Public Broadcasting Research Articles

Do Daily Podcasts in Public Broadcasting in Israel Help Increase Resilience in Crisis Situations?

ABSTRACT In times of crisis, the importance of the media to help convey messages that support resilience stands out. The present study examined the possible contribution of 21 daily podcasts that were broadcast on three public channels during a military conflict in Israel (May 2021). The research question concerned the possible contribution of the podcasts to resilience. The research findings show that podcast producers preferred topics from their areas of expertise, including critical journalism. The potential of the podcast to transmit messages boosting resilience, which may empower the listeners in facing the crisis, was not on their agenda.

From Niche Narrative to Audio Blockbusters

From Niche Narrative to Audio Blockbusters

ASSESSING THE INVESTIGATIVE POWERS OF THE COMPETITION COMMISSION IN MERGER REGULATION AND CHALLENGES POSED BY THE DIGITAL ERA S.O.S Support Public Broadcasting Coalition v South African Broadcasting Corporation (SOC) Limited [2018] ZACC 37

The South African Competition Commission (the Commission) is celebrated as the most efficient and effective body in implementing competition law. The Commission is an independent and impartial body whose primary function includes investigating and prosecuting complaints raised against firms for failing to report notifiable mergers. Over the past decade, it has reviewed several mergers and successfully prevented many anti-competitive market structures.While the Competition Act (89 of 1998) (CA) empowers the Commission to conduct investigations, the scope and extent of these investigative powers has been unclear. This question was the subject of protracted litigation between the parties in S.O.S Support Public Broadcasting Coalition v South African Broadcasting Corporation (SOC) Limited ([2018] ZACC 37). In that case, the Constitutional Court was called upon to decide whether the Commission’s investigative powers included the authority to subpoena witnesses to appear before it. The decision of the court is a welcome addition to competition law jurisprudence insofar as it creates legal certainty concerning the powers of the Commission, especially in light of recent amendments to the Competition Amendment Act (18 of 2018) (CAA), which now broadens the scope of the Commission’s authority and powers. However, in light of some of the arguments that were brought up regarding missing documents, the case also serves as a warning of the challenges that the authorities may face in a more digital economy, especially relating to their exercise of investigative powers in the context of digital security, encryption and offsite storage of information. This note provides a chronological discussion of the facts, evaluates the court’s decision, highlights possible challenges to future investigations and provides concluding remarks.

Media (De)concentration and Editorial Cross-Media Self-Promotion: Evidence from Flanders

ABSTRACT This article asks what the impact is of ownership concentration and deconcentration on editorial cross-media selfpromotion. Zooming in on two significant ownership changes in the small and highly concentrated media market of Flanders (Belgium) in 2017-18, we quantitatively analysed 1,209 articles published in the two largest Flemish newspapers comparing periods before and after two significant moments of ownership concentration and deconcentration. We assess the immediate impact of these changes on cross-media self-promotion between newspapers and audio-visual channels in terms of frequency, length, and presence of visual cues in referencing to media brands belonging to the same mother company and brands that belong to the rival commercial media company. We also measure references to the public broadcaster as a control variable to check whether changes before and after mergers, and/or differences between newspapers from both media groups might be explained by factors other than ownership changes. Our analysis reveals that concentration in Flemish media ownership led to significantly more coverage of the "own" brands of the newspaper’s overarching company. We discuss the broader implications of our Flemish findings, with the two most dominant private media corporations rapidly expanding their brand portfolios in several European countries.

Branding or visual storytelling? How legacy media use visual journalism to reach young people in the age of digitalization

This article discusses how legacy media companies are responding to the real or imagined challenge of reaching young people in the age of digitalization, by investigating two different strategies for how to make use of the so-called Generation Z’s preference for sensory and visual journalism. Through expert interviews, we present how the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK P3 and the biggest newspaper in Norway, VG, approach the challenge of catching young people’s attention. We identify two strategies for how legacy media companies work with visual expressions and designing their digital content when trying to reach a wide, fragmented young target group on digital platforms. VG is a platform-oriented storyteller where design is connected to the direction and mode of storytelling and tailored to fit certain platforms. Their area of focus is to be where their target groups are and to meet the visual expectations of these audiences by taking cues from what is trending on different platforms. NRK P3 takes the approach of a traditional brander that works in both visionary and traditional ways to build a strong, trustworthy and visible brand. We conclude by pointing out possible problems with both approaches.

