The wildcat strike by technicians that blacked out Israeli television screens for several nights recently was only the latest of the periodic disputes between labor and Broadcast Authority management over contract conditions.
It drew more attention than usual because the strike was called to protest the suspension of Zion Sweri, chairman of the television workers committee, for cutting off a satellite broadcast of the National Basketball Association All-Star Game, which had run into overtime.
Television normally shuts down at 12:30 a.m. and the workers point out there is no contract agreement with management to pay them for the extra time on duty.
Hundreds of thousands of basketball fans were furious. There were demands in the Knesset to introduce some "law and order" into the television service. Meanwhile, a compromise proposal was on the table to handle future disputes of this kind. But the problems of Israel’s television are much broader and more numerous.
ONLY ONE CHANNEL
The basic problem is that there is only one television channel to provide news, entertainment and educational features. For this service, the public pays an annual television fee. When disputes between the Broadcast Authority’s 1,000 employes, who have civil service status, and management result in blacked-out screens, there is no alternative channel.
Television is more important in Israel than in many other countries. It is the main source of late news. "Mabat," the daily evening news program, enjoys more than 90 percent viewership. Television interviews with national leaders and lawmakers are news events in themselves.
Israeli politicians are more sensitive to television than politicians elsewhere. Knesset members race each other to the telephones after a session to make sure their remarks are being broadcast on the nightly news.
Daytime television in Israel is devoted mainly to educational and children’s programs. General programs begin at 5:30 p.m. and run for the next seven hours. When there is no sports event, the three "Hebrew Hours" are filled mainly with re-runs of popular American TV series.
Israelis are as well acquainted with "Dallas" and "Dynasty" as audiences anywhere in the world. Locally produced programs, apart from news, are rare because of budgetary difficulties. The Broadcast Authority budget also covers the two radio channels — Israel Radio and Voice of Israel — and Arabic broadcasts on both radio and television.
The annual fees cannot cover everything, and broadcasting in Israel is state-subsidized.
In the absence of alternative channels, Israelis are turning to video cassette players and illegal cable stations have spread throughout the country. A Knesset subcommittee is working double shifts to draft a law that would establish a commercial, TV channel. It is a political issue which raises the question of State supervision of commercial television. The latest TV blackout will undoubtedly speed up the legislative process.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
