Council of Europe, Media Salles (The MEDIA Programme of EU).

Seppo Niemelä has acted as the editor-in-chief of Lalli and Suomenmaa newspapers as well as Secretary General of the Finnish Adult Education Association FAEA. At the moment he is Programme Director of the Citizen Participation Policy Programme under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice. Mr. Niemelä is also chairperson in the Parliamentary Television Working Group
”Television and Public Service Broadcasting in Finland in 2010”. According to the recommendation of this working group the Finnish government has already decided August 31st 2007 as the switch off day for the analogue television in Finland. At the moment the working group studies the future scope and financing of the public service broadcasting in Finland.