The government is about to negotiate a package that will regulate our media for years to come.
It will once again be setting the rules for a country that continues to consider it very much a public service area.
Under the current set-up, the state allocates more than 4.6 billion kroner: 90 percent goes to Danmark's Radio and a bit to TV2, which has public service obligations.
In the good old days, it was the shortage of bandwidth that made it logical to let the state – read the politicians – rule the airwaves. But once the politicians had experienced the sweet feeling of having the upper-hand on the news stream, they would not let go voluntarily.
However, the logic that supported a state monopoly is no longer valid.
We have an abundance of channels, internet broadband and social media. It’s no longer possible to establish dominance by way of content or technique. It is time to deregulate.
The absurdity that you have to pay for a licence to own a TV or PC (it used to be radios as well!) to benefit DR, whether you use it or not, is obvious.
If politicians want a public service, they should buy it from the private market – they can have exactly as much as they pay for.
They can stipulate content and news angles, but they do not have to produce it themselves. Leave it to the private media companies to fight for readership and viewers and free us from state soap operas and licence fees for computers that belong to non-Danes who say thanks for nothing.
They sold off DONG and Nets, so why not DR?