Water scarcity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia (SA) is one of the world's arid, most water-scarce nations without permanent water resources. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive overview of Saudi Arabia's water resources availability and reliability in terms of water supply, demand, and the major challenges that water faces. Saudi has an annual water supply of roughly 89.5 m3 per person as consumption is rising in parallel with the country's rapid population growth and development. SA produces the most desalinated seawater in the world, accounting for 22% of worldwide consumption. Due to changes in agricultural demand, Saudi Arabia's overall water needs in 2020 were 15.98 BCM. Apart from agricultural use, the food industry utilizes up to 80% of freshwater supplies, with only around 20% of rain recharging the aquifer, meaning that the region will still be water-stressed by 2025. In addition to wastewater reuse, water expenses should be split between private investors and the government, and water losses in cities should be collected and recycled. Water development projects must also be safeguarded and have long-term viability for the community's future and well-being. Despite previous conservation efforts (public awareness campaigns, television and other public media messages, drip irrigation, and so on), more work is required, including improving water resource infrastructure, implementing environmental use of friendly technologies, and increasing economic feasibility, social acceptability, and management in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Cascade Public Media

This case study focuses on Cascade Public Media (CPM), a nonprofit whose mission is to inspire a smarter world through public broadcasting, which chose to deliberately change their organizational and board culture to be more equitable and inclusive. In this case, students and practitioners will learn the importance of adopting diversity, equity, and inclusion to better serve their audience and improve board and organizational performance. CPM, using careful and deliberate actions, was able to address systemic injustices and inequities within their board of directors. Over a multi-year period, the CPM board was able to build an accountability-driven strategic framework that brought an equity lens to all aspects of governance. We introduce two theoretical frameworks—Institutional Theory (Powell & DiMaggio, 1991) and Inclusive Interactions Framework (Bernstein et al., 2022)—as a means of highlighting the imperative of adopting actionable practices designed to transform board culture, power dynamics, policies, and structures to generate impactful results. The case is designed for undergraduates, graduates, and DEI and governance practitioners.

Turkish Radio and TV Broadcasting Corporation’s new streaming application and the continuity of music policy as an educational institution

While numerous studies focus on streaming platforms as new business models or as novel elements in the supply chain, there is a notable gap in research addressing how streaming is operationalized within the context of state cultural policies. This study aims to fill this gap by conducting a preliminary examination of Turkish Radio and Television Broadcasting Corporation’s (TRT’s) digital transformation through its music streaming platform, TRT Listen. This research contributes to the international literature by highlighting various potential approaches to the digitalization of public radio broadcasting. This study, which examines the purpose and realization of TRT Listen, first provides a historical overview of TRT’s radio broadcasting and thus reveals the continuity in TRT’s cultural policy, which is shaped as a mission to educate the public and inculcate a national cultural identity, from radio broadcasting to the platform app. Two different research methods were used in this study: walk-through technique for the app and in-depth interviews with TRT’s staff and music industry representatives. The basic argument suggests that TRT Listen represents a continuation of historical music policies and nation state cultural agenda inherited from TRT’s radio era. However, at the operational level, this strategic continuity seems to disappear in the audience engagement techniques of digital platforms. The three main discussion sections of this article – TRT Listen’s strategic orientation, content curation and copyright management – reveal the platform’s mission to educate the public culturally in Turkey.

Love/Hate as lyrical sociology: Mapping the spaces of urban crime

This article considers the sociological function of television drama via the Irish television crime series Love/Hate, which aired over five seasons between 2010 and 2014 on RTÉ, Ireland’s public service broadcaster. Drawing on Andrew Abbot’s concept of ‘lyrical sociology’, it will examine how media discourse surrounding Love/Hate consistently foregrounded the connection between its fictional events and real-life crime scenarios. Media coverage of Love/Hate, as well as the content of the series itself, it will be argued, posed the problem of sympathy between audience and its violent protagonists in spatial terms, as a question of belonging or otherwise in a shared social space. In particular, the experiential quality of home as a space of belonging will be explored as a central organizing structure in the series, one which ambiguously connected the lived spaces of its domestic television audience to the highly gendered home and city spaces of Love/Hate’s story world.

