Abstract
This chapter provides a review of the main research topics in Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) that have been discussed in the last years, such as digitalization and new technologies development, business model and funding, policies and regulation, and public value and citizen interest. Based on this thematic summary, this chapter offers suggestions on how to move forward in PSB research and identifies some of the main challenges and limitations on this area of inquiry.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ala-Fossi, M., & Lax, S. (2016). The Short Future of Public Broadcasting: Replacing Digital Terrestrial Television with Internet Protocol? International Communication Gazette, 78(4), 365–382. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048516632171.
Arriaza Ibarra, K. (2013). The Situation of National and Regional Public Television in Spain Public Media in the Crossroad. Nordicom Review, 34(1), 145–156. https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2013-0048.
Arriaza Ibarra, K., & Nord, L. (2014). Public Service Media Under Pressure: Comparing Government Policies in Spain and Sweden 2006–2012. Javnost-The Public, 21(1), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2014.11009140.
Ayish, M. (2010). Arab State Broadcasting Systems in Transition the Promise of the Public Service Broadcasting Model. Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, 3(1), 9–25. https://doi.org/10.1163/187398609X12584657078448.
Brink Lund, A., & Edelvold Berg, C. (2009). Denmark, Sweden and Norway: Television Diversity by Duopolistic Competition and Co-Regulation. The International Communication Gazette, 33(6), 953–962. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048508097928.
Chan Chin, Y. (2012). Public Service Broadcasting, Public Interest and Individual Rights in China. Media, Culture & Society, 34(7), 898–912. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443712452700.
Collins, R. (2011). Content Online and the End of Public Media? The UK, a Canary in the Coal Mine? Media, Culture & Society, 33(8), 1202–12129. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443711422459.
Curran, J., Iyengar, S., Brink Lund, A., & Salovaara Moring, I. (2009). Media System, Public Knowledge and Democracy. European Journal of Communication, 24(1), 5–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323108098943.
Cushion, S., Lewis, J., & Ramsay, G. (2012). The Impact of Interventionist Regulation in Reshaping News Agendas: A Comparative Analysis of Public and Commercially Funded Television Journalism. Journalism, 13(7), 831–849. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884911431536.
D’Arma, A. (2018). The Hollowing Out of Public Service Media: A Constructivist Institutionalist Analysis of the Commercialisation of BBC’s In-house Production. Media, Culture & Society, 40(3), 432–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443717713260.
D’Arma, A., & Labio, A. (2017). Making a Difference? Public Service Broadcasting, Distinctiveness and Children’s Provision in Italy and Spain. International Journal of Digital Television, 8(2), 183–199. https://doi.org/10.1386/jdtv.8.2.183_1.
Dawes, S. (2014). Broadcasting and the Public Sphere: Problematising Citizens, Consumers and Neoliberalism. Media, Culture & Society, 36(5), 702–719. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443714536842.
Debrett, M. (2009). Riding the Wave: Public Service Television in the Multi-Platform Era. Media, Culture & Society, 31(5), 807–827. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443709339466.
Donders, K. (2010). The Benefits of Introducing European Competition Principles into National Public Broadcasting Policy. Info. Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, 12(6), 56–68. https://doi.org/10.1108/14636691011086044.
Donders, K., & Pauwels, C. (2010). The Introduction of an ex ante Evaluation for New Media Services: Is ‘Europe’ Asking for It, Or Does Public Service Broadcasting Need It? International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 6(2), 33–148. https://doi.org/10.1386/mcp.6.2.133_1.
Donders, K., & Raats, T. (2012). Analysing National Practices After European State Aid Control: Are Multi-Stakeholder Negotiations Beneficial for Public Service Broadcasting? Media, Culture & Society, 34(2), 162–180. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443711430756.
Donders, K., & Raats, T. (2015). From Public Service Media Organisations to De-centralised Public Service for the Media Sector: A Comparative Analysis of Opportunities and Disadvantages. Javnost-The Public, 22(2), 145–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2015.1041227.
Donders, K., Van den Bulck, H., & Raats, T. (2019). The Politics of Pleasing: A Critical Analysis of Multistakeholderism in Public Service Media Policies in Flanders. Media, Culture & Society, 41(3), 347–366. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443718782004.
