radio france internationale

Transcription

radio france internationale
annual report 2006 - 2007
4
the president’s message
6
board of directors and organization chart
8
45 million listeners
10
a major international player
11
key figures
14
milestones
16
group activities
18
multichannel and multilingual broadcasting
20
Africa service
24
RFI and Monte Carlo Doualiya
in the Near and Middle East
26
World service
34
Multimedia service
38
group values
41
cultural relays
44
sharing our skills
46
acting locally
48
group organization
50
status and charter
51
human resources
52
a controlled budget
The major challenges of 2006 were to expand the Group’s influence globally, and incorporate
RFI’s entire skills base into a new multimedia service.
We synergized the Group’s various desks and re-organized RFI into three services: Africa,
World and Multimedia. By creating a fully-fledged Multimedia service, RFI now has a
further plus point for facing the growing competition and addressing the specific demands
generated by this new media. RFI’s web portal now offers an even richer and more diversified
array of services and content, processed with the same degree of reactivity as that required for
radio. In 2006, the Group’s sites attracted more than 33 million unique visits and, with nearly
77 million pages viewed, have expanded the user base by 42%.
The editorial objectives of our radio services in 2006 were to offer more live broadcasts,
generate more conversations and discussions, and grow closer to our listeners. And the wager
paid off. We have expanded our magazine programs from 143 to 167 per week together with
our news columns, especially targeting the African continent.
International news has naturally been the mainstay of our editorial line and acts as an identity
statement for our listeners. Our news slots have been organized around time zones to factor
in the specific needs of the five continents.
We have also considerably boosted the presence of our correspondents in the field, enabling
us to report in real time on events impacting every region in the world.
As a public service, RFI is naturally dedicated to enhancing the international influence of
the most varied forms of cultural expressions. As the initiator or partner of many operations
in the realms of literature, theater, music and cinema, and by supporting the work of both
confirmed artists and young talent in every country, RFI demonstrates each day its role as an
international catalyst of cultural excellence. The various prizes that we have created are now
widely recognized by professionals and our audiences alike, and have launched a growing
number of careers. RFI can be proud to have acted as a springboard for many young artists
who have now achieved international acclaim.
2006 was, then, a transition year during which RFI was able to implement the changes
needed for its continuing development. The Group now enjoys a high growth potential,
driven by the installation of new FM transmitters, greater web coverage, the signing of new
partnerships and in the medium term, the introduction of digital radio in France (the CSA
is due to launch a call for candidatures at the end of 2007).
In February 2007, we unveiled Beta RFI, the only international radio in Belgrade, through a
partnership with the Serbian press agency Beta. During the 2006-2007 period we substantially
expanded our FM presence by installing a further eleven transmitters, mainly in large cities
in French-speaking Africa, Mauritius, Paraguay and Chile. With a total of 158 transmitters,
RFI now has the largest FM network in the world. At the same time, we are stepping up our
satellite broadcasting, especially in Asia. And we have pursued our long-standing partnership
policy with new take-up agreements in English- and Portuguese-speaking Africa and in Latin
America. There are currently 580 radios around the world broadcasting RFI programs daily.
Yet we are aware that all these growth drivers will only be truly effective over the long
term provided that the enterprise is properly managed. In a difficult budgetary context
we have paid close attention to stabilizing operating expenses and to renegotiating certain
broadcasting costs, thereby releasing substantial resources to fund our expansion in the years
ahead.
Drawing on its expertise in international news coverage, its multilingual journalists and its
network of foreign correspondents, and through its clear, coherent development plans, RFI
enjoys considerable advantages for confronting new challenges and strengthening its position
as one of the leading international radios.
Antoine Schwarz
President and CEO
Radio France Internationale
board
of directors
president
Antoine Schwarz
government representatives
Richard Boidin
Emmanuelle Bensimon
Laurent Garnier
RFI annual report 2006 - 2007
parliamentary representatives
Louis Duvernois, Sénat
Jean-Marc Roubaud,
Assemblée Nationale
qualified personalities
appointed by the CSA
Francis Balle
Pascal Chaigneau
Anne Coutard
Mabousso Thiam
staff representatives
John Maguire
Catherine Rolland
present on the board
of directors
Renaud Gace, general economic
and financial Auditor
Maria Afonso, Elisa Drago,
Béatrice Léveillé,
from the Works Council
Antoine Schwarz
President and CEO
Jean-Claude Benoist
General Secretary
Geneviève Goëtzinger
Vice-President
for services and news
Jean-Claude Kuentz
Vice-President
for development
Pierre-André Teiller
Vice-President
for technologies and
information systems
Michel Guérin
Advisor to the President
André Sarfati
Director
of Communication
Philippe Beauvillard
Associate Director
and CEO of Monte
Carlo Doualiya
Martine Paris
Director
of human resources
Philippe Thomas
Administrative
and Financial Director
Henry Perilhou
Director
of the Africa service
Pierre Ganz
Director
of the World service
Noëlle Velly
Director
of the Multimedia
service
Dominique Burg
Director
of the French
language desk
Barbel Moser
Director of foreign
language desks
Georges Lory
Director
of international affairs
Daniel Nobi
Director
of audience surveys
Erlends Calabuig
Associate Director
Bechara el-Bonn
Advisor to the President
for the Near
and Middle East
45 million
listeners
RFI, a major
international player
The national company Radio France Internationale comprises
three separate services: a World service, an Africa service
and a Multimedia service. It also broadcasts news
and magazine programs in 19 foreign languages.
The company owns eight affiliates:
• Monte Carlo Doualiya
• Europa Lisboa
• RFI Bulgarie
• RFI Romania
• Beta RFI in Belgrade
in partnership with the Beta press
agency since 2007
• Aeriel, shared equally
with the BBC in Hungary
• RFI Deutschland
• RFI Marine developed by RFI
and Worldspace in partnership
with Météo France.
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The company has eight foreign
bureaus:
• Washington (USA)
• Jerusalem (Israel)
• Moscow (Russia)
• Cairo (Egypt)
• Dakar (Senegal)
• Johannesburg (South Africa)
• Beirut (Lebanon)
• Brussels (Belgium),
shared with Radio France.
In the second half of 2007,
RFI plans to open two new
bureaus in Douala and Beijing.
On the basis of this footprint
and our international coverage,
RFI is regularly listened to around
the world by nearly 45 million
people. This audience positions
RFI as the third most-listened
to international radio after
the BBC World Service
and Voice of America.
RFI is also the reference media
in French-speaking Africa.
45 million
listeners
Key figures
headcount
RFI has 1,013 employees
and uses 615 correspondents
around the world. During the 2006
financial year, the enterprise hired
39 new permanent staff.
resources
RFI had a total operating income
in 2006 of €130.48 million,
96% from public funds,
comprising a subsidy
from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(€69.54 million) and a share
of broadcasting license fee
(€55.86 million).
514 administrative, technical
and production personnel
46 managerial
453 journalists
1 013 total
Internet audiences
Its own resources are still modest
(€5.07 million), although this has been
increasing in recent years.
With 33.5 million visits a year,
RFI’s web audience demonstrated
strong growth of 42% during
the year. Europe has the largest
share with 48% of the visits,
followed by North America (23%)
and Africa (13%).
(resources in 2006, in thousands of €)
55,865 broadcasting license fees
5,072 own resources
69,540 Ministry of Foreign Affairs
130,477 total
radio audiences
The RFI Group has an estimated global audience
of nearly 45 million regular listeners (GEDA report).
It breaks down as follows (in millions of listeners):
Africa 25.80
1.90 Asia Pacific
2.05 Europe
Near and Middle East 10.50 4.05 Americas
To measure and analyze the growth of its audiences, RFI undertakes a series of sampling tests
each year in 15 capital cities or regions: Dakar, Yaoundé, Bamako, Kinshasa, Île-de-France,
Lisbon, Moscow, Bucharest, Beijing, Phnom Penh, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Beirut,
Amman and Bahrain.
11
€
RFI has hired Xiti,
an Internet metrics analyst,
to set up a qualitative interest
indicator capable of identifying
the specificity and purpose
of visits to the RFI site, alongside
the usual quantitative traffic metrics.
This qualitative indicator will be
built out of current Xiti metrics
(number of visits to more than one
page on a site, duration of visits),
special RFI criteria such as the
geographic spread of the traffic
(i.e. how many countries around
the world generating a significant
threshold of visits), downloading
rates, and so on.
production
and broadcasting
broadcasting
in foreign
languages
(apart from
affiliates)
English: 33.5 h
Spanish: 28 h
Chinese: 21 h
Portuguese: 14 h
Hausa: 14 h
Russian:14 h
Vietnamese: 14 h
German: 12 h
Brazilian Portuguese: 12 h
Persian: 10.5 h
Polish: 7 h
Romanian: 7 h
Cambodian: 7 h
Southern Slavic Languages
(Serbian and Croatian): 6 h
Albanian: 5 h
Laotian: 3.5 h
Turkish: on the web
RFI broadcasts over 400 hours
per week in French and 19 foreign
languages, totalling nearly 60 hours
a day on 200 different audio streams.
● broadcasting in French
(in hours per week)
62 magazines
126 news slots
188 total
● broadcasting
in foreign languages
RFI broadcasts 649 hours a week
of news and magazine programs
in 19 foreign languages.
This total includes broadcasts
via affiliates: Monte Carlo
Doualiya (Arabic, 119 hours
a week), RFI Bulgarie (Bulgarian,
70 hours a week), RFI Romania
(Romanian, 84 hours a week),
Europa Lisboa (Portuguese,
84 hours a week) and Beta-RFI
(Serbian, 84 hours a week).
relays
Developing this network,
especially by increasing
the number of relays, is one
of RFI’s major strategic directions.
Today, the Group has 158 FM
relays worldwide.
In addition to these come 580
partner radios that broadcast
all or some of RFI’s programs
on their frequencies.
