Public Service Broadcasting Research Articles

Introduction: A Decade of Social Media Elections

Social media has been a part of election campaigns for more than a decade. In this special issue, we combine longitudinal and cross-national studies of social media in election campaigns, expanding the time span as well as number of countries compared to former comparative studies. The four papers present examples of longitudinal studies, covering multiple election cycles from four different countries: Australia, the United States of America, Denmark, and Italy. By including the countries mentioned, we focus on countries considered to be “first movers” when it comes to the digitization and internetization of the political life. As such, they are “most similar cases.” However, they also have different political systems: the United States and Australia are characterized by a Westminster system dominated by a few large parties and a tradition of strong confrontation between government and opposition, whereas Denmark and Italy are multi-party systems with a tradition of collaboration and coalition governments. Technologically, the four countries might be similar, but politically and in terms of media systems, they differ; the United States is characterized by a commercialized American media system with little role for public service broadcasters, Denmark has very strong public service media, and Australia has elements of both these systems. Finally, Italy represents a Southern European media system with traces of clientelism as well as public service media. Thus, studies of the four countries form a diverse yet solid set of cases for exploring the growing (and changing) role of social media in national elections.

Towards public competition in a pluralist polarized country: Professionals’ newsroom discourses on autonomy, public statements and regulation

This study explores the interaction between journalists’ discourses on values and practices and the regulations affecting them in the shape of public statements, which are considered to be an influential variable in journalistic practice. However, the process of producing such statements requires further attention, in particular the role of newsroom discourses. The case of the Spanish public service broadcaster RTVE illustrates this tendency in relation to the regulations governing it and their impact on newsroom routines and newsmaking. Over the past fifteen years, RTVE has been subject to contradictory reforms, during which the discourses of TVE journalists have taken the shape of public statements issued by several professional associations calling for a reduction in RTVE’s traditional political dependence. Accordingly, the focus is placed here on the evolution of those discourses from 2006 to 2019, as to (1) the way in which they were transformed into public statements in persuasive campaigns with an influence on regulation, particularly as to the election of the executive board and chairperson of RTVE by public competition, and (2) the interaction and influence of core values such as professional independence and diversity on shaping newsroom discourses and public statements.

Analysis of Genres of the BBC One TV Programs

The relevance of the study is based on the fact that the BBC One channel is interesting as an example of a public service broadcaster which retains its image and competitiveness on the global media market. The goal of the research is to analyze the BBC One programming with regard to its forms of journalists and cameramens work. The semiotic methodology is chosen for interpreting sign systems, i. e. journalists texts or TV frames, as interconnected phenomena of culture. As a result, important sociocultural and philosophical elements integrated into the BBC One programming and determining its genre profile have been revealed. The social mission of the public broadcasting, combination of regional and metropolitan grounds, the prevalence of serious news genres are among them. Moreover, the programs are open for entertaining content including a foreign-made one. There is also a visual and aesthetic adaptation of pre-TV cultural forms of theater and the tabloid press, etc. Therefore, we can speak of a rather flexible programming policy of the BBC One, which can be a good model to develop strategies for public service broadcasters in other countries.

Avoid or Authenticate? A Multilevel Cross-Country Analysis of the Roles of Fake News Concern and News Fatigue on News Avoidance and Authentication

Citizens these days feel inundated with news online and are worried about its veracity. This study examines if these concerns in the digital news environment led to greater news avoidance and news authentication behaviors. The relationships were tested across 16 countries by combining individual-level survey data from the Reuters Institute Digital News Report (N = 34,201) with country-level data based on comparative media systems research. Analysis from multilevel modeling showed that concern with fake news was related to news authentication and news fatigue was related to news avoidance. High news fatigue also accentuated the influence of concern with fake news on news avoidance while low fatigue attenuated the relationship. Additional cross-level interactions further contextualized the findings according to media system, showing how the relationships can vary under different conditions of press market, political parallelism, journalistic professionalism, and public service broadcasting. This study demonstrates the utility and importance of considering the contextual role of media system to understand individuals’ perceptions of news they receive online and subsequent news engagement, especially in the context of fake news research because its prevalence and deleterious impact varies across countries.