Ejbye Sørensen, I. (2013). Channels as Content Curators: Multiplatform Strategies for Documentary Film and Factual Content in British Public Service Broadcasting. European Journal of Communication, 29(1), 34–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323113504856.
Engelbert, J., & Awad, I. (2014). Securitizing Cultural Diversity: Dutch Public Broadcasting in Post-Multicultural and De-Pillarized Times. Global Media and Communication, 10(3), 261–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/1742766514552352.
Enli, G. S., & Ihlebæk, K. (2011). ‘Dancing with the Audience’: Administrating Vote-Ins in Public and Commercial Broadcasting. Media, Culture & Society, 33(6), 953–962. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443711412299.
Esser, A., & Majbritt Jensen, P. (2015). The Use of International Television Formats by Public Service Broadcasters in Australia, Denmark and Germany. International Communication Gazette, 77(4), 359–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048514568766.
Evans, S. (2018). Making Sense of Innovation: Process, Product, and Storytelling Innovation in Public Service Broadcasting Organizations. Journalism Studies, 19(1), 4–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2016.1154446.
Evens, T., Verdegem, P., & De Marez, L. (2010). Balancing Public and Private Value for the Digital Television Era. Javnost-The Public, 17(1), 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2010.11009025.
Fernández Alonso, I., Bonet, M., Guimerà, J., Díez, M., & Alborch, F. (2010). Spanish Public Broadcasting. Defining Traits and Future Challenges Following Analogue Television Switch Off. Observatorio (OBS*), 4(3). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS432010351.
Flew, T. (2009). The Special Broadcasting Service After 30 Years: Public Service Media and New Ways of Thinking About Media and Citizenship. Media International Australia, 133(1), 9–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X0913300103.
Flynn, R. (2015). Public Service Broadcasting Beyond Public Service Broadcasters. International Journal of Digital Television, 6(2), 125–144. https://doi.org/10.1386/jdtv.6.2.125_1.
García de Madariaga, J. M., Lamuedra Graván, M., & Tucho Fernández, F. (2013). Challenges to Public Service News Programmes in Spain: Professionals and Viewers’ Discourses Wavering Between Institutional Reform and Counter-Reform. Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, 15(7), 908–925. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884913508609.
Ginosar, A., & Krispil, O. (2015). Broadcasting Regulation and the Public Interest: Independent Versus Governmental Agencies. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 93(4), 946–966. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699015610066.
Goddard, P. (2017). ‘Distinctiveness’ and the BBC: A New Battleground for Public Service Television? Media, Culture & Society, 39(7), 1089–1099. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443717692787.
Grummel, B. (2009). The Educational Character of Public Service Broadcasting from Cultural Enrichment to Knowledge Society. European Journal of Communication, 24(3), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323109336756.
Harrison, J., & Woods, L. M. (2001). Defining European Public Service Broadcasting. European Journal of Communication, 16(4), 477–504. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323101016004003.
Herzog, C., & Karppinen, K. (2014). Policy Streams and Public Service Media Funding Reforms in Germany and Finland. European Journal of Communication, 29(4), 416–432. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323114530581.
Horsti, K., & Hultén, G. (2011). Directing Diversity: Managing Cultural Diversity Media Policies in Finnish and Swedish Public Service Broadcasting. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 14(2), 209–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877910382180.
Huntsberger, M. (2014). Attempting an Affirmative Approach to American Broadcasting: Ideology, Politics, and the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 91(4), 756–771. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699014550089.
Iosifidis, P. (2011). Growing Pains? The Transition to Digital Television in Europe. European Journal of Communication, 26(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323110394562.
Jacobs, L., Meeusen, C., & d’Haenens, L. (2016). News Coverage and Attitudes on Immigration: Public and Commercial Television News Compared. European Journal of Communication, 31(6), 642–660. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323116669456.
Jakubowicz, K. (2011). Public Service Broadcasting: Product (and victim?) of Public Policy. The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy, 210–229.
Jõesaar, A. (2011). Different Ways, Same Outcome? Liberal Communication Policy and Development of Public Broadcasting. Trames, 15(1), 74–101. https://doi.org/10.3176/tr.2011.1.04.