45 million
listeners
digital radio
RFI is investing in the digital
revolution with a view to responding
to the call for candidates for France’s
“TNT radiophonique” project starting
in 2008. Whichever technical
standard is finally chosen,
digitally-driven broadcasting costs
will be lower than analog, and will
deliver better listening quality.
After starting the RFI Marine station,
using satellite based DAB, RFI
has already shown its commitment
to Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)
by using it for special event
broadcasting. This project
is particularly important as the radio
produces some sixty international
news spots and the same number
of magazine programs.
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RFI
an active
film partner
The cinema
has a special place
in RFI’s programming
and the Group
has developed
a comprehensive eventdriven policy around
the seventh art and
especially African cinema.
As always, RFI took
its microphones
to the 60th Cannes Film
Festival and broadcast
many live programs
from the Croisette. It also
helped promote African
films during the Critics’
Week by promoting
the exceptional projection
of the film by the Nigerian
director Newton Aduaka,
which won the Golden
Stallion at the 20th
FESPACO.
RFI partners the Pan
African Film and Television
Festival of Ouagadougou,
(FESPACO) in 2001 created
the RFI Cinema
du public Prize.
We have set up
a system for collecting
votes from the public
and rewarding
the feature film chosen
by viewers
from the films
in competition.
The winner benefits
from widespread
support and high
visibility on the RFI
airwaves.
● July 2006, Jamaica:
● November 2006, France, Paris:
inauguration of the RFI relay
in Kingston; Serbia, Belgrade:
an FM frequency for Beta RFI,
the non-stop news radio launched
by RFI and local partner Beta
press agency; special focus on
RFI: elections in the Republic of
the Congo; France, Avignon: RFI
partners the Avignon Festival
in Toma; Congo, Brazzaville:
Pan African Music Festival
(FESPAM),
● September 2006, Sénégal:
the RFI cycle team ranked second
in the 9th Tour du Sénégal 2006;
France, Paris: finals of the 1st
RMC Middle Eastern Music Prize;
Romania, Bucharest for the 11th
Francophonie Summit, RFI brings
Ionesco to Bucharest,
award of the 6th RFI/Reporters
sans frontières Prize: France,
Paris: award of the RFI Le Monde
en français Prize; Cameroon,
Douala: award of the 25th
Découvertes RFI Prize and a large
public concert,
● December 2006, Guinea:
opening of Conakry relay; France,
Paris: RFI live at the 46th Paris
Boat Show; USA, New York: Kofi
Annan live for a special day
on 14 December; four RFI relays
installed in Mauritius,
● January 2007, France, Paris:
award of 6th Net Afrique Prize
2006,
● February 2007, France, Paris:
concert by Bélo, Découvertes RFI
2006 prizewinner; Iceland: an RFI
45 million
listeners
milestones
24 hours
at the Quai
Branly
Museum
relay in Reykjavik for the FranceIceland cultural season,
● March 2007, France, Paris:
French Language and Languages
Week in France; France, Paris: RFI
Témoin du Monde 2007 Literary
Prize awarded at the Paris Book
Fair; Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou:
RFI Cinéma du public 2007 Prize
awarded at the FESPACO,
the Pan African Film
and Television festival RFI,
● April 2007, Cameroon, Douala:
international final of the 14th
African Dictation; France, Paris:
For the inauguration
of the Quai Branly Museum
in Paris, RFI organized
a large-scale operation.
From June 24 to 25 June
2006: 24 hours of live public
broadcasts from a special
studio in the Museum’s
auditorium.
partner at the Paris Fair (Wealth
of the World Room); Cameroon:
go-ahead for relays in Garoua
and Maroua in the North,
● May 2007, France, Paris: RFI
supports the opening evening
of the first web radio at Sciences
Po; France, Paris: 2nd RFI Looking
at Slavery Film Festival; France,
Cannes: 60th Cannes Film Festival:
RFI live from the Croisette
and partner to the Critics’ Week
and Directors’ Fortnight, news
and special broadcasts
in ten languages,
● June 2007, France, Paris:
the gardens of the Ministry
of Cooperation: RFI celebrates
the Music Festival; Morocco,
Essaouira: Gnaoua and World
Music Festival,
● July 2007, France, Paris: RFI
organizes with Paris City Hall
the Bastille Day Ball with African
rhythms.
24 hours looking at human
evolution...
24 hours to build links
between the exhibits - what
they reveal about the ancient
past and ongoing adventure
of humanity - and today’s
world, and even current
affairs.
24 hours to bring worlds
closer together, leap through
time and compare different
ways of seeing.
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group
activities
broadcast
multichannel &
multilanguage
worldwide coverage
RFI’s key asset is its expertise
in international current affairs. As a public
service radio targeting various populations
and communities around the world, RFI
sees its mission is to listen closely to its own
listeners, so that it has an insightful grasp
of their expectations and reactions while
respecting their cultural diversity.
Since the end of 2006,
under the responsibility of Geneviève
Goëtzinger, the French language desk
has been organized into eight geographical
and thematic branches: Africa, international,
Europe, France, sports, culture, business,
and science.
In the autumn of 2006 these editorial desks
developed some twenty new programs:
Sur un air de campagne, Décryptage,
Élan, Planète entreprises, Orient presse,
Chronique de la mer, Chronique
des Français de l’étranger, Chronique
des droits de l’Homme, Voyages
en ballon, Les Visiteurs du jour,
On est où là ?, Microscopie, Net plus ultra,
Reines d’Afrique, La Danse des mots version
africaine and Sortir dans le monde.
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footprint
RFI broadcasts 24h/7 worldwide
on FM (158 relays delivering
excellent listening quality), SW,
MW, cable, satellite,
and at www.rfi.fr. RFI programs
and news spots are taken up
and rebroadcast by 580 other radios
around the world.
The network has also developed
a variety of media, ranging
from radio and the Internet
to MFI, a written and audio press
agency. During the 2005/2006 year,
FM development has continued
with the opening of 12 new relays
and 29 new take-up agreements.
This broad global footprint
has been architected to meet
the growing need for non-partisan,
rich and dense news broadcasts
group
activities
in a number of geographical
spreads, as well as to encourage
closer relations between Africa
and the French-speaking world.
While RFI is one of the front-line
radios in Africa and the Middle
East, Europe is still a priority,
as are developments in Asia
and Latin America. RFI pays close
attention to the national, regional,
and local singularities of all its
audiences and fosters better
news coverage of these regions.
RFI Marine, a unique service
in its category, also delivers
something more to everyone
who sails the seas, be they large
vessels, professional sailors,
or yachting buffs.
foreign languages
RFI broadcasts in French
and 19 other languages.
This linguistic range is a vital
extension to the Group’s
production in French.
The reform begun in October 2006
has not led to a reduction
in foreign language programs,
but rather to a judicious
redeployment of resources.
Most of the Albanian, German,
English, Arabic, Bulgarian,
Cambodian, Laotian, Mandarin
Chinese, Persian, Polish,
Portuguese, Romanian, Russian,
Serbian and Croatian, Turkish
and Vietnamese content streams
have had their programs modified
and some languages have been
switched to the Internet.
At the beginning of 2007, RFI
started a new Balkans radio
in Belgrade - Beta-RFI,
and also created of a major
Portuguese-speaking branch,
targeting three geographical spreads
- Africa, Brazil and Portugal.
The morning (local time) programs
in Mandarin Chinese have been
extended. After the creation
of Spanish, Chinese and
Portuguese (Brazil) versions
of the web site, RFI has launched
new sites in Polish and Laotian
as well as Turkish.
Other sites in Persian, Khmer
and Vietnamese are going on-line
in 2007.
19
expansion
in 2006
● West and Central Africa
The year 2006 saw RFI’s
extension in Mauritania,
with an extra frequency
in the capital granted to Monte
Carlo Doualiya. Mauritania’s
second largest city Nouadhibou
now has a relay. RFI has also
extended to Niger with a relay
in Tahoua that broadens
its footprint with the other three
FM stations. This is a major
media for broadcasting RFI
programs in the Hausa language.
After the opening up of Guinean
broadcasting to the private sector
and international radios,
RFI is broadcasting
in the country’s two main cities
of Conakry and Labé,
and waiting to install in Kankan
and Nzérékoré. These new
locations now provide FM access
to RFI in all French-speaking
countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Partnering WorldSpace, RFI
has developed a computer
terminal called Ordispace,
which enables audio and text
data to be communicated directly
by satellite, replacing content
that used to be sent on CD.
In addition to radios
that subscribe to RFI’s recorded
magazine programs, many radios
that used to rebroadcast live RFI
programs now use
this equipment. Networks
have been set up in Mali,
the Democratic Republic
of Congo and Togo. This effort
will continue in 2007, enabling
the emergence of a unique
network of 200 mainly special
interest and community radios
that receive RFI programs
without requiring Internet access.
● Mauritius
RFI is present in Mauritius
and assures total coverage
with four relays.
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Africa
RFI is a media of reference
in Sub-Saharan Africa with
25.8 million listeners.
Its reputation and the quality
of its African editorial content
has enabled the Group
to consolidate this position right
across the African continent,
where radio is still the most
popular media.
boosting coverage
RFI broadcasts across Africa
on FM with 94 relays
via WorldSpace satellite,
and on shortwave for rural areas
and regions affected by conflicts.
During the year, the Group
completed its FM coverage
of large French-speaking cities
in Africa. In 2006, we returned
to and improved our presence
in Mauritania, created our first
site in Guinea, and boosted
our network in Mali and Niger.
RFI is also relayed across
the whole continent
by a hundred partner radios,
mainly in French-speaking
countries.
