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Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament passed a broadcasting amendment law on Thursday.

It provides for various adjustments to the new state media treaty for Germany and a reduction in the size of the WDR Broadcasting Council from 60 to 55 members.

The amendment was passed with the votes of the government factions of the CDU and FDP against the votes of the opposition factions of the SPD, Greens and AfD.

NRW Finance Minister Lutz Lienenkämper (CDU) spoke of a “moderate downsizing of the Broadcasting Council”.

The functionality and ability of the body to act does not grow with its size.

He accused the SPD, which had applied for an enlargement of the body to 64, of wanting to "inflate" the Broadcasting Council further, as it did in its former reign.

The SPD MP Alexander Vogt held the CDU / FDP coalition before: "You are throwing cultural associations out of the Broadcasting Council."

The government wants to keep critical voices out.

The Green MP Matthias Bolte-Richter also warned against weakening public broadcasting and its diversity.

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The FDP deputy Thomas Nückel held against it that the cultural council was still represented on the committee and now also two industrial unions. The CDU member Thorsten Schick pointed out that the WDR Broadcasting Council was "unique in size" in a country comparison - only topped by the SWR. The WDR is not even a multi-country institution. AfD MP Sven Trischler criticized the continuation of a radio and media system that would allow the established parties to have an overly large influence on political reporting and “courtesy journalism”.

From the point of view of the state government, the changes will, among other things, reduce the bureaucracy of the WDR Act and the State Media Act.

The supervisory bodies of the WDR and the media commission of the state media authority should also be able to meet via video conference in the future, and a simplified decision-making procedure for emergencies will be made possible.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210429-99-404160 / 2

Agenda with draft law