Johnson, K. (2013). From Brand Congruence to the ‘Virtuous Circle’: Branding and the Commercialization of Public Service Broadcasting. Media, Culture & Society, 35(3), 314–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443712472088.
Just, N., Latzer, M., & Saurwein, F. (2012). Public Service Broadcasting Put to Test: Ex Post Control of Online Services. International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 8(1), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.1386/macp.8.1.51_1.
Kant, T. (2014). Giving the “Viewser” a Voice? Situating the Individual in Relation to Personalization, Narrowcasting and Public Service Broadcasting. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 58(3), 381–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2014.935851.
Keinonen, H., & Klein Shagrir, O. (2017). From Public Service Broadcasting to Soci(et) al TV Producers’ Perceptions of Interactivity and Audience Participation in Finland and Israel. Nordicom Review, 38(1), 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2016-0037.
Larrondo, A., Larrañaga, J., Meso, K., & Agirreazkuenaga, I. (2012). The Convergence Process in Public Audio-visual Groups: The Case of Basque Public Radio Television (EITB). Journalism Practice, 6(5–6), 788–797. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2012.667282.
Larrondo, A., Domingo, D., Erdal, I. J., Masip, P., & Van den Bulck, H. (2016). Opportunities and Limitations of Newsroom Convergence: A Comparative Study on European Public Service Broadcasting Organisations. Journalism Studies, 17(3), 277–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2014.977611.
Larsen, H. (2014). The Legitimacy of Public Service Broadcasting in the 21st Century: The Case of Scandinavia. Nordicom Review, 35(2), 65–76. https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2014-0015.
López Olano, C. (2017). The Model for Public Television and the Young Audience’s Expectations. Differences Between Great Britain and Spain in the Perception of Qualities and Obligations. El Profesional de la Información, 26(4), 1699–2407. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2017.jul.15.
Mangani, A., & Tarrini, E. (2018). Social Pluralism in Public and Private Television Broadcasting. Javnost-The Public, 25(3), 282–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2018.1463044.
Marko, D. (2015). The Role of Media Assistance in the Establishment of Public Service Broadcasting in Serbia. International Journal of Digital Television, 6(3), 293–309. https://doi.org/10.1386/jdtv.6.3.293_1.
Michalis, M. (2016). Radio Spectrum Battles: Television Broadcast vs Wireless Broadband and the Future of PSB. International Journal of Digital Television, 7(3), 347–362. https://doi.org/10.1386/jdtv.7.3.347_1.
Millanga, A. K. (2014). Mobile Phones and Participatory Communication for Poverty Eradication on Public Service Broadcasting: The Case of Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC). Mobile, Media & Communication, 2(3), 281–297. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157914533695.
Mjøs, O. (2011). Marriage of Convenience? Public Service Broadcasters’ Cross-National Partnerships in Factual Television. International Communication Gazette, 73(3), 181–197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048510393652.
Moe, H. (2010). Governing Public Service Broadcasting: “Public Value Tests” in Different National Contexts. Communication, Culture & Critique, 3(2), 207–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-9137.2010.01067.x.
Moe, H. (2013). Public Service Broadcasting and Social Networking Sites: The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation on Facebook. Media International Australia, 146(1), 114–122. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X1314600115.
Ogus, A. (2004). W(h)ither the Economic Theory of Regulation? What Economic Theory of Regulation? In J. Jordana & D. Levi-Faur (Eds.), The Politics of Regulation (pp. 31–44). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Pajala, M. (2010). Television as an Archive of Memories? Cultural Memory and Its Limits on The Finnish Public Service Broadcaster’s Online Archive. Critical Studies in Television, 5(2), 133–145. https://doi.org/10.7227/CST.5.2.16.
Psychogiopoulou, E., & Kandyla, A. (2013). Media Policy-Making in Greece: Lessons from Digital Terrestrial Television and the Restructuring of Public Service Broadcasting. International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 9(2), 133–152. https://doi.org/10.1386/macp.9.2.133_1.
Puijk, R. (2015). Slow Television a Successful Innovation in Public Service Broadcasting. Nordicom Review, 36(1), 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2015-0008.
Ramsey, P. (2016). Commercial Public Service Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: Public Service Television, Regulation, and the Market. Television & New Media, 18(7), 639–654. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476416677113.