Internet rollout
Although RFI is wagering
on Multimedia and moving
towards a two-media configuration,
the development of the Internet
is still limited due to the major
obstacle of poor infrastructure,
with subscribers located mainly
in large cities.
group
activities
RFI relays
in the Africa
and the Indian Ocean
Benin: Cotonou,
Parakou
Burkina Faso:
Ouagadougou,
Banfora, Koudougou,
Ouahigouya,
Bobo-Dioulasso
Burundi: Bujumbura
Cameroon:
Bafoussam, Douala,
Yaoundé
Cap Verde: Mindelo,
Praïa, Fogo, Sal,
Santo Antao
Centrafrique: Bangui
Chad: N’Djamena
Comoros: Moroni
Congo: Brazzaville,
Pointe-Noire
Côte d’Ivoire: Abidjan,
Bouaké, Korogho
Djibouti: (DjiboutiArta RFI and Monte
Carlo Doualiya),
Djibouti-ville
Equatorial Guinea:
Malabo (volcano),
Malabo (city)
Gabon: Franceville,
Libreville, Port-Gentil
Gambia: Banjul
Ghana: Accra, Kumasi
Guinea: Conakry, Labe
Guinea-Bissau: Bissao,
Gabu
Kenya: Mombassa,
Nairobi
Lesotho: Maseru
Liberia: Monrovia
Madagascar:
Antananarivo,
Antsirabé,
Antsiranana
service
highly
competitive services
goals
of the Africa service
Radio is by far the most important
media in Africa. The opening up
of radio in a number of countries
has created a broad spectrum
of stations. This plurality of content
has marked the clear advance
of democracy but also stepped up
the deregulation of this sector,
putting RFI in a far more
competitive marketplace.
We now have is to consolidate
our positions against local
and international competitors
and provide a long term agenda
for developing the service.
This leading position
in a competitive landscape
in Africa gives RFI a special
responsibility that we assume
by means of a well-balanced
editorial line. The mission
of the Africa service, headed
by Henri Perilhou, is to spread
right across the area especially
by boosting its network
of correspondents.
The new programming grid
for Africa aims to get closer
to its audience, listening
to and resonating with the concerns
of its own listeners and offering
a platform where they can express
their initiatives and discussions.
During the 2006/2007 period,
we have deepened our content,
Fianarantsoa,
Fort-Dauphin,
Tamatave,Majunga,
Nosy Be, Tuléar,
Sambava
Mali: Bamako, Kayes,
Sikasso, Gao, Segou,
Mopti
Mauritius: Port-Louis,
Curepipe, Jurançon,
Rodrigue
Mauritania:
Nouakchott (RFI
and Monte Carlo
Doualiya),
Nouadhibou
Mozambique: Maputo
Namibia: Windhoek
Niger: Niamey,
Maradi, Zinder,
Tahoua
Republic of the Congo:
Bunia, Kinshasa,
Lubumbashi, Matadi,
Bukavu, Kisangani
Rwanda: Kigali
Sao Tomé et Principe:
Sao Tomé
Senegal: Dakar,
Kaolack,
Les Almadies, SaintLouis, Tambacounda,
Thiès, Ziguinchor
Seychelles: Victoria,
Seychelles-Anse,
Pointe-au-Sel
Sierra Leone: Freetown
Sudan: Khartoum
(Monte Carlo
Doualiya)
Togo: Kara, Lomé
Uganda: Kampala
Zambia: Kitwe, Lusaka
21
audiences
RFI’s audience in Africa
continues to grow
with a total of 25.8 million
listeners, nearly 60 %
of its global audience.
In the international radio
stakes, RFI is maintaining
its leadership, largely ahead
of its competitors (the BBC,
Voice of America and Africa
N°1).
with more guests, more on
business, more press roundups,
more expertise, more special reports,
contributions from correspondents
and new programs.
A new programming schedule
has been implemented to meet
these goals. Info Matin Afrique
offers five news slots in the morning,
geared to prime time whether
listeners are in East, West, or Central
Africa or in the Great Lakes region.
Pan African current affairs items
are ranked according to the listeners’
own environment.
Africa programs:
in the morning, Appels sur l’actualité,
Reines d’Afrique, Afrique Midi,
Côte d’Ivoire
(source TNS Sofres April 2007)
RFI has strengthened its
position as leader.
In Abidjan, it is in the top
radio with 518,000 daily
listeners, or a 23% active
in Yaoundé, RFI is the leader
listener share.
among 18 radios in a very
competitive market and far
Mali
ahead of Africa N°1.
(source TNS Sofres
It has grown an exceptional
November 2006)
40% compared to 2005
RFI is constantly growing,
and moved up from fourth
and with a daily listener
to first position.
base of 200,000 people
in Bamako has grown
Democratic Republic
its active listener share
of Congo
from 23% to 26%.
(source IMMAR June 2006)
In Mali, government radios
In Kinshasa, where there
ORTM 1 and ORTM 2 still
are 30 radios, RFI is still
hold the high ground.
a strong second, with
But RFI is still the leading
898,000 listeners each day.
international station, ahead
of Africa N°1 and fourth
Benin
among the country’s 29 FM RFI has grown solidly
stations.
in Cotonou, rising from fifth
to third most listened to radio
Senegal
and positioned as the leading
(source TNS Sofres June 2006 international radio.
and INS Sofres May 2007)
Despite five new FM
Internet (source Xiti 2006)
stations, RFI is still
Due to the quality
the 5th (out of 24) most
of the portal’s content
listened to radios in Dakar,
and the equipment
and is still the leading
upgrades, traffic from
international radio with
the African continent
154,000 daily listeners.
has grown by a satisfying
72% percent.
Cameroon
With 4.4 million annual
(source Delphes Com,
visits, Africa accounts
November 2006)
for 13% of all visits
With 336,000 daily listeners to RFI sites today.
22
in the afternoon: Médias d’Afrique,
Plein Sud, Couleurs tropicales
or the latest magazine programs
On est où là ? special reports from
Africa and Voyages en ballon devoted
to African footballers playing
in championships on every continent.
group
activities
RFI bureaus in Africa
Until 2003, RFI had four bureaus
in Africa: Dakar, Libreville,
Johannesburg and Abidjan.
The Dakar and Johannesburg
bureaus will be maintained, while
the Libreville office will re-locate
to Douala in September 2007.
The Abidjan bureau has been closed
ever since the assassination
of its chief, Jean Hélène, in October
2003 and will only reopen when
acceptable security conditions are
reestablished. The group also plans
to open a bureau in East Africa
in September 2008.
qualitative survey
on the impact
of content
(polled in 2006 TNS Sofres,
IMMAR, Delphes)
Listeners appreciate RFI’s major
effort at expanding its network of
correspondents and editorial content,
and trust its team of journalists.
● quality of news:
“RFI news is fresh with lots of
correspondents and good analyses”
for nearly 80% of those interviewed.
RFI in Hausa
● priority source for world news:
To the question “When an important
event occurs elsewhere in the world,
which media do you trust first?”
RFI takes the lead.
● credibility of information
and journalists:
“It’s the reference for credible
information,” for nearly 45%
of those interviewed. The network’s
journalists enjoy a very good image
among African listeners, who
consider they have the right
experience and a good knowledge
of Africa.
From May 2007
RFI features two hours a
day of current affairs in
Hausa live from its Lagos
desk in the premises of
Voice of Nigeria.
Three news slots a day
6:00-6:30 Universal Time (UT)
7:00-7:30 UT
16:00-17:00 UT
To listen to RFI in Hausa
in Niger on 96.2 FM in
Niamey, Maradi, Zinder and
Tahoua on SW
6:00-6:30 UT
31 m. band freq. 9805 kHz
25 m. band freq. 11995 kHz
7:00-7:30 UT
25 m. band freq. 11 830 kHz
16:00-17:00 UT
Africa has 80 million
Hausa speakers
23
audiences
Monte Carlo Doualiya remains
the leading international radio
in the greater Middle East
with an estimated global weekly
audience of 10.5 million listeners.
According to an IPSOS-STAT survey,
it is especially listened to by active
people (2/3 of the audience)
and those who comfortably off
or who have been well-educated
(3/4 of the audience).
RFI & Monte Carlo Doualiya
RFI broadcasts to the Near
and Middle East in French,
English and Persian for the three
Persian speaking countries of Iran,
Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
It has a major regional asset
in the shape of Monte Carlo
Doualiya, its Arabic-speaking
affiliate (known as Monte Carlo
Moyen-Orient until 31 December
2006). A French international radio
broadcasting in Arabic, Monte
Carlo Doualiya is a reference media
in the Gulf, the Near and Middle
East, and across the Maghreb.
Its editorial independence
and the quality
of its correspondents put it
24
in the lead among the major
international pan-Arab radios.
Competing with many satellite
television networks and local radios
in the Near and Middle East,
Monte Carlo Doualiya
has to leverage its competitive
advantages of credibility,
professionalism
and program quality.
arabic, the RFI Group’s
second language
By volume and in terms
of production, Arabic is the second
largest language used in the RFI
Group. Monte Carlo Doualiya
broadcasts 17 and a half hours a day
in Arabic, plus a news slot in French
from RFI. Yet the pan-Arab
and international service aims
to deliver news that is local in terms
of social, cultural, political
and business content for the region.
Its network of 50 correspondents
in over 30 countries ensures nonpartisan news, with a variety
of programs and a selection of Arab,
French and international music.
At the end of 2006, the service
upgraded to open up new avenues
in programming. For news, priority
now goes to analysis, while leaving
considerable room for the social,
political and business activities
in the region. In addition to its three
major current affairs slots, Monte
Carlo Doualiya also offers six news
bulletins, one each hour and since
November 2006 a news flash each
half-hour. It also broadcasts weekly
magazine programs on various
topics that interest listeners.
Since December 2006, the monthly
Major Investigation reflects
the Group’s resolve to deepen
the analysis of current affairs.