KOMODIFIKASI SIARAN OLAHRAGA DI TELEVISI PUBLIK: STUDI KASUS LIGA PRIMER INGGRIS DI LPP TVRI

Sport and media have a long history of mutually beneficial relationship. Sport has become a commodity. Private televisions use sport programs to gain more profits through various methods, such as advertising and paid subscription. The potential benefits that media can gain from sport have driven the competition between broadcasters to get the broadcasting rights and thus drive the broadcasting rights fees higher every season. In 2019, TVRI with limited annual budget can acquire English Premier League broadcasting rights through partnership with Mola TV. TVRI as a public service broadcaster is not allowed to be profit-oriented like private televisions. This article investigates commodification of sport in Indonesian public television, TVRI, with study case of English Premier League. Data are collected from literature study and observation, then it is analyzed from a political economy perspective. It is found that TVRI use English Premier League to gain more audiences and profits through various sport programs - similar to private televisions, but with some limitations that public television has.

From ‘Content Providers’ to ‘Key Social Structures’: a Turn to Practice in Citizens’ Discourses on Spanish Public Service Television (TVE)

This work analyses the evolution of citizens’ discourses on public service broadcasting in Spain before and after the wave of social unrest occurring between 2011 and 2013. A shift from a demand for barely defined towards more specific content, relating to the very structure of public service broadcasting, was detected. On the basis of an analysis of 11 focus groups formed by viewers of Televisión Española (TVE) and performed in two stages (2008-2009 and 2014-2016), a paradigm definable as a ‘turn to practice’ is confirmed. It has been observed that the practices pertaining to that paradigm have advocated for convergence and collaboration in the fields of information, the arts, critical thinking and certain institutional policies, which are also present in the citizenry’s definition of public service broadcasting. This has led viewers to call for a greater say in public service broadcasting and to emphasise communitarian forms of relating to it.

British Public Service Broadcasting, the EU and Brexit

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the historic role of Britain's major public service broadcaster, the BBC, in reporting the European Union. To do this it combines a content analysis of two datasets of BBC broadcast and online coverage from 2007 and 2012 with a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with former and current senior BBC editors and journalists. The research finds that BBC coverage in the pre-referendum period was closely tied to major events – such as summits – and elite party conflict. These patterns in coverage were primarily a consequence of the lack of traditional news values inherent in most EU stories and the impact of the wider political and media landscape. The consequence of these patterns in coverage was to present audiences with a restricted, negative and largely conflictual picture of Britain's relationship with the EU which is likely to have fuelled rather than inhibited the growth of Euroscepticism.

‘Europudding’ or European co-production? The archaeology of the television series Eurocops (1988–94)

This chapter examines the case of Eurocops, a crime TV show produced by the European Coproduction Association – composed by one private and six public service broadcasting (PSB) channels of seven European countries – from 1988 to 1994 (71 episodes). Although it is one of the first European co-productions of its kind, Eurocops was a critical and commercial fiasco: what were its faults? Following Ib Bondebjerg’s methodology, this article aims at exploring the failure of this ‘Europudding’. The first section places Eurocops in the media landscape of the late 1980s and explains why this series can be considered as a ‘Europudding’ trying to enforce Europe’s cultural sovereignty against the North American hegemony. The second section analyses how the decentralized PSB production of Eurocops implied the use of an inconsistent narrative structure making the single episodes appear as part of a loose ‘collection’ of crime fiction. This partly explains the lukewarm critical reception of this television programme. The third section examines the cultural meaning of the series and is based on the analysis of the 48 episodes we had access to (through the INA French archives). The lack of transnational ‘encounters’ or dialogues – compared to other more recent cop shows such as The Team, The Killing and The Bridge – reveals the absence of a strong European identity at the time of production.

Reframing public service radio: The case of BBC Sounds

This study analyses the public service broadcast terrain within a changing sector that is driven by digital media convergence using the case of the BBC Sounds. From the findings, we demonstrate that the BBC Sounds promotes the idea of a visible media, an inter-medial platform providing agency to some of its listeners as they choose what content they want to listen to, while questioning whether this new streaming service offers more control than choice. In this study we identify issues surrounding accessibility for all when exploring on-demand content, and what impact this has on the public. Finally, we highlight the blurring of podcasts and radio and whether all live radio shows become, or risk becoming, podcasts.