Ramsey, P. (2018). ‘It Could Redefine Public Service Broadcasting in The Digital Age’ Assessing the Rationale for Moving BBC Three Online. Convergence, 24(2), 152–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856516659001.
Scannell, P. (2005). Public Service Broadcasting: The History of a Concept. In A. Goodwin & G. Whannel (Eds.), Understanding Television (pp. 20–38). London: Routledge.
Schwarz, J. A. (2016). Public Service Broadcasting and Data-Driven Personalization: A View from Sweden. Television & New Media, 17(2), 124–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476415616193.
Shepperd, J. (2014). Infrastructure in the Air: The Office of Education and the Development of Public Broadcasting in the United States, 1934–1944. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 31(3), 230–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2014.889320.
Sjøvaag, H., Stavelin, E., & Moe, H. (2015). Continuity and Change in Public Service News Online: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Journalism Studies, 17(8), 952–970. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2015.1022204.
Sjøvaag, H., Pedersen, T., & Owren, T. (2019). Is Public Service Broadcasting a Threat to Commercial Media? Media, Culture & Society, 41(6), 808–827. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443718818354.
Smith, L. K. (2009). Consolidation and News Content: How Broadcast Ownership Policy Impacts Local Television News and the Public Interests. Journalism & Communication Monographs, 10(4), 387–453. https://doi.org/10.1177/152263790901000403.
Spasovska, K., & Imre, I. (2015). Transformation of the Public Broadcasting Systems in Croatia and Macedonia as Indicators of Democratic Transformation. International Journal of Digital Television, 6(3), 275–292. https://doi.org/10.1386/jdtv.6.3.275_1.
Starks, M. (2011). Can the BBC Live to be 100? Public Service Broadcasting After Digital Switchover. International Journal of Digital Television, 2(2), 181–200. https://doi.org/10.1386/jdtv.2.2.181_1.
Steemers, J., & D’Arma, A. (2012). Evaluating and Regulating the Role of Public Broadcasters in the Children’s Media Ecology: The Case of Home-Grown Television Content. International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 8(1), 67–85. https://doi.org/10.1386/macp.8.1.67_1.
Stollfuß, S. (2018). Is This Social TV 3.0? On Funk and Social Media Policy in German Public Post Television Content Production. Television & New Media, 20(5), 509–524. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476418755514.
Suárez Candel, R. (2011). Public Policy Best Practice in the Field of Digital Terrestrial Television: Lessons from Sweden and Spain. International Journal of Digital Television, 2(3), 297–321. https://doi.org/10.1386/jdtv.2.3.297_1.
Thussu, D.K. (2007). News as Entertainment: The Rise of Global Infotainment. London: SAGE.
Van den Bulck, H., & Donders, K. (2014). Of Discourses, Stakeholders and Advocacy Coalitions in Media Policy: Tracing Negotiations Towards the New Management Contract of Flemish Public Broadcaster VRT. European Journal of Communication, 29(1), 83–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323113509362.
Van den Bulck, H., & Moe, H. (2012). To Test or Not to Test: Comparing the Development of ex ante Public Service Media Assessments in Flanders and Norway. International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 8(1), 31–49. https://doi.org/10.1386/macp.8.1.31_1.
Van Dijck, J., & Poell, T. (2015). Making Public Television Social? Public Service Broadcasting and the Challenges of Social Media. Television & New Media, 16(2), 148–164. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476414527136.
Vanhaeght, A. S., & Donders, K. (2016). Moving Beyond the Borders of Top–Down Broadcasting: An Analysis of Younger Users’ Participation in Public Service Media. Television & New Media, 17(4), 291–307. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476415595871.
Värk, A., & Kindsiko, E. (2019). Knowing in Journalistic Practice: Ethnography in a Public Broadcasting Company. Journalism Practice, 13(3), 298–313. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2018.1424022.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Goyanes, M. (2021). Public Service Broadcasting and Democracy: Main Research Topics and Suggestions for the Future. In: Túñez-López, M., Campos-Freire, F., Rodríguez-Castro, M. (eds) The Values of Public Service Media in the Internet Society. Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56466-7_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56466-7_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-56465-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-56466-7
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)