The service also features a rich range
of Arab, French and international
music. In 2006, the creation of the
group
activities
Jordan: Ajloun (MCD), Amman (MCD)
Iraq: Baghdad (RFI and MCD),
Basra (MCD), Mosul (MCD), Erbil (MCD)
Kuwait: Kuwait City (RFI and MCD)
Bahrain: Manama (MCD)
Qatar: Doha (MCD)
Afghanistan: Kabul (RFI)
Djibouti: Djibouti-Arta (MCD)
Sudan: Khartoum (MCD)
Mauritania: Nouakchott (MCD)
FM relays
in the Near
and Middle East
in the Near and Middle East
Monte Carlo Doualiya Music Prize
reflects the desire to open the radio
up to the region’s young people
and creative talents.
It is dedicated to dialog between
cultures and participating
in the cultural life
of its broadcasting footprint.
broadcasting
developments
Monte Carlo Doualiya broadcasts
on MW to the Near and Middle
East with a large coverage.
It also has FM transmitters, adding
a new relay in Erbil in Iraq in
2007 bringing the total to twelve,
following the new Nouakchott
relay installed in June 2006.
In Iraq, Monte Carlo Doualiya now
has four relays in Arabic - Mosul,
Basra, Baghdad and Erbil.
Monte Carlo Doualiya’s twelve
relays broadcast the station’s
bilingual website
programs in the capital cities
and large towns of eight
different countries.
Developing these FM relays
is a costly business due to inflated
rates resulting from international
competition in this strategic region.
Nevertheless, Monte Carlo
Doualiya’s FM agenda will continue
to expand and in 2007 will focus
on Sudan, Lebanon and the
Palestinian territories.
A policy of local partner program
take-up has already begun
in countries where an FM
installation is not always feasible
in the short term. RFI is also
present in this region, broadcasting
in French in Baghdad and in Persian
in Kabul. Monte Carlo Doualiya
is also broadcast over many
satellites:
Arabsat 3A/Orbit, Arabsat 2D,
Afristar WorldSpace, Afristar East
Beam, Atlantic Bird 3, Nilesat 101,
and WorldSpace.
As a natural extension of the radio
service, Monte Carlo Doualiya’s
website was entirely reorganized
at the end of 2006 to align with RFI
Group web standards. This bilingual
Arabic and French site features news
flashes, special pages, interviews,
and magazine content from
the editorial desk, and programs and
theme-based pages on international
news, especially in the Arab world.
The portal also includes a real time
new site, broadcasting content
from Monte Carlo Doualiya (live
or pre-recorded, podcasts, and special
content) reaching beyond
the Mashrek and Maghreb,
providing news relevant to Arabicspeaking peoples in many regions of
the world, including North America.
There were more than a million
visits and 13 million pages viewed by
Middle Eastern web surfers in 2006.
www.mc-doualiya.com
25
Europe
The World
service
RFI enjoys a strong position
in Europe due to its key assets
of multilingual broadcasting, local
bureaus and thirty of so FM relays
in capital cities and large towns
across the European continent.
In 2006, new relays were opened
in Russia and Romania. The year
2007 saw the creation of Beta RFI,
a new radio in Belgrade, through
a joint venture with the Serb press
agency Beta. RFI also depends on its
affiliates such as RFI Deutschland,
Europa Lisboa, RFI Bulgarie, RFI
Romania, and Aeriel in Hungary.
This provides RFI with the foundations of a future European network
which, by including partner radios,
aims to shed a unique light
on European and international
current affairs. Each RFI affiliate
has a special role to play
in this network.
diversified languages
and content
Created in October 2006
and directed by Pierre Ganz,
the World service organizes radio
content for the rest of the world. Its
programs are available on FM, AM,
cable, satellite and the web
– either streaming or downloading –
depending on the country
in question. This rich and consistent
audio product enables French
speakers and people who appreciate
France to access a constantly
updated French perspective
on international current affairs,
26
and provides a contact
with France for these listeners.
By using the Internet as an audio
stream and multimedia experience,
the Group’s content takes on
a strategic importance.
In Paris, the World service offers
listeners a summary of RFI
broadcasts, focused on international
and African current affairs,
and incorporating
a substantial amount
of Africa service
productions.
To bring together listeners
from different backgrounds,
RFI offers programs in twelve
European languages. Alongside
French, RFI speaks to listeners
in English, Russian, Spanish,
German, Portuguese, Polish,
Romanian, Southern Slavic
languages (Serbian and Croatian),
Albanian, Bulgarian and Turkish.
The programming is being updated
in the German, English, Polish,
Portuguese, Romanian, Russian,
Southern Slavic languages
and Turkish desks, and some of
the content will shift to the web.
By creating a large Portuguese desk
group
activities
targeting Portugal, RFI
is resourcing itself to make
a greater impact on this audience.
And after the Spanish website
goes online, RFI will gradually
create new foreign language sites.
RFI relays
in Europe
partnerships
Thanks to its partnership
with the European Union,
RFI has strengthened
its collaboration with its European
counterparts and continues
to deliver joint productions.
● European broadcasts
RFI has jointly produced a program
of news from the European
Parliament to help seed a civic
minded European news agenda.
The program is broadcast
in French, English, German
and Polish. Coverage of European
news is also given a boost with
such broadcasts as Allô Bruxelles,
Le Journal de l’Union and Accents
d’Europe. RFI also jointly produces
Le Club de la Presse
in collaboration with RTBF,
Treffpunkt with Deutsche Welle,
and news modules in Polish
with Polskie Radio.
● Broadcasts
on Euro-Mediterranean
dialogue
RFI and Monte Carlo Doualiya,
together with the European
Commission delegation
in Lebanon, jointly produce
Rivages and D’une rive à l’autre,
offering platforms for dialogue
between Europe and countries
around the Mediterranean.
Albania: Korca, Tirana
Armenia: Yerevan
Azerbaijan: Baku
Bulgaria: Sofia
Czech Republic: Prague
France: Paris FM, Paris OM
Georgia: Tbilisi
Germany: Dresden, Leipzig,
Pirna, Berlin, Chemnitz,
Hungary: Budapest
Kosovo: Pristina
Macedonia: Skopje
Moldavia: Chisinau
Norway: Oslo, Stavanger,
Tromso
Portugal: Lisbon
Romania: Bucharest, Craiova,
Iasi, Cluj
Russia: Moscow
Serbia: Belgrade
Spain: Barcelona
the World
and Europe in French
RFI offers listeners wherever
they may be in the world
a morning’s worth of news.
From 5:00 to midnight French
and international current affairs
are covered by a number
of broadcasts updated throughout
the day. The World service includes
daily slots on European news
with columns, interviews,
a European press round up, special
reports and input from RFI
correspondents in the 25 countries
of the Union. RFI also provides
news to listeners on major
international questions, life
in society, and key world issues
in such programs as Les visiteurs
du Jour, Élan, Grand reportage,
Dimanche économie, Décryptage
et Géopolitique. To get to know
France better, RFI featured three
new slots in the last quarter of 2006:
Sur un air de campagne was dedicated
to analyzing French political debate
during the presidential elections,
Planète Entreprise gave
an insight into the motives
27
RFI invites
Ionesco
to Bucharest
On the occasion of the 11th
Francophonie Summit
in September 2006, RFI hit
the headlines by inviting
the Paris actors from
the Theatre de la Huchette
to play The Bald Prima
Donna by Eugène Ionesco
at the Odeon Theater
in Bucharest. This formed
a splendid homage both
to the talent of Ionesco
in his native country and
to this French-language
play which was applauded
by an enthusiastic audience
for three performances.
and projects of business leaders,
while Microscopie took listeners
into the heart of great cities.
Music and culture were also covered
by: Musiques du Monde, Culture
vive, Signes particuliers and Sortir
dans le monde, a diary of major
cultural events. RFI also features key
European events. The daily Accents
d’Europe has been extended to new
Union member countries
and is the only such program
produced in association with desks
from other major European radios
such as the BBC, Deutsche Welle,
Radio Slovakia International
and Radio Romania International.
Carrefour de l’Europe is produced
directly from Brussels in partnership
with RTBF in Belgium.
European journalists posted
to the Belgian capital compare views
of current affairs across the Union.
Europe
in European languages
Across all its broadcasting languages,
RFI tries to make sense of Europe
for its worldwide listeners and
the world for its European listeners.
• Bulgarian: RFI broadcasts
in Bulgarian via its RFI Bulgarie
affiliate in Sofia.
• English: Africa is the priority
target. For the summer of 2007,
RFI plans to double its current
English-speaking programming.
• German: Franco-German
cooperation underpins
all German programs.
• Polish: programs are shared
between the website and radio
broadcasts for partners in Poland.
• Portuguese: the Portuguese desk
works in a localized manner
for services in Portugal, South
America and Africa. RFI will
for the first time offer a morning
program in Portuguese for Africans.
• Romanian: RFI Romania, backed
by the Paris and Bucharest desks has
boosted its international news output
and in the middle of the day offers
a live link-up program.
• Russian: the Russian desk
highlights news from former Soviet
countries and its implications
for Western Europe.
• Southern Slavic languages:
the Paris desk contributes
to the RFI programs in Belgrade,
focusing mainly on Europe.
• Spanish: a desk of 30 journalists
in constant contact with
correspondents produces programs
that are also relayed by partner radios
in Latin America. The editorial line
focuses on relations between South
America and Europe.
• Turkish: a French-Turkish site
will go online, treating news
mainly concerning Turkey’s future
membership of the European Union.
broadcasting
In Europe RFI has a network
of 30 FM relays.
As a new strategic location,
RFI has opened an affiliate
in the Balkans with a local
Belgrade-based press agency Beta.
It has been on the airwaves since
February 2007, and is the sole
international radio authorized
in this country.
RFI is also continuing talks
with Deutsche Welle to develop
service sharing in Europe.
group
activities
RFI affiliates
in Europe
● RFI Romania
Bucharest 93.5fm, Iasi 97.9fm,
Craiova 94fm, Cluj 91.7fm
RFI Romania in Bucharest is one
of RFI’s largest affiliates
with a staff of 40. It broadcasts
24/7 in Romanian and French
and mostly features local
news from the Bucharest desk.