‘Fake news’, real impact: Changing practices among public broadcasting organizations in the Asia-Pacific region

This study is an attempt to understand ‘fake news’ from the unique perspective of public broadcasting organizations in the Asia-Pacific region; the focus is on how – and how well – they have adapted to the growing incidence of various forms of disinformation, and how they see their role in educating diverse audiences about the phenomenon. This research provides public broadcasting organizations and (news) media practitioners with up-to-date, evidence-based insights on how to combat ‘fake news’ and disinformation effectively. In collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development, a census survey was conducted among their members, resulting in 57 completed questionnaires, representing 24 public broadcasting organizations in eighteen countries. A major finding is that public broadcasting organizations have to get used to revisiting, revising and refining what it is they do (practices), how it is being done (systems, operating procedures, technologies, financial resources) and by whom (human but also IT resources). The analysis also points up the need for collaboration so that scarce resources can be utilized more efficiently.

The Historic, Present and Future Role of Regulation in Securing the Standards of ‘Public Value’ Media

AbstractThis article examines the evolution of public service broadcasting (PSB) regulation in the UK, contrasting two opposing perspectives on its role and addressing its contemporary challenges. Analysing the historical context and recent regulatory changes, the article argues that PSB remains vital to the UK's media landscape, providing high quality content and serving the public good. However, it identifies technological advancements and political interference as significant threats to its continued success. The article critically evaluates the draft Media Bill's potential to address these challenges and enhance PSB's competitiveness. Additionally, it raises concerns about potential bias within the regulatory body, Ofcom, urging greater transparency and fairness in its oversight of the media market. The article emphasises the need for a robust regulatory framework to ensure the continued viability of PSB and foster a vibrant and diverse media ecosystem.

Wizerunek środowiska prawniczego w Polsce w przekazie telewizyjnym – studium przypadku

The aim of the study, which is of a scientific and research nature, is to present the mass media image of the community of legal professionals in Poland. It is a case study based on a specific television coverage in the form of a pseudo-documentary series titled Caste (Pol. Kasta) broadcast by Polish public television. This image is important for the correct organisation of social relations. The significance of the issue and the way it is presented deserve a closer insight, especially since lawyers have not been in high positions in public opinion polls on the prestige of professions for years. The pseudo-documentary was chosen as the research material for the study, because it falls within the broader concept of a documentary while being a certain novelty. For the purpose of the study, a test sample was selected. As a result of the research, it has been shown that the picture of the community of legal professionals presented in pseudo-documentary TV shows in Poland is negative. The usual plot of such shows is that as a result of various kinds of informal deals, unfair decisions are made which are harmful for the victims of the deal, for which the entirety of legal community is blamed, including primarily judges. Exceptions are very rare, and the only hope are young, idealist advocates who are presented as lawyer role models. The TV show Caste, operating unfair simplifications and stereotypes, was part of a series of actions aimed at discrediting the legal community in Poland and did not improve its image. The balance between facts and fiction has been disturbed, which served to support a presupposition that Polish realities are flawed due to the conduct of legal professionals, especially judges. Only those problems in the judiciary have been emphasised, which have helped to prove the need for reform, particularly corruption. Educational opportunities typical of this form of communication were not used, hence the level of legal awareness of Polish society was not raised. It can be hypothesized that the presented image from a medium that constitutes the main source of information and has the largest audience, could have affected the opinion about legal practitioners in Polish society. The TV series met a response from the public, which however requires a separate study.

Forsaking an Organization in Favor of Another: Judgment Change in an Occupational Community

Understanding how occupations change their judgments about organizations has important consequences for occupations themselves, organizations, and ultimately for institutional change. Collectively held judgments about the value of specific organizational forms are difficult to change because occupations share normative understandings about what is good practice and discriminate across organizations based on this knowledge. Given the difficulty of changing collectively held judgments in occupational communities, the question asked in this article is: How does normative judgment change about organizations develop within an occupational community? We investigate how judgement change occurs in an occupational community in the context of the television broadcasting sector in South Korea. We study how producers in public broadcasters changed their respective judgments about public broadcasters and new commercial broadcasters. Producers found expressing judgment change difficult initially, yet judgment change among more experienced producers enabled it to spread among rank-and-file producers, ultimately leading to an “exodus” of producers from public broadcasters. Findings suggest that occupational members at different stages of their careers play distinct roles in bringing about collective judgment change in occupations. Our study highlights the importance of normative judgments by expert occupations as an impactful means by which occupations can withdraw cooperation or sever their relationship with organizations. The article also contributes to the study of occupational communities in creative industries.

