René Zavoral Appointed to EBU Radio Committee
At the 19th Radio Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), held on 2-3 May in Tenerife, René Zavoral, Deputy Director General at Czech Radio, was elected a member of the Radio Committee of the EBU. The EBU Radio Committee is the top European body regulating public service radio broadcasting and, in addition to Czech Radio, its members also include representatives of the BBC, Radio France and Swedish Radio.
René Zavoral, Deputy Director General at Czech Radio, responsible for Czech Radio’s programming and broadcasting, has been elected one of the 14 members of the EBU Radio Committee. The EBU Radio Committee is the main statutory body for European public service radios and decides on the priorities in the field of radio broadcasting in Europe. At the same time, its members formulate common positions of public service radios in relation to legislation, copyright issues associated with music production, digital broadcasting, etc., and support the development of radio broadcasting in EBU’s member countries.
Elections for the Radio Committee are always held as a part of the EBU’s Radio Assembly and, in addition to the Czech Radio’s Deputy Director General, seats for the upcoming term have also been assigned to top representatives of Radio France, Deutsche Welle or Swedish Radio. Graham Ellis, BBC’s Controller of Production, and a long-term advisor to BBC’s Audio & Music Director has been elected the chair of the Committee.
The main issues currently discussed by the Radio Committee include primarily transition to digital broadcasting, stable financing of public service broadcasting in Europe and associated budget cuts and reorganisation processes, as well as the role of multimedia and visualisation in radio production and radio broadcasting strategies in the future.
What is the main benefit of the membership of Czech Radio in the EBU Radio Committee? “First of all, it is the possibility to influence the orientation and development of both public service and private radio broadcasting in Europe. The vast majority of issues that are discussed by the Radio Committee affect or will soon affect the Czech market, thus having an impact not only on Czech Radio, but also on commercial stations. This concerns mainly the support of digital radio broadcasting, radio visualisation and programming that should employ multiple media, with which many other issues are associated such as the qualifications and training of radio editors. Last but not least, I find it very beneficial for my work in Czech Radio to be in personal contact with the top representatives of organisations such as the BBC or Radio France – great sources of inspiration and experience for Czech Radio,” said René Zavoral, commenting on his appointment as a member of the Committee.
René Zavoral graduated in political studies and international relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University. He started working at Czech Radio in 2001, and in October 2006 he was appointed its Marketing and PR Director, later becoming the Communications and External Relations Director. In 2011, Zavoral was named the Deputy Director General for Strategic Development and on 1 April 2013, he was appointed Deputy Director General for Programme and Broadcasting.
MgA. Jakub Čížek
Communications and External Relations Director
Czech Radio
Phone: +420 221 551 310