International news comes from
the Paris, Romanian and French
desks. From midnight to dawn,
RFI Romania broadcasts in French
and there are further slots in the
morning, at noon and in the evening.
In 2006, RFI’s Romanian
affiliate extended its
FM frequencies, especially
in Cluj.
www.rfi.ro
● Europa Lisboa
Lisbon 90.4fm
Europa Lisboa has been an RFI
affiliate since 1996. It broadcasts
14 hours of locally produced
programs. A new programming
grid began in January 2006 with
the collaboration of RFI Portuguese
speakers. The station largely covers
European current affairs with a focus
on Portuguese news.
www. radioeuropa.fm
● RFI Deutschland
Leipzig 98.2fm, Dresden 91.1fm,
Chemnitz 88.9fm, Pirna 96.4fm
In partnership with the BBC, RFI
Deutschland broadcasts 16 and a half
hours of programs in English,
two hours in German and five
and a half hours of RFI productions
in French.
the Internet
Internet
16 million visits in 2006
from a European audience,
making 48% of the total RFI
portal traffic. These results
are up 35% compared
to 2005, and demonstrate
the growing interest
of European web surfers.
France accounts for a good
28% of this traffic,
but other European countries
are moving forward
at an encouraging pace.
● Aeriel Hongrie
Budapest 92.1fm
Aeriel Hungary broadcasts
12 hours in French from RFI
and 12 in English from the BBC.
● Beta RFI
Belgrade 107.9fm
RFI helped obtain a frequency
in Serbia to support the application
by the news agency Beta,
which was eventually chosen by
the Serbian Broadcasting Council.
The only international radio
in Belgrade, Beta RFI is a joint RFI
and Beta affiliate, recognized
for its independence and for
the quality of its production,
mainly focused on business
and European current affairs.
It broadcasts 12 hours in French
and 12 in Serbian. Broadcasts are
jointly produced by Beta and RFI’s
Southern Slavic languages desk.
www.betarfi.com
● RFI Bulgarie
Sofia 103.6fm
RFI created its first affiliate
in Bulgaria in 1995, broadcasting
programs in Bulgarian
from 7:00 to 19:00 and in French
from 19:00 to 7:00. From 2006,
RFI Bulgarie has introduced
a new program schedule focused
more on European current affairs.
www.rfi.bg
29
the Internet
This is a high growth
media in Latin America
that will substantially
boost RFI’s results:
a million visits
in 2006 or just 2%
of all RFI portal visits,
but up 45% over 2005.
RFI relays and take-ups
in Latin America
and the Caribbean
Latin
America
and the Caribbean
The World
service
languages and content
RFI broadcasts in French, Spanish
and Portuguese to Latin America
and the Caribbean. Alongside
the World service audio stream
in French, Spanish-speaking
broadcasts represent one
of the Group’s major assets.
Eight half hour broadcasts daily
are on offer comprising
a 10-minute news roundup
and a 20-minute news magazine.
broadcasting
FM relays
take-ups
on partner radios
●
●
Argentina: Buenos Aires
Bolivia: La Paz
Chile: Osorno
Dominican Republic:
Santo Domingo
Ecuador: Cuenca
French Guyana: Cayenne,
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
Haiti: Cap-Haïtien,
Port-au-Prince
Jamaica: Kingston
Peru: Arequipa
30
With 3.7 million listeners,
the Latin America-Caribbean
region is today the third largest
listener base with more than 8%
of RFI’s global audience after
Africa and the Middle East.
It is hard to expand the footprint
since SW is hardly used any longer
in this geography and the FM band
is saturated. RFI is therefore giving
priority to take-ups with local
radios while facilitating access
to Internet content.
However, in 2006 RFI managed
to set up a FM relay in Kingston
( Jamaica). Coverage will be
completed in 2007 with four
new relays in Haiti ( Jacmel, Les
Cayes, Jérémies and Gonaïves),
in association with the Alliance
française agencies in these towns.
RFI also opened its first relay
in Chile at Osorno. A further
relay is likely to open in Paraguay
at Asunción. In Spanish-speaking
countries and in Brazil,
the Group is growing through
take-up agreements. As a result,
by May 2007 RFI had ten FM
relays in Latin America and over
300 partner radios that diffused
its broadcasts.
group
activities
the Internet
Internet
Satellite and cable
are currently the most
effective broadcasting
media in North America,
but the widespread
diffusion of multimedia
in households provide
a platform that benefits
broadcasting RFI via
the Internet. As a result,
the Group clocked up
some 8 million visits
in 2006, an increase
of 48%.
The World
service
In a radio sector that prioritizes
theme-based radio stations
that incur exorbitant broadcasting
costs, RFI still suffers from a small
listener constituency in North
America. It is available on various
satellites and cable networks
and on FM in cities such as
New York and Washington.
language and content
In North America, RFI has to adapt
to different language communities.
In a highly closed market, RFI
has focused on French and Spanish
rather than English content.
An international news program
with an emphasis on African news
is broadcast for French speakers
North America
in New York (expatriates, Africans
and UN diplomats). The large
Spanish-speaking population
receives news from South America
via Spanish language programs.
RFI also broadcasts programs
in Chinese, Persian and Vietnamese,
taken up by certain community radios
targeting the many expatriates on the
West Coast of the United States.
is available to the Spanish-speaking
population in the U.S. federal capital.
In Canada, an agreement with Radio
Canada enables RFI to broadcast
a 10-minute roundup in French
and two weekly magazines right
across Canada. Audience figures
are particularly encouraging in
this country, largely due to the size
of the French-speaking population.
broadcasting
In addition to cable and satellite,
RFI rents airtime on FM radios
in Boston and New York
to broadcast its programs in French.
Its foreign language broadcasts
are also taken up by partner radios.
In Washington for example, RFI
31
The World
service
RFI relays
in Asia-Pacific
Cambodia: Phnom Penh,
Siem Reap,
Battambang,
Kompong Cham,
Sihanoukville
Fiji: Suva
Vanuatu: Port-Vila
Laos: Vientiane
32
Asia-Pacific
Asia offers a major challenge
for the development of our Group.
As the world’s largest continent, Asia
stands at the heart of globalization
and the new order of commercial
and cultural exchanges.
China especially plays the role
of pivot country. For RFI as for other
international media penetrating Asia
is a slow and difficult process mainly
due to the extreme political
and linguistic diversity. RFI’s
audience in this geography totals
about 2 million listeners (GEDA
estimate). In South-East Asia, France
has kept up its historical ties
with the Francophile countries
of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
RFI continues to protect
this relationship through
its Vietnamese, Cambodian
and Laotian desks. The RFI French
service also devotes a number
of special programs to Asia.
many languages
• China:
RFI is dedicated to providing
non-partisan, independent news
in Chinese. Launched in 2006,
the Mandarin website is growing
steadily and attracts considerable
interest from web surfers. Radio
programs in Chinese have been
expanded with two additional
hours of non-stop morning news,
bringing programming up to a total
of three hours. By broadening
its network of correspondents, RFI
is able to better combine local focus
with a window on the world.
• Cambodia:
RFI is the only international radio
that has for the last two years
broadcast a program in Khmer
on FM. This “regional”
and international broadcast
group
activities
addresses the Cambodian diaspora
around the world via the Internet.
• Laos:
The editorial desks have updated
the program content and there
is a plan to set up a website
for Laotians around the world.
• Vietnam:
A website for the various
Vietnamese communities
scattered around the world
is under development.
• South-West Asia:
In English, the common language
of the Indian subcontinent,
RFI produces a daily news
broadcast of an hour targeting
South-West Asia.
broadcasting
In East Asia, RFI broadcasts
on SW and MW via its two
transmitters in China and Japan.
RFI also broadcasts the best relays
by satellite, the web and DAB
to the whole Asian continent.
There are only limited
opportunities for setting up FM
relays and building partnerships
with other radios.
One exception, however, is Taiwan
where RFI is broadcast as part of a
satellite package through
a partnership with a university radio.
In Laos, RFI broadcasts on FM
in Vientiane. In Cambodia, five FM
the Internet
Asia is growing into
a major site contributor,
with a total
of 3.5 million visits
in 2006 from this
continent,
a substantial increase
of over 40%.
At the same time,
the RFI website
is proving genuinely
attractive to web
surfers seeking news
about Asia. Among
the most-visited foreign
language pages,
Chinese is in the lead
with a third of all visits,
followed by Vietnamese,
Persian and Cambodian
ahead of English
and Spanish.
relays enable us to broadcast RFI
programs in French and Khmer,
which are taken up by the Radio
des femmes NGO.
In the Pacific, we only have two
relays, one in Vanuatu thanks
to a technical partnership
with Radio Australia and one
in Suva (Fiji). We also have
take-ups in Australia.
We are currently negotiating
with the CSA to cover
the future of Nouvelle-Calédonie.
33
A new business entity:
the Multimedia service
At the end of 2006, RFI created
a Multimedia service alongside
the World and Africa services
to tailor its products to new
global challenges and consolidate
its positions on the growing
international playing field.
The Internet today is part
and parcel of the advent
of the global village
and the globalization
of information, and is developing
increasingly fast both in terms
of infrastructure and content.
Noëlle Velly has been appointed
to head this key business activity
for the future of our Group.
RFI enjoys a number of advantages
for successfully negotiating the shift
to multimedia, including expertise
in international current affairs,
a deep knowledge of Africa
and the Middle East, a multilingual
stance, editorial independence,
credibility, reactivity (radio being
the media closest to the real time
34
experience of the Internet)
as well as ten years’ experience
in publishing content
and developing tools for its website.
Our target is to “multimediate”
our current production, enabling
us to broadcast not only by radio
but also on the Internet, and via
mobiles and podcasts.
