Meanwhile, across the pond ...

European pubcasters will assist struggling pubTV and radio networks in Eastern and Southern Europe, the New York Times reports. “There is a real threat of public service broadcasting disappearing in some of these countries,” Claudio Cappon, vice president of the European Broadcasting Union, told the Times. “Every day we are receiving cries for help.” Pubcasters in Hungary, Cyprus and Malta and the former Yugoslavia are facing budget cuts due to the global recession, as well as waning political support. The Broadcasting Union plans to coordinate programming donations to the needy broadcasting systems. Some 500 hours of drama, documentary and children’s shows, normally sold to broadcasters, would be provided free.