Problematizing Public Control, Service, Interest and Value

Abstract

This chapter outlines the ways in which the role and rationale of UK broadcasting have been outlined over time. For example, predating the emphasis on British broadcasting as a public service was the debate over the appropriate balance between the need for ‘public’ (i.e. state) control over broadcasting and the need for an element of private enterprise, as well as arguments over the necessity of press freedom. The chapter will go on to demonstrate how the guiding regulatory principle evolved from ‘public service’ to ‘public interest’, whereby the latter has meant a balance between public service and market competition. More recently, ‘public value’ has become an important rationale, whereby that entails yet greater emphasis on market competition, and a more restricted role for public service.