The multimedia editorial team
is working on enriching content,
with more hot news in French,
more news in foreign languages,
and more interactivity and services
to the public with new themes
(culture, sciences, sports
and France) while at the same time
exploring new broadcasting streams
such as podcasts, newsletters, RSS
flows and mobile phones.)
permanent optimization
With over ten years experience
on the web, RFI decided to create
a portal in 2005 offering
an interactive showcase for all
Group activities and addressing
the special needs and demands
of listeners. The site’s key web
radio service has in this way been
enriched with a mosaic of easily
accessible content for web surfers,
together with thirty or so satellite
sites in twenty languages, containing tens of thousands of pages
and thousands of hours of online
broadcasts.
The December 2005 version
of the site was designed to boost
the readability of the content
on offer while making it easier
to manage and publish this content
internally. Key improvements
included the presentation of news,
now just one click away.
Navigation is organized around
four main activities that reflect
the Group’s mission
and positioning: radio, current
affairs, music and the French
language.
RFI’s international coverage
is illustrated by a universal time
clock module. Among other useful
features is the Get RFI bookmark
that houses new on-line
communication tools introduced
group
activities
Multimedia service
rolling out technologies
and content
by the Group. Radio surfers can
access RSS and podcasts as well
as direct access to radio.
The next development priority
is to simplify and speed
up the publication of articles
and audio and video content.
theme sites
In addition to audio broadcasting,
rfi.fr offers a broad range of other
content. On its portal, RFI
has developed a number of online
theme sites that echo or extend its
know-how, including news
in French and foreign languages,
African football, music, teaching
French, and international training.
Once again this year, our web site
has accelerated original
production, and focused
on diversifying its content.
We are one of the only web-based
mass media in France to feature
all our articles online
for consultation.
This enables web surfers to use
the database of over six years’
content to shed light on or deepen
their knowledge about a current
affairs topic or theme.
● RFI Musique
More than 7 million pages visited
each year and over 4 million unique
visits make rfimusique.com
the leading site for news about
Francophone music. The site
also features a newsletter
and a RSS stream. A staff of thirty
keeps abreast of the world’s music
from rap in Dakar and variety
in Beirut to rock in India
and electro in Japan. RFI Musique
provides a constantly updated
database of more than 380 artists,
with discographies, biographies,
and concert agendas. News about
the world of music comes
in the form of special reports,
new talents, and discussions
of new albums. The audience
is growing steadily and participates
in the RFI’s audience dynamic
on the Internet.
● RFI Actualité
This is a 7 days a week current
affairs site based on international
news that hits the headlines on
the radio, backed by analysis aids
(photos, maps, visuals, audio interviews and themed archives). A staff
of around twenty in Paris process
this information with the support
of the network of RFI radio
journalists and correspondents.
Besides RFI News, Africa football
which was created for the African
Cup of Nations 2006, broadcasts
real time news about African
football as well as about star
African performers playing
in Europe’s best clubs.
● RFI in French,
promotion and illustration
of the French language
RFI is a major contributor
to the learning and teaching
of French around the world,
35
www.rfi.fr, a dynamic portal
expanding audiences
In 2006, driven by technology upgrades and new content,
there was yet another global rise in site visits for RFI. These sites
collectively generated 33 million visits and over 77 million pages
viewed, continuing their growth compared to 2005.
● RFI traffic volume
in total visits for the year (source: Xiti)
VISITS 2006
2005
Variation
TOTAL
33 143 700
23 306 000
+42%
Africa
Europe
France:
Asia
Latin America
North America
Near and Middle East Pacific
4,442,200 15,914,500
9,405,600
2,983,700
942,100
7,487,300
497,800
228,600
(13%)
(48%)
(28%)
(9%)
(3%)
(23%)
(1%)
(1%)
2,587,000 11,760,000
7,112,000
2,041,431
648,000
5 055,000
400,000
292,000
(11%)
(50%)
(30%)
(9%)
(3%)
(22%)
(2%)
(2%)
+72%
+35%
+76%
+46%
+45%
+48%
+24%
-21%
647,500
(2%)
922,000
(4%)
-30%
Undetermined origin-AOL ● Traffic geographies for RFI Group
in total visits for the year (source: Xiti)
Asia 10%
(including Near and Middle East)
Europe 48%
23% North America
1% Pacific
3% Latin America
+ undetermined origin-AOL 2%
13% Africa
● breakdown of traffic per portal site in 2006
(source: Xiti)
News 19%
music 12%
31% portal
radio 11%
36
4% MC Doualiya
3% French language
10% foreign languages
group
activities
and now features a newly
renovated site for students, teachers
and lovers of the French language
worldwide. This easy-to-access site
is organized into two spaces:
• The Learning space is designed
for everyone who does not yet speak
French, offering online courses
in the bilingual version of their
choice. A comprehensive ‘Understanding the news’ function gives à la
carte listening to easy French, with
the transcription of the exercises.
• The Teaching space provides
thousands of French teachers
around the world with oral
teaching tools and multimedia
documentation. The rfi.fr French
language site is one of the most
visited with five million pages
viewed and nearly two million
web surfers.
● RFI in foreign languages
Like RFI radio, the site offers
content in the Group’s
19 broadcasting languages.
● the RFI Group
The media can access all press
releases, logos, photos and other
institutional information on RFI.
RFI events can be accessed
via special mini-sites.
● RFI competitions
RFI puts all information
about its prizes online: rules,
registration, contact information
of directors and organizers, etc.
● the RFI talent+
professional service,
international training
Aimed at all our partners
and at radio professionals,
this site offers support
for the organization,
improvement and training
of journalists and production
and technical staff. Requests for
professional training from foreign
radios, whether or not they are RFI
partners is growing constantly,
and the service is developing
portfolios for Latin America,
the Near and Middle East
and Africa in particular.
web radio
Audio broadcasting over
the Internet completes
the range of radio products
on offer in industrialized
regions or in regions where
it is hard to obtain a relay.
Web surfers benefit
from on-demand access
to news and other programs
together with information
about these programs.
The ‘Get RFI’ feature gives
access to over 100 radios
programs from RFI’s daily
output worldwide. Each RFI
broadcast has its own minisite, with listening access
to the latest five editions.
In all, over a hundred pages
are updated daily to offer
these programs, some
of them as podcasts.
● MFI audio
and print press agency
MFI (Médias France Intercontinents)
is the Group’s media agency
which supplies audio and written
data, to a vast international network
of publics and private media,
and to a large number of publicinterest radios in France
and abroad. MFI has become
the reference agency for questions
about Francophony and cultural
diversity. It has developed a large
production base (in French
and English) of editorial content
and theme-based supplements
which are broadcast at major
international meetings
(specialized conferences,
Francophony congresses,
Franco-African summits).
The Médias France
Intercontinents on-line press
business supplies some 300 users
each year with over a thousand
articles and information
backgrounders, mainly
to French-speaking media.
● the RFI
programs bank
This supplies partner radios
with turnkey radio programs
that are available online: audio
magazine programs, special
reports, discographies, etc.
in French, English and Spanish.
37
group
values
group
values
relaying
cultures
As a community-making media,
RFI has a vocation to discover,
promote, train and bring together
new talent. In addition to informing
people, RFI works daily to support
artistic creation and performing
artists. The group has initiated
a large number of cultural actions
to encourage performers and talents
from all over the world.
The overall aim is to discover them
and give them an audience beyond
the borders of their countries.
This is our way of participating
actively in the dialogue between
cultures.
● RFI Danse Prize
and either natives or residents
of Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian
Territories, Syria and Tunisia.
This award emerged
from a partnership
with the European Union
in the MEDA program.
This first prize went to the Syrian
duet Lena Chamamyan
and her trumpet player Basel
Rajoub, who combine great jazz
talent with traditional Oriental
music. 1
Created in 1997.
The RFI Danse Prize offers
an international stage to the winners
– young contemporary dance talents
from Africa and the Indian Ocean.
It is awarded as part of
the Rencontres chorégraphiques
de l’Afrique et de l’océan Indien.
RFI is partnered by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the Agence
internationale de la francophonie
and UNESCO.
The 2006 prizewinner was
the Li-Sangha company
of the choreographer Orchy
Nzaba (Congo) who was able
to perform in a tour taking
in France, Italy, Germany, Finland,
Spain, the Netherlands, Poland
and Brazil. 3
● RFI Découvertes Prize
Created in 1981.
In 2006, RFI and its Arabicspeaking affiliate Monte Carlo
Doualiya created a new prize
for music. RFI’s eight prizes each
year reward outstanding
performances in journalism,
literature, dance, music,
the Internet, film
and teaching French.
RFI prizes
● Monte Carlo Doualiya
Musique Prize
Created in 2006.
Monte Carlo Doualiya created
this prize in 2006 to promote new
talents in Mediterranean countries
and encourage the development
of their careers.
The prize is open to young musical
performers or groups aged under 25
The RFI Découvertes Prize
is designed to promote young
musical performers from
the Southern Hemisphere.
For 25 years it has rewarded
a performer or group from Africa,
the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean.
Awarded in partnership
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
the Agence internationale
de la francophonie
and the SACEM, it delivers decisive
support to the performers
and groups in the development
of their vocation in recorded and live
music. Twenty-five prizes have been
won by musicians who have now
embarked on international careers.
The 2006 winner was Bélo,
a young singer-song writer
from Haiti, who accompanied
himself on the guitar
in a ragga/soul mix. 2
● RFI
Témoin du Monde Prize
Created in 1997.
This prize rewards a personal
account or work of fiction that
sheds light on a burning topic
in the news or the world
3
41
4
5
● RFI Net Afrique Prize
Created in 2000.
6
This prize is intended to encourage
the most promising designer or most
innovative multimedia web site
that contributes to the development
of Africa. RFI organizes
it in partnership with the Agence
internationale de la francophonie
and the UNESCO International
Fund for the Promotion of Culture.