Creating careers in the kingdom of content. The platform-dependence and platform-ambivalence of digital cultural labour in Norway

Cultural production is to an increasing degree characterized by digitalization, mediatization, platformization and the use of social media. In this article, we investigate how digital cultural labour is experienced by platform-dependent cultural producers. Based on qualitative in-depth interviews with more than twenty Norwegian content creators, we more specifically analyse how they describe and valuate their products and production, the online communication of their labour, and the careers and strategies of digital cultural labour. The production of content is experienced as a demanding and continuous endeavour, being relentlessly quantified through clicks and metrics. Furthermore, the content creators show the psychological toll of being the product or a more or less integrated part of the product. Partly because of the challenges of continuous content production and communication with a community, as well as because of the unpredictable power of algorithms, we see creators branching out, spreading risk, or combining platform-dependency with -independency. This tendency only partly explains why digital cultural labour in the Norwegian context does not tend to represent a career end in itself, but a means to reach other and/or more long-term career goals. In the Norwegian context, this tendency is also explained by other factors: the welfare-oriented and inclusive Nordic model of cultural policy, which includes a public broadcaster integrating social media actively in its portfolio, as well as a general risk- and precarity-reducing welfare society.

Creation and use of SBS’s The Boat; principles for the co-creation of online interactive learning environments for innovative digital pedagogy

ABSTRACT Teachers and students rely more on online-learning environments than ever before, including open, trusted and high-quality online learning resources produced by public broadcasters. For educators, this represents both an inspiration and challenge in the wake of new techologies and online learning environments. This article is a case study of one such online learning environment created by Australia’s multicultural broadcaster, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), an adaptation of Nam Le’s award-winning short story, “The Boat” (2008). SBS’s The Boat (2015) is an immersive online experience that explores a refugee perspective and is accompanied by SBSLearn online learning materials. The Boat (2015) connects informal and formal learning though the delivery of both SBS Charter-driven content and Australian teachers’ pedagogical perspectives to local and global audiences including students and teachers. This article, co-written by the media producer of SBS’s The Boat (2015), and the educator who wrote the accompanying formal learning resources, shares principles for creating innovative and connected learning environments from different perspectives, including broadcaster editorial, technological innovation and educational design, with an intention to create a pedagogy for seamless access to engaging, immersive environments and principles for broadcaster and educator collaboration. Interviews and observations of broadcaster and teacher practice inform this analysis.

Book Review: Public Television in Poland: Political Pressure and Public Service Media in a Post-communist Country

Book Review: Public Television in Poland: Political Pressure and Public Service Media in a Post-communist Country

Public service broadcasting and gender equal coverage: reflections on research and practice in Ireland and Sweden

This paper makes three important contributions: to research on media and gender equality, specifically through the lens of gender equal sports coverage; to understanding the lived experiences of women in public service sports broadcasting, and to gender-sensitive public discourse and policy debates concerning the relationship between media and sport. In it, we examine industry attempts to achieve gender equal coverage in public service broadcasting (PSB) in Ireland and Sweden. The paper draws on a three-way dialogic exchange between the authors who, together, have sizeable professional and personal experiences of public service sports broadcasting, sports participation (from amateur to elite levels), and of voluntary sports coaching and administration. This novel exchange also responds to calls for greater insights into women’s engagements with media. The paper concludes by considering current issues for PSBs in relation to gender equal coverage and suggesting potential future lines of enquiry.