Mi china juventud: Childhood and Hybrid acts in Cuéntame cómo pasó

Abstract Since 1990, Spain has taken in over 200,000 Chinese immigrants. With these citizens often the targets of racist attacks and stereotypes, several filmic and televisual texts offer stereotypical representations of Chinese immigrants either as violent or as a model minority. Nevertheless, texts are emerging that offer more nuanced representations of this migrant body and construct complex characters whose identity struggles form part of Spain’s socio-cultural fabric. Cuéntame cómo pasó (La1, 2001 – present) is one of the first Spanish television programmes to represent a Spanish-Chinese immigrant child this way. This article analyses the Spanish-Chinese immigrant child’s construction within public service broadcasting, arguing that her character’s representation is informed by the channel’s public service responsibility. The analysis considers the notion that her character is the generator of ‘hybrid acts’ and is an agent of cross-cultural contact in her friendship group.

(Mis)understanding the Coronavirus and How it Was Handled in the UK: An Analysis of Public Knowledge and the Information Environment

ABSTRACT During the coronavirus pandemic, conspiracy theories and dubious health guidance about COVID-19 led to public debates about the role and impact of blatant acts of disinformation. But less attention has been paid to the broader media environment, which is how most people understood the crisis and how it was handled by different governments. Drawing on a news diary study of 200 participants during the pandemic, we found they easily identified examples of “fake news” but were less aware of relevant facts that might help them understand how the UK government managed the crisis. Our content analysis of 1259 television news items revealed broadcasters did not routinely draw on statistics to contextualise the UK’s record of managing the coronavirus or regularly make comparisons with other countries. Given television news bulletins were the dominant news source for many people in the UK, we suggest the information environment gave audiences limited opportunities to understand the government’s performance internationally. We argue that misinformation is often a symptom of editorial choices in media coverage—including television news produced by public service broadcasters—that can lead to gaps in public knowledge. We conclude by suggesting the concept of the information environment should play a more prominent role in studies that explore the causes of misinformation.

Why children’s news matters: The case of CBBC Newsround in the UK

Abstract There has never been a greater need for reliable, truthful news to help citizens navigate and assess the veracity of what they are reading and viewing, especially on social media. Widespread concerns around ‘fake’ news demonstrate an enduring requirement for curated and trustworthy children’s news that addresses children as young citizens with certain rights. Drawing on recent UK events, we discuss the case for children’s news provision by public service broadcasting (PSB) from a communication rights perspective by analyzing the BBC’s 2019 plans to reduce the broadcast presence and originated hours of its flagship news service, Newsround, in favor of online distribution.

News Recommender Systems and News Diversity, Two of a Kind? A Case Study from a Small Media Market

Content recommender systems have become commonplace in all digital platforms, and they profoundly alter the media content presented to users. This also applies to news recommender systems (NRSs) used by media companies. However, as it is generally accepted that diverse news coverage is crucial to maintain democratic societies, the role of NRSs is frequently questioned. We assess the development processes of NRSs at three media companies: two private ones active in several European countries, and one public service broadcaster, using a previously established conceptual model for news diversity. Ultimately, we find that news personalization is currently still more of an idea than an actual recurrent practice, and that the application of NRSs is integrated and harmonized across countries and/or other types of new media types (e.g., streaming services) of the same company. We highlight similarities and differences in approaches, objectives and rationales between private and public companies.

Building the BBC-branded NGO: Overseas Development, the World Service, and the Marshall Plan of the Mind, c.1965-99.

Overseas broadcasting has been an integral part of the BBC's remit since the creation of its Empire Service in 1932. Throughout its history, the BBC has consistently argued that its services for overseas listeners should not be classified as a form of British propaganda, but instead understood as a fundamentally benevolent undertaking, providing objective, impartial, and trustworthy news and information to hundreds of millions of listeners worldwide. In the post-imperial era, the World Service increasingly depicted itself as not just a 'global public service broadcaster', but also as a kind of humanitarian endeavour, an 'Oxfam of the Mind' which made a significant contribution to Britain's wider efforts in the field of overseas development. This article critically evaluates this vision of the BBC World Service as a post-imperial 'gift to the world'. It outlines how, in the early 1990s, the World Service created the first BBC-branded overseas development NGO, the Marshall Plan of the Mind (MPM), which used both UK government and external philanthropic funding to help promote British commercial and diplomatic interests in post-communist Eastern Europe. MPM is then contextualized in relation to the World Service's longer (and largely overlooked) history of overseas development work and its relationship with the NGO sector, both before and after the end of the Cold War. By exploring how and why the World Service inserted itself into the NGO sphere, this work contributes to ongoing historical debates regarding the BBC's relationship with the state and the role(s) that global development NGOs have played in shaping Britain's post-imperial 'place in the world'.

