Public Broadcasting Research Articles

Struggling for relevance: exploring editors’ perceived importance and value of religious education in school

ABSTRACT This article, situated in the field of didactics of religion, explores the comprehension of religious education (RE) by the editors of Elevkanalen, a subsidiary of TV2, Norway’s most significant commercial public broadcaster. They are a unique media enterprise that provides educational resources for primary and lower secondary schools and is designated by themselves as a school publisher. The study applies interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to analyse the data collected through semi-structured interviews with the editors. The findings reveal that the editors’ approach to RE is based primarily on topical content or current issues rather than traditional subject-specific matter. The underlying justification lies in the query of how a given topic or issue can be rendered relevant within the context of RE. The editors are struggling for relevance and advocating interdisciplinarity, and the article discusses these findings by utilising relevance theory, Goodlad and Su’s curriculum theory, and Klafki’s didactical formation (Bildung) theory.

Women’s struggle and media reform: The Swedish Women’s Associations’ Radio Committee, 1933–1940

Abstract This article contributes to a social history of Swedish broadcasting through an analysis of a movement for media reform: the Swedish Women’s Associations’ Radio Committee, formed in 1933 and operating until 1940. The committee was a joint effort by many established women’s organisations in Sweden, formed with the goal of strengthening the role of women in the developing public service radio, and especially providing a platform for women to raise demands on influence in the decision-making around the development of this new media form. In this article, I analyse the Swedish Women’s Associations’ Radio Committee and their work in the 1930s and ask what they did, how they did it, and with what effects? In what ways can their work be understood as a movement for media reform? The analysis builds on archival material documenting the Swedish Women’s Associations’ Radio Committee, as well as secondary sources such as memoirs and newspaper materials.

A Study on the Scope of Public Broadcasters’ Copyright for Individual Content Creators

A Study on the Scope of Public Broadcasters’ Copyright for Individual Content Creators

The Rivals? A Treatise on Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert’s Howard Stern Appearances and an Extended Commentary on Opposable Thumbs

In his book, Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever, Matt Singer provides readers with a thoughtful examination of the twenty-three-year collaboration of two of the most successful and widely known film critics ever to appear on television. As the author discusses, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert worked at rival newspapers—the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times—and they were fiercely competitive, even “mortal enemies” (3). They fought with each other to write the best reviews and land the biggest interviews. In 1975, this sense of competition became even more pronounced when Roger Ebert won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. One year later, however, the two newspaper journalists set aside their differences to argue the merits of current films face-to-face on a small screen pilot on WTTW, Chicago’s public television station.

Digital Media Convergence Of Broadcast Radio

The existence of media convergence is an effort to adapt radio to the digital era. Although many people think that radio will no longer survive in the midst of technological and information developments, in fact, many radios still survive and have loyal listeners and partnerships to use radio advertising services. This form of research aims to find out the application of media convergence carried out by Shelter 95.6 FM Radio's public relations to maintain its existence amid the presence of various new media as competitors and the development of technology and information. This research uses qualitative research methods and data collection by interviewing 2 sources with public relations and broadcasters and descriptive observations and data collection techniques through previous literature studies, strengthened by the Media Convergence theory developed by Henry Jenkins through the 3C approach (computing, communication & content). Some of the applications made by Shelter FM to compete with other media are the application of computing convergence media Shelter FM has adapted by broadcasting Shelter FM outside with only a laptop, microphone, and audio mixer and the application of communication convergence media live radio broadcasts and also streaming Shelter FM radio in the Shelter FM application and content convergence media by delivering information and broadcasting using digital technology, namely social media to expand networks and audiences.

Streaming with more diversity? A comparison of the representation of minorities in broadcasting versus streaming television content

This study focused on the representation of minority groups on television, following the idea(l) that television as a mirror of society should convey a well-balanced representation of society. The current study extends previous research in that it analyses the potential for differences between regular broadcasters and streaming platforms, due to the latter’s public commitments to diversity and inclusion. Our results reveal that on Dutch prime-time television and popular streaming platforms women and seniors are underrepresented, whilst sexual minorities are overrepresented on public broadcasters and ethnic minorities on all platforms. Furthermore, results revealed that public nor commercial broadcasters nor popular streaming platforms succeed in being a fully inclusive, diverse, equitable, and representative reflection of Dutch society.

