The group's works council denounces the "censorship" applied in EITB
- The Works Council has expressed its support for Maddalen Arzallus in front of the EITB building and has called for a "public and plural" media. They talked about the verses of bertsolari removed from the Faktoria programme and criticised the way the media works "according to political and ideological criteria".
The EITB Media Works Council has denounced to the group building the censorship that has been used on other occasions along with the removal of verses from Maddalen Arzallus. They denounce that the bertsolari song has been removed "according to political, moral ideological criteria" from the government and accuse EITB's general management of its responsibility. They call for EITB to be a public and plural medium at the same time as the meeting of the Management Board and express their support for Maddalen Arzallus.
Last week the management commissioned the removal of the portal and social networks of EITB from some of the musical verses eitb.eus made by Arzallus in Faktoria. Arzallus, 71, took as its starting point the case of former convict, Ion Kepa Parot (released on 13 October after 32 years in prison). According to the Works Council, the management did not like the bertsos and erased them "according to political and ideological criteria".
They report that the practice is "common": "It is common not to give news that does not suit the Basque Government and that may harm the image of the PNV, as in the case of Miguel, the imputation for corruption of three former PNV mayors in Alonsotegi or the latest information about the TAV".
To this have been added the interviewees, guests or competitors of some free sessions of Alsasua! or who have forced the T-shirts to be removed under the slogan Independence. On the other hand, they denounce that the Blue Lives Matter T-shirts (the refrain of the extreme right in favor of the police) have not been censored.
Lack of credibility
During the meeting, it was found that the media's audience measurements are not good, and several reasons have been explained for this. Regarding cases of censorship, EITB "has neither good image nor credibility". The Works Committee considers that the change of trend and reflection is necessary, and has placed responsibility on the management of EITB.
However, they have not shown hope: "Taking into account the responses we have received so far, we do not expect a change of attitude, and unfortunately we are convinced that decisions in the direction of EITB will continue to be taken on the basis of political criteria and partisan interests."