Communication, Cohesion, and Corona: The Impact of People’s Use of Different Information Sources on their Sense of Societal Cohesion in Times of Crises

ABSTRACT Solidarity among society is considered crucial to tackle the corona pandemic. With the crisis evoking a high need for orientation, the information people obtain from different sources may shape whether they feel a strong sense of cohesion in the pandemic. To test this assumption, an online two-wave panel survey among a quota sample representing the German population aged 18+ was conducted in March and April 2020. Applying a path model, we show that using high-quality news media for information on the corona crisis (e.g., public broadcasting services) nourished people’s sense of cohesion, while using alternative and hyperpartisan news sites had a detrimental effect. Relying on information from low-quality news media (e.g., tabloids) did not affect people’s sense of cohesion, while talking to private contacts had a limited positive effect. Perceiving the public discourse as constructive vs. dramatized mediated the effects. These insights illustrate how the news media and other information sources in high-choice media environments contribute to a solid vs. polarized community in disruptive times of a crisis.

Beyond ‘fake news’?

Abstract This article longitudinally analyses how Australian politicians engage with, and attack, journalists and the media more generally on Twitter from 2011–2018. The article finds that attacks on journalists have increased significantly since 2016 when Trump came to power, but this is largely the preserve of populist and far-right politicians. These politicians rarely call the media fake, instead alleging bias or questioning the veracity or standards of reporting and production. Many politicians have a functional relationship with the media, rarely criticising the media. Attacks are largely focused on the national public service broadcaster, the ABC, with limited attacks on commercial media.

Staying Tuned or Tuning Out? A Longitudinal Analysis of News-Avoiders on the Micro and Macro-Level

European media landscapes have changed into high-choice environments. Additionally, research suggests an increasing number of people are staying away from the news (news-avoiders). In two studies, we approach the topic on the macro and micro-level. In Study 1, we analyze on the macro-level how news-avoiders in 18 EU countries have developed since the late 1980s and what role country variables play in this context. We use multilevel spline models to distinguish between two phases of technological advancement. Findings suggest an increase in news-avoiders in the phase when the Internet was available. The market share of public-service broadcasters is no discerning factor for the number of news-avoiders in different countries. Using German panel-data, Study 2 takes a closer look at the news-avoiders in the Internet phase. We also show the increase of news-avoiders on the micro-level, but do not identify an increasing impact of political interest on news avoidance over time.

GDR Cinema on Swedish Television

This article studies the import of East German films by Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Radio, and their reception in the Swedish public sphere. While few GDR films reached theatrical distribution, Swedish television imported and broadcasted over 30 productions by the state-owned film studio DEFA during the 1970s and 1980s, making this the primary distribution window for East German film in Sweden. Relying on sources such as Sveriges Radio’s in-house correspondence and screening reports, the weekly Sveriges Radio magazine Voices in Radio/Television (Röster i Radio/TV) and the public service corporation’s annual reports, this study sheds light on the political, economic and ideological considerations involved in the cultural exchange between Sweden and the GDR.

First-order linkage analysis (Frequently Applied Designs)

First-order linkage analysis (Frequently Applied Designs)

The platformisation of public service broadcasting in Germany: The network ‘funk’ and the case of Druck/Skam Germany

This article investigates how platformisation changes the practices of content production and distribution through the case of the web series, Druck (tr. Pressure (2018–), for the public service content network ‘funk’ (ARD and ZDF). An analysis of the German adaptation of the Norwegian television and web series Skam (tr. Shame) (NRK3, 2015–2017) shows how public service broadcasting (PSB) in Germany is changing due to the influence of social media. To reach a younger audience, PSB has to meet them on third-party platforms. Consequently, PSB must provide content that fits the mobile media environment of social media.