Silenced Voices in Portuguese Public TV News: An Intersectional Analysis of the Representation of Women with Disabilities in RTP’s Telejornal

(1) Background: Studies on women with disabilities (WwD) are rare and tend to reveal certain representation patterns. This study aims to understand how and to what extent WwD and chronic diseases are deemed newsworthy in the Portuguese public news TV station RTP1 primetime news program. Feminist disability, standpoint, agenda-setting, and framing theories are used alongside the concept of intersectionality. (2) Methods: A mixed-method approach is adopted, combining quantitative content analysis of all broadcasted news in January 2020 (n = 704), and qualitative discourse analysis of news items on PwD (n = 5). (3) Results: The results reveal that disability is a reduced issue in Telejornal’s agenda. PwD, in general, are often portrayed in secondary roles and without a voice. The protagonists of news stories about disability or persons with disabilities are predominantly women without disabilities, occupying traditional roles as caregivers (mothers, nurses), while men are more often portrayed as public agents. Discourse analysis deepens understanding by uncovering the prevalence of negative news values and a problem-centred framing, often associated with negativity, rather than presenting solutions. (4) Conclusions: Consequently, WwD were found to be deprived of news representation with a more positive or ‘normal’ focus and an intersectional approach reveals a lack of inclusion, with the few existing news tending to focus on exclusion issues, portraying only white Portuguese women. This study underscores the urgent need for a more equitable approach in media representation, recognising the diversity and positive contributions of WwD to promote an inclusive narrative.

Reconceptualising multilingualism on African radio: a multilingual accommodation theory

ABSTRACT Media organisations in radio broadcasting are gradually fine-tuning to accommodate multilingual socio-cultural identities. Africa presents unique challenges of lingual diversity which some of the media, particularly public radio have struggled to accommodate. This article advocates for multilingual accommodation on radio to foster more liberating and inclusive ways for multilingual speakers. It is a conceptual paper informed by the Afrikology perspective which we find more useful in tackling African issues from a more realistic perspective. Using radio as a medium of ethnic lingualism, we argue that Africans should tackle their own multilingualism issues. We chose radio because it is the most used medium of communication in Africa, reflective of grassroots social identities. We cite cases of multilingualism in Southern Africa to propose what we refer to as multilingual accommodation in radio broadcasting. The article argues that majority languages in Africa are not monolingualism but family languages of numerous dialects reflecting the co-existence of diverse ethnolinguistics in the pre-colonial era. We define multilingualism as abilities of co-existence in African contexts and the reflection of this co-existence in radio broadcasting. By multilingual accommodation, we suggest sustenance of multilingual programmes by radio hosts, guests and participants in both minoritised and majorised indigenous languages.

Harassed for Their Job: Exploring Factors That Render Journalists Prone to Harassment and Intimidation

ABSTRACT Amid growing concern over harassment and intimidation targeting journalists, scholarly attention to their occurrence and implications has mushroomed. One aspect of these phenomena that often gets overlooked is that not all journalists seem equally targeted or affected. Applying ordinal regression analysis of 505 sets of questionnaire responses from Finnish professional journalists, the authors found that only a small proportion of respondents experienced harassment and intimidation regularly, while the vast majority reported being targeted very rarely, if at all. The findings illustrate how certain positions and aspects of journalistic work bring increased risk of facing harassment and intimidation, with investigative journalism, published opinion pieces, work in public broadcasting, and social-media visibility as a journalist identified as strong risk factors. At least in the Finnish context, these facets of the work seem to outweigh personal factors (age, gender, etc.) in predicting overall risk. The evidence supports the call for more comprehensive and carefully designed research arrangements that also acknowledge the role of multiple facets of journalistic work in future studies of harassment and intimidation.

Preemptive listening: a roundtable discussion about sirens

ABSTRACT Nested within the crisis of our attention economy, the siren is undergoing a profound transformation, prompted by our ongoing alarm fatigue and noise pollution, as well as the near-obsolescence and inefficiency of public sound system broadcasts. Employing an interdisciplinary approach from specialists in the field of sound studies, behavioural psychology, policy advisors and creative practitioners, this roundtable article aims to unpack the critical potential of reimagining sirens, extending physically beyond ear-centred listening, conceptually beyond immediate timeframes, and opening up to new collaborative methodologies across academia, industry, artistic networks and more, to tackle today’s urgent need to recalibrate emergency signals for the immediate and the distant future.