2006 prizewinner was the site
www.riddac.org by the young
Cameroon designer
François Ossama. 5
● RFI/RSF Reporting Prize
(Reporters sans frontières)
Created in 2001.
8
7
of culture. The jury is made up
of journalists and writers.
The 2006 winner was Abdulrazak
Gurnah for his By the Sea
(Editions Galaade for the French
version). Born in Zanzibar,
on the eastern coast of Africa
and author of six novels, Abdulrazak
Gurnah lives in Brighton where he
teaches literature at the University
of Kent. 4
42
This prize is open to African
and Indian Ocean professional
journalists, and rewards the best
current affairs report in : written
press, radio, press cartoon
and photograph. In 2006, the Jean
Hélène radio prize went to Hélène
Ndzana Fouda, a Cameroon
journalist, for her report
on The Bip, a new habit derived
from mobile phones, while
the written press prize went
to a journalist from Mauritius
- Nad Sivaramen – for his article
entitled The fears of the rickshaw
pullers. The country of Benin
received the cartoon prize
for Constant Tonakpa as well as
the photography prize which went
to the photojournalist
Yves Parfait Koffi. 6
● RFI Cinéma du public Prize
Created in 2001.
This award goes to an African
feature film on the basis of votes
from viewers at the FESPACO,
providing financial support
for a DVD version and a showing
on France’s cultural networks
around the world. RFI is partnered
by the FESPACO and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs. The 2007 winner
was the Guinean filmmaker Cheick
Fantamady Camara for his film
It’s going to rain over Conakry. 7
● RFI
le Monde en français Prize
Created in 2004.
This competition encourages
initiatives that combine learning
with listening to RFI. It invites
French teachers around the world
to build reaching modules
on the basis of RFI programs
to help learners improve their
comprehension of spoken French
and to introduce them to radio talk.
The prize is organized by RFI
in partnership with International
Federation of French Teachers,
the review Le Français
dans le monde, CLE international
publishing house, the Accord school
in Paris, the CLEMI, AUF
and ADIFLOR. The 2006 prize
went to a Vietnamese winner
Quynh Huong Do, a French teacher
at the Hanoi cultural center. 8
group
values
RFI joint publications
multiple
partnerships
RFI supports and enhances
with its image some
200 events a year on all
five continents, relaying
information about them
on its airwaves through
news slots, reports and live
broadcasts. The year 2006
was rich in events for RFI
concerning Francophony
(francophonies en France),
sports venues such as
the African Nations Cup,
the Winter Olympics in Turin,
the Football World Cup
in Germany, the European
Athletics Championships
in Gothenburg, the African
Athletics Championships
in Mauritius, and the Cycling
Tour of Senegal; concerts
such as the Nuits
du Ramadan at the Cabaret
Sauvage in Paris; exhibitions
such as the Biennale
des Arts in Dakar,
the opening of the Musée
des Arts déco in Paris,
and the SIAO ( International
Crafts Show in
Ouagadougou); conferences
such as the World Social
Forum held simultaneously
in Venezuela, Pakistan
and Mali; and festivals
such as the International
Festival of Nomadic Music
in Nouakchott, the Paris
Book Show, the Cannes Film
Festival, the Festival
of Sacred Music in Fez
and the Gnaoua and World
Music Festival
in Essaouira both
in Morocco, the Festival
d’Avignon,
the Pan African Music
Festival in Brazzaville,
and the literary festival
of the Étonnants Voyageurs
in Bamako.
To understand the world, particularly
Africa, and share its values and wealth,
RFI has developed a series of joint
publications, either print or CD, that
enhance and leverage its radio heritage.
● compact discs
• Afrique, une histoire sonore
(1960-2000)
Elikia Mbokolo, historian
and Philippe Sainteny,
an RFI journalist.
A 7 CD box offering
an outstanding survey
of the political history of Africa.
Frémeaux associés / RFI.
• Abdou Diouf
Interviews with Philippe Sainteny.
A 3 CD box.
• Léopold Sédar Senghor
Historic recordings
with Philippe Sainteny.
• AfricaVision
The best original soundtracks
of African films (directed by
Catherine Ruelle), 3 volumes.
Buda / Universal / RFI.
● books
• Les 100 clés de l’Afrique
A guide for both general readers
and specialists.
Philippe Leymarie and Thierry
Perret in collaboration with MFI.
Hachette Littératures / RFI.
• Commerce inéquitable, le roman noir
des matières premières
The black book of the trade
in raw materials. Translated into
Italian, Japanese, and German.
Jean-Pierre Boris, RFI journalist.
Hachette Littératures / RFI.
• L’Africaine blanche,
une éducatrice en Afrique
François-Xavier Freland.
Autrement / RFI.
• L’Atlas mondial de la francophonie
A full panorama of Francophony
today. Ariane Poissonnier, RFI
journalist and Gérard Sournia,
geographer.
Autrement / RFI.
• Sony Labou Tansi
Unpublished words, in homage
of the late Congolese writer
revealed by RFI.
Editions théâtrales / RFI.
43
sharing
skills
RFI honors
the victims
of slavery
RFI is dedicated to transmitting to others its skills
in journalism and radio work, and supporting
the learning and promotion of the French language.
By creating the Film
Festival on “Looking at
slavery,” RFI provided a
meaningful contribution to
Commemoration Day
for the abolition of the slave
trade on May 10. In an act
of remembrance to make
the history of slavery better
known and to support
the fight against modernday slavery, RFI offered
the general public five days
in a row of feature films
and documentaries,
as well as testimonies
and discussions
with authors, directors
and historians, anchored
by Catherine Ruelle.
The obvious interest
in this festival has prompted
RFI to repeat this festival
each year and work on
developing the event
in African capitals.
RFI at the service
of the French language
As the leading international French
language radio, RFI pays special
attention to promoting the learning
of French. Rather than just talking
about French on its airwaves,
it also teaches it.
● on RFI in French,
promoting and illustrating
the French language
RFI features daily programs
for keeping in touch with French
- Le Journal en français facile
(news in simple French)
for an easier understanding
of current affairs. This is a genuine
news broadcast using simple words
to explain events and their context.
With La Danse des mots, listeners
can read about the words
of the world with specialists
and personalities from the arts,
literature and public life,
in partnership with the CNDP.
This drive to promote French
language and culture also includes
entertainment such as La Bande
passante with personalities
from the French and Francophone
music scene, Tu connais la chanson,
and Entre les lignes,
with Francophone writers
discussing an issue.
group
values
● on RFI in foreign
languages
Dozens of starter and improvement
courses on the French language
are produced each year
and broadcast in fifteen bilingual
versions. In 2006, five projects
including cultural operations
initiated by Monte Carlo Doualiya
and training sessions from RFI
talent+ benefited from European
Commission support. Mission
Europe, a series on learning French,
German and Polish produced
in association with RFI, Deutsche
Welle and Polskie Radio
were broadcast in 2006 and 2007.
In 2006, two Euromed programs,
Rivages and D’une rive à l’autre
were produced by RFI
and its Arab-speaking affiliate
Monte Carlo Doualiya
with the support of the European
Commission in Lebanon.
cooperation and training
RFI also shares with its partners
worldwide its skills in teaching via
the radio. Bilingual French courses
are diffused by over a hundred
radios. Some are translated
into other languages, jointly
produced with national radios,
and others provide content
that is repurposed for publishing
(Hachette and CLE International).
The bilingual series of starting
and improving French
can be adapted to the listener’s
language for foreign radios.
And the RFI Le Monde en français
Prize invites French teachers
to present a learning project using
radio in the classroom.
RFI talent+
at the service
of professional
training
RFI talent+ teaches
radio techniques such as
journalism, technical work,
research, and website
development to professionals
worldwide. Requests come
today from all geographies
and professional
constituencies. There has
been significant growth
in collaboration with large
media groups
and development aid
organizations. Al Jazeera in
Qatar, the Ecomédia group
in Morocco, and NGOs such
as Développement et Paix
and Search for Common
Ground have all called on RFI
talent+. Today, RFI talent+’
skills speak the 20 languages
used in RFI broadcasts,
and most frequently
in French, English, Spanish,
Portuguese, Persian
and Arabic. The teaching
is usually done in workshops
either on site or in Paris
and generally involves six
people per trainer.
New courses are developed
each year to meet global
or local developments,
including Preparing
to cover elections, Improving
balanced news coverage
in a crisis zone and a Radio
design module.
These are offered alongside
classics such as Radio press
roundup, Running round
tables and debates, Health
journalism, Sports journalism
and Service roll-out modules
for new radios. RFI talent+
has so far trained more than
three thousand people
on five continents.
Since the launch of RFI
talent+, a set of new
partnerships have been
signed with OIF, UNESCO,
the Council of Europe,
CIRTEF, the Ford Foundation,
the Wildlife Conservation
Society, the Fondation
Hirondelle and the COPEAM
(in partnership with Radio
France). Training can also
take the form of e-learning
units from our website,
available in English, Spanish
and Arabic.
45
acting locally
the ombudsman
RFI was one of the first mass
media to appoint an ombudsman
an experienced journalist
who listens carefully to listeners’
questions, claims and criticisms.
He acts as the necessary interface
when there are disagreements about
the editorial line. Loïc Hervouet,
a journalist and former Director
of the ESJ ( Journalism School)
in Lille, has been responsible
for this since 2006.
RFI clubs
For the last ten years, nearly
80,000 listeners around
the world and especially
in Africa have become members
of RFI clubs. They identify
with the values of their favorite
radio and act as ambassadors
by organizing promotional
and development activities
in the area where they live
and work. The weekly
Le Club RFI magazine program
is dedicated to them. RFI is
committed to bringing these
clubs together and putting
them in contact. After creating
the federation of clubs in West
Africa in Ouagadougou, and then
arranging a meeting between
the presidents of the Central
Africa clubs in Douala
and a listeners’ get-together
in Bamako, the Nouakchott club
was created in Mauritania
in 2006. And in 2007, a Friends
of RFI in Paris Club is due
to start up soon.
