What lies behind Karhi's radical broadcasting bill?

The Kan public broadcaster has joined forces with Israel’s 2 main commercial TV channels,  12 and  13, to campaign against the bill being promoted by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to overhaul the country’s media market. “Implementation of this destructive plan, which includes government supervision and censorship of news as is customary in dictatorships, will lead to serious harm to Israeli democracy, freedom of expression and journalism in Israel,” a joint  statement by the broadcasters read.  Karhi’s plans include closing  the Second Authority for Television and Radio and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council. In its place, a single, nine-member regulatory panel will be set up ,chosen mostly by politicians. KAN's Mark Weiss spoke about Karhi's bill with Dr Tehilla Schwartz  Altshuler,  a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and head of the institute's Media Reform Program.