The unseen power of AGB
The lodging of criminal charges against television ratings company AGB brings back to the fore the crucial issue of how viewing figures are measured as well as the related subject of television program quality. Even the news bulletins on TV have largely degenerated into a cocktail dominated by the weirdest and most heartrending stories of the day. Overdramatizing has become almost a prerequisite for TV news journalism, irrespective of subject matter. Of course there are exceptions, but what is mostly on offer is trashy news presented in quasi-serious packaging. Subjecting news coverage to the dictates of whichever government is in power may be a dangerous practice, but at least this is obvious and provokes protest. More worrying is the practice, in our television democracy, of issues being transformed into cheap spectacles which numb viewers and feed a penchant for petty politics. Meanwhile, other programs encourage bad taste and questionable social behavior. In other words, these programs are corroding the very soul of our society. Aggressive and unchecked competition between TV channels has shown that there is no limit to how low they can go. The pain of every disadvantaged citizen is potential material for a news feature and the criterion for its selection is the extent to which it will excite viewer curiosity. Meanwhile, whenever there is any kind of emergency, the channels fuel the fears of their spectators to keep them watching. But news is not just a product to be judged by the market, nor can it depend exclusively upon the preferences of most viewers. So it is unacceptable that the state continues to tolerate the monopoly of AGB. Its figures essentially influence TV programming and, in turn, have a decisive effect on the public’s understanding of culture and politics.