46
in action in the field
RFI regularly sets up its studio
in the heart of events from where
it broadcasts public programs, news
items or magazine programs.
These encounters enable anchors
and journalists to keep contact
with listeners in the field and meet
those who listen to them on a daily
basis. In May 2007, a partnership
agreement was signed between
the Ministry of Foreign
and European Affairs and RFI
to encourage the broadcasting
of information to the French
population abroad before,
during and after a emergency
(accidents, disasters, natural
catastrophes, attacks, political
crises, etc.).
This partnership makes it possible
for the Ministry of Foreign
and European Affairs to broadcast
information messages and alerts
via the RFI network abroad
to French nationals.
Recent crises have shown how
important this sort of system
can be for keeping our citizens
informed in the most effective way.
listener relays
The Listener Relations
department provides a highly active
link between RFI and its audience.
Pêle-M@ils, a weekly internal
newsletter, reports on RFI listeners’
reactions, remarks, criticisms
and suggestions which are then
forwarded to the various divisions.
There are a growing number
of contacts with the public, with
emails to RFI rising from 190,000
in 2005 to 210,000 in 2006.
Almost half of these come
from African listeners, followed
by Europe, North America
and the Maghreb.
they provide responses and ideas
that are useful for RFI’s development
and audience strategy. These panelists
come from all continents,
and are mostly French speaking,
though 52% speak English
and 11% Spanish.
web surfer panels
The Research Division has built up
a panel of 30,000 web surfers around
the world. Through spot polls,
47
group
organization
status
and charter
status
Initially, RFI was part
of the ORTF and then from 1974,
of Radio France. RFI became
an independent enterprise in 1982,
and then a national company
producing its own programs
in 1986. It has a modified joint
stock company status, since
the Government is the sole
shareholder and wholly owns
the company’s equity. It also uses
a special process for appointing
its president. RFI is a public radio
that broadcasts in French
and 19 foreign languages.
missions
The Law of August 2000 defines
the missions of Radio France
Internationale. The company
is responsible for contributing
to the dissemination of French culture
by programming sound radio
broadcasts in French and other
languages to foreign listeners
and French citizens living abroad.
Its principle duty is to deliver news
of French and international events.
RFI ensures that opinions
expressed are non-partisan,
and commits to providing news
that is honest, independent,
and multi-viewpoint.
The company’s financial resources
come from the public purse. RFI’s
editorial independence
is protected by the Law.
In addition to its role in appointing
the company’s president and four
50
members of the board of directors,
the French Higher Broadcasting
Council (CSA) makes sure
that RFI complies with legislative
and regulatory standards affecting
it in the same way as other French
public broadcasting organizations,
especially with respect to advertising
and the organization of electoral
campaigns. The editorial line
is defined under the president’s
authority by the news division
which is uniquely responsible
for implementing it.
the ethics charter
In June 1999, RFI was provided
with an ethics charter that ensures
editorial independence and sets out
the rules applicable to the job
of being a journalist. This charter
covers not only journalists but all
employees that are directly
or indirectly responsible
for the editorial line applied
to news, programs
and magazines, or technically
responsible for producing
and broadcasting them.
Freedom and responsibility
are the twin foundations of staff
commitment to defending
the values of the profession:
● respect for factual truth;
● respect for those of whom
and to whom one speaks;
● respect for the job.
In addition to freedom
and responsibility, trust drives
the fundamental relationship between
a media and its public.
Newsgathering, difficult and partial
though it may be, implies trust in
everyone that the public itself trusts.
group
organization
human
resources
personnel
RFI has 1,013 employees
in different jobs and from varied
backgrounds: journalists, producers,
technicians, and administrative staff,
most of whom are tenured.
Among the 835 tenured staff,
386 are journalists and 449 technical
and administrative staff.
Another 586 journalists
and correspondents around
the world are among the company’s
part-time employees.
The RFI Group regularly used
freelancers as national
or international correspondents.
In 2006, the full time equivalence
of non-tenured freelancers reached
a monthly average of 40.3.
At 31 December 2006, RFI
was also employing 170 part-time
staff. Gender equality has been
respected since 46.7% of employees
are women.
The Group’s human resources cover
47 nationalities.
● hires
and departures in 2006
pay policy
(in full time equivalents)
• number of employees
hired with tenure: 62
• number of employees
hired without tenure: 437
• number of departures: 27
Pay is reviewed each year
in the context of mandatory
negotiations, using a system
that combines collective
and individual pay rises pegged
to employee performance.
Moreover, the minimum wage
scales applied within the RFI
Group (not based on branch
agreements) are also reviewed
annually as part of these same
negotiations.
(for the entire Group
112 employees
156 management category
246 management
46 executives
453 journalists
1013 total
works council
RFI has a Works Council
comprising a supervisory committee
and staff delegates. Since June 2007,
the mandate for the Works Council
and staff delegates has been
set at three years.
The Council met fifteen times
during 2006-2007 period.
● breakdown
by type of work contract
835 employees with tenure
178 employee without tenure
1013 total
● company benefit scheme
The Works Council had a budget
in 2006 of €702,000 for company
benefits.
● Breakdown of permanent
journalists and freelancers
professional training
355 news in French
48 Internet, MFI,
recorded programs
351 news in foreign languages
754 total
A budget of €1.2 million
was devoted to training in 2006.
685 employees benefited
from this for a total of 1,928 days.
51
the 2006 accounts: a controlled budget
● operating charges
under control
Breakdown
of operating charges
on the 2006
income statement
52.8% personnel charges
3.3% taxes and similar payments
36.1% third party consumption
4.7% depreciation allowance
and provisions
3.1% other charges
Despite the stability
of the operating income,
the 2006 income statement
is close to that posted in 2005
(- €864,000 compared to
- €777,000 in 2005). This is due
to careful control over operating charges, which only rose by
€35,000 compared to 2005. Staff
expenses, which have regularly
increased as a share of overall RFI
charges, totaled more than
50% three years ago,
and in 2006 accounted for
53% of operating charges.
This is due to combined effects
of payroll increases, even if they
are now under control (some
4% in recent years, despite
the impact in 2006 of the integration
of non-tenured staff ), the lower
increase in other operating
charges, and above all
the substantial reduction
in the relative share and actual
amount of broadcasting expenses.
52
● an exceptional item:
the renegotiation
of the TDF contract
At the start of the year, RFI
renegotiated its short-wave
broadcasting contract with TDF.
This amendment was signed in July
2006 and had a number of effects
on the 2006 accounts. It cut down
the €5.3 million bill for the year
and will lead to around €0.5 million
in further cuts in the years up to
2011. In all, this will create savings
of over €45 million in SW fees
between 2006 and 2011.
The amendment also provides
for the partial write-off of RFI’s
financial debt to the tune of
€10.9 million (out of a total of
€16.5 million) generating
an exceptional loss of the same
amount for the year. The posting
of this exceptional item therefore
explains the net deficit for the year.
This exceptional loss, together
with the renewed negative
carry-over of nearly €5.2 million, led
at 31 December 2006 to a situation
of negative equity (-€7.04 million)
requiring the company’s capital
to be rebuilt within the time frames
provided for by the law.
group
organization
RFI, a brief history
1931
Birth of Le Poste Colonial
for French people in the colonies,
broadcasting in French
and English.
1938
Le Poste Colonial becomes Paris
Mondial and broadcasts in thirty
languages.
radio cooperation between France
and its former African colonies.
1969
The ORTF absorbs the OCORA
and foreign broadcasts
under the DAEC designation.
1972
1939-1945
RMC Moyen Orient starts
broadcasting to the Arabic
speaking world in the Middle East.
Battle of the airwaves between
Vichy and London.
1974
1982-1986
RFI gains relative and finally
total independence from Radio
France, and foreign language
broadcasts return gradually
in line with global crises.
1989
RFI sets up its first FM relays
in Africa and Paris and continues
to develop new foreign
language desks.
1996
1954
The ORTF is broken up
and Radio France created.
Broadcasting abroad restarts
on SW and in several languages.
1975
1948-1956
Creation of Radio France
Internationale, a Radio France
division for Africa.
RFI adopts an all-news
approach to radio
and embraces new
technologies such as digital,
cable, satellite, and the Internet.
RMC Moyen Orient joins RFI.
1977
2006
Creation of the RFI Eastern network,
broadcasting to Central and Eastern
Europe while the Southern Network
broadcasts to Africa.
RFI, the world’s largest
FM network. Creation of World,
Africa, and Multimedia services.
Cold War, development
of broadcasts to Eastern Europe as
well as Africa.
1962
As countries gained their
independence, the OCORA controls
RFI CONTACTS
116, avenue du President-Kennedy
75762 Paris Cedex 16
tel.: +33 1 56 40 12 12 — fax: +33 1 56 40 44 71
to send an email, use [email protected]
web: www.rfi.fr
Communication Division: André Sarfati
Coordination: Laurence Leday and Aude Villainne
Editorial: Michèle Lourdelle
Art Design: Harold Peiffer
Photos: Christophe Abramowitz, Laurence Leday,
Carine Frenk, Jean-Marc Munier, Sébastien Bonijol,
Annie Cicatelli, Fabrice Revault, Valérie Passelegue,
Denis Chastel, Eric Bouillon, Vincent Garrigues,
Pauline Driard, Mathieu Fischer, Daniel Gros, Christian
Sotty, Richard Paoli, Vincent Mercier, RFI Bulgarie.
Impression : Publicep, Montpellier,
www.svi-publicep.fr.
116, avenue du President-Kennedy — 75762 Paris Cedex 16
tel.: +33 1 56 40 12 12 — fax: +33 1 56 40 44 71

radio france internationale

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