Features of Coverage of the SARS-COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic in the Ukrainian Audiovisual Media (on the Example of News Releases of Central and Regional Television Channels and Public Service Broadcasters of Ukraine)

This paper explores some patterns of coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the news programs of television and radio channels of the National Public Television and Radio Company of Ukraine. The process of pandemic coverage is reflexive and does not have a clear strategy or policy. The study is the first in this direction, and this is its scientific novelty. The most stable characteristic of vaccination coverage by Ukrainian Radio news is informing the audience about everything related to COVID-19 vaccinations.

Ameliorative Effects of Television Watching Behavior and Motivation on the Fear of COVID-19 in Older Chinese Adults During the Pandemic.

The aim of this study was to investigate the television (TV) consumption patterns (viewing behavior and motivation) of older adults in Wuhan, China, during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on older adults' mental health, particularly in relation to COVID-19-induced fear. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 405 older adults in Wuhan, China. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model to understand the relationship between TV viewing behavior, motivation, and fear related to COVID-19. The findings indicate that the motivation to watch TV has a positive influence on viewing behavior among older adults during the pandemic. However, this motivation negatively impacts their COVID-19-related fear. Furthermore, a negative correlation was observed between viewing behavior and fear. The primary motivations for TV viewing among older adults during the pandemic were identified as social interaction and emotion management, followed by information seeking and value expression. The findings suggest that TV viewing plays a significant role in the mental well-being of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. By addressing the motivations of social interaction, emotion management, information seeking, and value expression, public health organizations and TV stations can contribute to the mental health of this vulnerable population.

Legacy media outlets also stand in dock over Gaza: How RNZ, ABC and other Western media failed to challenge Israeli war narratives

As Israel faces charges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention, for many people Western media institutions also stand in the dock. Critics have pointed to a media failure to effectively challenge a narrative that framed Israel’s actions in terms of an erroneous claim to Israeli ‘self-defence’, a de facto diplomatic cover for war crimes, ethnic cleansing and probable acts of genocide. In the Pacific, news leaders at Radio New Zealand (RNZ) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), by alleged omission, story framing, inaccuracies, passive editorial stances, including a refusal to adjudicate contentious claims when the evidence was available, fall into the category. Such failures call into question claims of due impartiality, a fundamental tenet media outlets use to anchor their credibility as trusted sources of news. Failure to adequately create awareness of Israeli crimes also raises questions over whether state-funded public broadcasters are fulfilling the informational needs of democratic citizenship and serving the public interest, or whether they are serving the interests of a Western power elite.

The Transformation Strategy of Radio Republik Indonesia in Attracting Interest of the Youth: Case Study of RRI Central Java

This qualitative study, adopting a SWOT analysis methodology, critically examines Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), focusing on its Central Java branch, as one of the regions that still hold closely to its culture and traditions - to transform strategically to engage the youth effectively. Identifying key weaknesses, including RRI's formal broadcasting style, regulatory constraints, and misalignment of content production with the preferences of the youth demographic, the research underscores the urgency for RRI to pivot towards a more relaxed, contemporary, and interactive broadcasting approach. The study advocates for a comprehensive strategy encompassing active audience participation and using digital platforms such as RRI Digital and RRI Play Go. These platforms present opportunities for RRI to enhance content accessibility and relevance, catering to the dynamic consumption patterns of the youth. The article posits that a robust transformation strategy should address broadcasting style restructuring and necessitate technological upgrades. Fostering collaboration with creative communities is essential for creating content that resonates with the youth. The study delves into the significance of strategic digital marketing, leveraging the strengths of social media and other digital platforms where the youth are most active. By incorporating these elements, the research proposes a holistic transformation strategy, offering actionable insights for RRI in adapting to the evolving preferences of the youth. This contribution extends beyond the case of RRI Central Java, serving as a valuable resource in the ongoing discourse surrounding public broadcasting strategies in the digital era. Keywords: Public broadcasting, youth engagement, radio transformation, SWOT analysis, digital media strategy.

