Time was when European tellies teemed with series and singers from other European nations. Nowadays, laments historian/journalist Nils Minkmar, even as European borders open up, European mindsets are narrowing.

Those who grew up on standard TV fare in Germany knew Prague from Pan Tau, Yorkshire from All Creatures Great and Small, and the short hot summers on Småland from the Pippi Longstocking shows. Variety, talk and game shows used to take pride in having guests “from abroad”, who were effusively hailed as “world stars” if they’d ever sung at, say, the jazzfest in Montreux, Switzerland. Show hosts who, whilst descending the staircase on stage, were capable of welcoming the audience in several languages were considered pretty chic. Nowadays even a good command of standard German seems to be a career obstacle for many a compatriot.

For decades popular music shows considered it de rigueur to demonstrate a certain cosmopolitanism and cultivate a certain elegance, which began essentially beyond the German borders. But what German radio station, let alone television programme, still plays chansons in our day? Where can you have a gander at French-speaking stars (apart from Carla Bruni) live and in colour? On what channel can you watch the San Remo [Italian song] festival? And who’s “hip” these days in Sweden? In a word, there’s no trace of Europe on TV – save on the news. Entertainment has become a regional, if not local, matter. Although our kids are growing up in a world in which nation-states retain regional importance at best, television is doing an increasingly lousy job of preparing them for this reality.

Arte – lone voice in the wilderness

That might have something to do with the ratings: back in the days when foreigners were key ingredients of a successful show, there was no private-sector competition. So Monty Python or Milva could be invited to a German talk show, and no-one would notice if some of the viewing audience switched channels during the haltingly translated interviews. It’s quite paradoxical: our political decision-makers often have to get to know their European counterparts in no time well enough to trust them blindly – and yet the public can hardly remember the names of European heads of state, let alone illustrious artists and celebrities in neighbouring countries. Even Europhile Germans vacationing abroad are astounded when they leaf through a French or Spanish magazine and can hardly find a single familiar face among the most popular actors, musicians and comedians abroad.

The German-French cultural network Arte serves here as a token broadcaster through which to relegate Europe to a special-interest channel. Every country acts as though TV broadcasters had to shield their viewers from the practical consequences of European unification for our day-to-day lives. Once in a while you see Angela Merkel on French TV – which invariably delights the left-wing audience, as she is the only one who tells Sarkozy off now and then – but never Hape Kerkeling or Charlotte Roche. But the viewing public, too, is going to have to make an effort if we’re to extend our horizons beyond national borders again. Thus far only professionals have had to toil for Europe. That should change. Then we’d see, by the way, that many presenters and entertainers actually speak several languages and take a genuine interest in the outside world, which they can’t really cultivate within the narrow formats of their narrow studios – that might put a dent in the ratings, heaven forbid.