Perceptions of Pancreatic Surgeons and the Current Status of Palliative Care for Pancreatic Cancer in China: A Multi-Center Online Questionnaire Survey

Objective: To investigate the perceptions of pancreatic surgeons regarding palliative care for pancreatic cancer and the current status of palliative care for pancreatic cancer patients in China. Methods: An online questionnaire consisting of thirty-five questions in five domains, including basic information of the respondents, personal interest, training and experiences of palliative care, recognition of the importance of palliative care, palliative care in the hospital of the respondents, and advice to improve the service of palliative care for pancreatic cancer, was distributed to pancreatic surgeons by the WeChat APP. All the data were automatically recorded and can be downloaded. The respondents' perceptions of palliative care and the current status of palliative care were depicted, and the factors influencing the perceptions of the respondents and palliative care in hospitals were further analyzed. Results: Responses from 429 pancreatic surgeons were validated. 81.4% were from tertiary hospitals, and 18.6% were from secondary hospitals. 94.2% were from general hospitals, and 5.8% were from cancer hospitals. Most surgeons have worked for over five years (93%), 72% had senior titles, and 54.5% held administrative positions. 49% have not read papers on palliative care before. 73.4% of the hospitals did not have a palliative care team, 77.9% did not have specific ward or bed for palliative care, 76.2% of the surgeons thought palliative care needed more attention in their hospitals. 97.4% of the surgeons thought palliative care was important for pancreatic cancer patients, and 94.9% were willing to join the palliative team. 46.6% of the surgeons thought palliative care should be conducted once pancreatic cancer was diagnosed. Most surgeons thought palliative care was helpful and should be involved in the multidisciplinary team. Regarding the geographical differences, surgeons and hospitals in North China performed better than in other regions. Surgeons with experience in clinical trials of pancreatic cancer performed better. The top three advice from the surgeons to promote palliative care were more education and training, seminars, and public broadcasting. 69.9% of the surgeons have concerns about the legal issue of implementation of palliative care. Conclusion: In general, the majority of pancreatic surgeons in China lack training and experience in palliative care for pancreatic cancer, and the current status of palliative care in most hospitals needs to be further improved. Prevalence of the participants think that palliative care is very important for pancreatic cancer patients. Palliative care should be provided once pancreatic cancer is diagnosed, and palliative care should be involved in the multidisciplinary team. More seminars, education and training, and public broadcasting are practical ways to improve palliative care for pancreatic cancer patients.

Tambov radio: from wired access points to Internet broadcasting

INTRODUCTION. The study focuses on regional radio, which is an important part of the modern information system due to the stable interest in radio on the Internet, ease of use, and accessible forms of informing the audience. Analysis of radio broadcasting formation in the Tambov region, identification of characteristic features of radio activity in different historical eras, assessment of the current state of development of electronic media is the goal of this study.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study is used comparative historical analysis, a systematic method, the method of expert interviews, and analyzed extensive empirical audio material, articles in the media, and local history documents.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The periodization of radio from the beginning of the Tambov region radioification to the development of Internet radio is presented, highlighting the key stages of the functioning of this media in the region. The experience of public and private radio broadcasting is generalized, the originality of the development of Tambov radio journalism is reflected, and the concept of viewing the media as an integral system, including structural elements and characteristic patterns is formed.CONCLUSION. The results of the study may be useful for further study of electronic media in the Tambov region in the context of the overall development of the modern media system of the region and the country as a whole.

Finally, beyond status quo? Analysis of steps taken to improve gender equality in the European audiovisual sector in light of the #MeToo movement

ABSTRACT This research examines the situation of women and the initiatives implemented to support women in the audiovisual sector in Europe in light of the #MeToo movement. Our study is grounded in critical feminist cultural theory. We engaged primarily in secondary data analysis of two study objects: (1) reports and studies that highlight the situation of women and (2) secondary data on initiatives and practices that aim to change the situation of women. We also conducted eight interviews. Although the representation of women in the audiovisual sector is still estimated to be 20–30%, there exist initiatives and actions aiming to support women by different means to reach equality in the labour market, tackle sexual harassment and gender stereotyping, and create visibility. These initiatives include networking opportunities, mentoring and training programmes, regulatory measures, psychological and legal support, and data gathering and provision. The success of the initiatives can depend on the organisational and funding structure/public support. Most initiatives involve NGOs, public service broadcasters (PSB), film festivals, public institutions, and film funding bodies. Finally, we recommend going beyond the notion of visibility while adopting an intersectional approach to action and data collection.