【B1】 [br] 【B10】 [originaltext] It is not easy to talk about the role of the

It is not easy to talk about the role of the mass media in this overwhelmingly significant phase in European history. History and news become confused , and one’s impressions tend to be a mixture of skepticism and optimism . Television is one of the means by which these feelings are created and conveyed-and perhaps never before has it served so much to connect different peoples and nations as in the recent events in Europe. The Europe that is now forming cannot be anything other than its peoples, their cultures and national identities. With this in mind we can begin to analyze the European television scene. In Europe, as elsewhere multi-media groups have been increasingly successful groups which bring together television, radio, newspapers, magazines and publishing houses that work in relation to one another.
      Clearly, only the biggest and most flexible televi-sion companies are able to compete completely in such a hotly-contested market .This alone demonstrates that the television business is not an easy world to survive in a fact underlined by statistics that show that out of eighty European television networks no less than 50% took a loss in 1989. Moreover, the integration of the European communi-ty will oblige television companies to cooperate more closely in both production and distribution .
      Creating a "European identity" that respects the different cultures and traditions which go to make up the connecting fabric of the Old continent is no easy task and demands a strategic choice-that of producing programs in Europe for Europe. This entails reducing our dependence on the North American market，whose programs relate to experiences and cultural traditions which are different from our own.