Acceso usuarios
Jordi Alvinyà i Rovira
The presence of Catalan in the audiovisual market is still an unresolved issue. The dictatorships of the 20th century in Spain have been a great obstacle for the development of Catalan in the audiovisual sector. Only in 1975 did it become possible to undertake a Catalan audiovisual project on a mass scale; the presence of Catalan under the Franco regime in radio, movies and television was extremely marginal.
Radio was the first sector to introduce programming in Catalan (Ràdio 4 in 1976). Technical improvements and the widespread use of Frecuency Modulation programming stimulated a veritable boom in municipal radio stations. In 1983, the creation of the Catalan Radio and Television Corporation paved the way for television production (tv3, Canal 33). The area of moviemaking also saw the production of films of great importance (La ciutat cremada [The Burnt City]; Companys, procés a Catalunya [Companys, Catalonia on Trial]).
The present-day situation is stable, but insufficient. Catalan-language radio has consolidated its position. Private stations currently broadcast 71% of their programming in Catalan (the figure was only 27% in 1996) thanks to the new legislation. Television manages to compete with the tremendous supply of Spanish-language programming. Film is still an unresolved issue: home-grown productions and dubbing into Catalan are minimal.
The future presents challenges and dangers. The Internet and new technologies offer new possibilities in which language ceases to be an obstacle, but globalization can also mean that the smallest cultures get marginalized. Catalan regional government and the political parties must defend the interests of Catalonia visà vis the State, the European Union and the international community. Civil society must demonstrate that the Catalan cultural and economic market is a reality; to achieve this, consensus is essential.