Media Influence on Youth Health Awareness amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Study on the Role of Public Service Announcements and TV News

This study investigates the role of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and News on TV in creating COVID-19-related health awareness among Pakistani youth. Guided by the agenda-setting theory, the research explores how electronic media coverage adopted media, public, and policy agenda stages in disseminating health precautionary measures during the pandemic outbreak. An online survey was conducted using a questionnaire tool of 32 items with Cronbach's alpha value (α = 0.922). One sample t-test, correlation, and frequency distribution were applied to compare the mean values and to observe the relation between independent and dependent variables of the selected sample of youth (N=436), living in Lahore including both males and females under the age of 18 to 32 years old. Results have shown that government-led PSAs significantly improve youth awareness and knowledge about COVID-19, combating misinformation. Moreover, findings support youth reliance on PSAs and a positive response to vaccination against COVID-19.

Distance Education in New Zealand

Originally published in 1996, some problems in sketching a history for such a wide-ranging array of New Zealand distance education provider and support agencies are reviewed and the principal agencies tabulated. The coincidence of first school teaching by correspondence and the start of public radio gives a starting point. The narrative suggests how New Zealand distance education expanded, how it achieved a positive identity at home and internationally, and how its various participants found a common framework in DEANZ.

Live from Here: Comparing the Programming of Rural and Urban Public Radio Stations

ABSTRACT This paper is an examination of the vitality of U.S. public radio stations in rural areas. Previous empirical research suggests that the increased presence of commercial underwriting and listener donations (collectively referred to as “listener sensitive income”) has influenced National Public Radio and its local affiliate stations to behave in a way that more closely resembles commercial radio. This shift may have come at the expense of the initial intent and mission of public broadcasting which is to add diversity to the marketplace of ideas, serve underserved audiences, and most relevant to this study, provide a service that is reflective of local communities. This study analyzes data from a nationally representative sample (N = 178) of the 408 unique local NPR stations to determine if greater reliance on market-based funding sources is associated with a shift away from the mission of public radio in terms of its programming. The analysis suggested that rural public stations offer more overall diversity of programming, and specifically are more likely to offer minority-oriented programming, thus suggesting that rural stations have not become as commercialized as their urban counterparts.

Negotiating Organizational CulturesThe Evolution of the VOD Platform Implementation in Czech Public Service Television

Negotiating Organizational CulturesThe Evolution of the VOD Platform Implementation in Czech Public Service Television

Fungsi Media Lembaga Penyiaran Publik (LPP) Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) Padang Dalam Mengedukasi Masyarakat

Public Broadcasting Institution (LPP) Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) is one of the oldest broadcasting institutions in Indonesia which functions as national radio media. Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) has a central role in providing information, entertainment for the community and education for the community. In the process of social communication, the ideal role of radio as a public medium is to accommodate as many needs and interests of its listeners as possible. Radio media has a very important role in providing education to the public. This article aims to determine the function of the Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) Padang Public Delivery Institution (LPP) media in educating the public. This research uses an interview method with several sources. The results of this research explain the function of the Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) Padang Public Delivery Institute (LPP) media in educating the public.

COMMUNITY RADIO BROADCASTING: REGAINING THE LOST FAITH AND AUTHENTICITY OF RADIO BROADCASTING IN INDIA

The debacle of conventional broadcast media, in spanning and drawing the local communities has stimulated the mandate of Community Broadcasting. Through the times, communal media has risen as a feasible alternative option to the conventional and recognized media. A highly sought-after kind of civic broadcasting is the ‘Community Radio’, and it is fervently utilized and functioned in a community, intended for the community and by members of the community. As the public service broadcaster in India, All India Radio offers the best radio programming. Nowadays, private FM radio stations are considered to be second-tier. The third tier, community radio, promises to be the most accessible. The reach of community radio in India has significantly increased over the past 20 years. In the country today, there are more than 350 active community radio stations, the majority of which serve rural areas. In community radio, the creators of information and communications are from resident communities and delineate local worries and unease through constant involvement which makes it trustworthy and authentic. The public services broadcasting has been questioned over the issues of authenticity as it is recognised as the mouthpiece of government whereas commercial and entertainment-related concerns dominate the private FM Radio. Community radio uses its own distinctive idioms and terminology to inform, educate and engage the community using a low cost, low return model of operation. This paper investigates how the community radio has emerged as an authentic and trustworthy medium of communication in the contemporary broadcasting services. The foremost and widely recognised community radio station in the Indian state of Rajasthan, Apno Radio Banasthali 90.4 FM has been chosen for conducting the case study. The conclusions of this research divulge that the community radio has regained the lost faith and authenticity of radio broadcasting particularly in terms of information dissemination.