Germany's media debate same as everywhere

I'm in Berlin for the annual Medienwoche debates and to discover what's new in consumer electronics.

The first day of the Medienwoche conference demonstrated that the conflicts between public and private media rumble on, with private media companies complaining loudly that publicly-funded broadcasters are moving into new territories for which they don't have a mandate, pushing private enterprise to the sidelines.

Today (Tuesday) Mark Thompson, BBC Director-General, is talking about the role of public service broadcasting.

Meanwhile, across the road at IFA, the European consumer electronics fair, it's very quiet - the quietest I've ever seen it since I first came to the show in the 1980s. My initial impressions are that there's a lack of anything new and exciting - but if you want to see hall after hall of plasma and LCD HD-ready TV sets, then IFA is definitely the place to come. And there are washing machines, too...