Public broadcasting

"Public service broadcasting" redirects here. For other uses, see Public service broadcasting (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with State media.

Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions and donations, public financing, and corporate underwriting.^[1][2]

Common media include AM, FM, and shortwave radio; television; and the Internet. Public broadcasting may be nationally or locally operated, depending on the country and the station. In some countries a single organization runs public broadcasting. Other countries have multiple public-broadcasting organizations operating regionally or in different languages. Historically, public broadcasting was once the dominant or only form of broadcasting in many countries (with the notable exceptions of the United States, Mexico, and Brazil). Commercial broadcasting now also exists in most of these countries; the number of countries with only public broadcasting declined substantially during the latter part of the 20th century.^{[citation needed]}

Definition

The primary mission of public broadcasting is that of public service, speaking to and engaging as a citizen.^[1] The British model is often referenced in definitions.^[3][4][5] The model embodies the following principles:

• Universal geographic accessibility
• Universal appeal
• Attention to minorities ("special provision for minorities")
• Contribution to national identity and sense of community
• Distance from vested interests
• Direct funding and universality of payment
• Encourage competition "in good programming rather than competition for numbers"
• Guidelines that liberate rather than restrict

While the application of certain principles may be straightforward, as in the case of accessibility, some of the principles may be poorly defined or difficult to implement. In the context of a shifting national identity, the role of public broadcasting may be unclear. Likewise, the subjective nature of good programming may raise the question of individual or public taste.^[4]

Within public broadcasting there are two different views regarding commercial activity. One is that public broadcasting is incompatible with commercial objectives. The other is that public broadcasting can and should compete in the marketplace with commercial broadcasters. This dichotomy is highlighted by the public service aspects of traditional commercial broadcasters.^[4]

Public broadcasters in each jurisdiction may or may not be synonymous with government controlled broadcasters.

Economics

Public broadcasters may receive their funding from an obligatory television licence fee, individual contributions, government funding or commercial sources. Public broadcasters do not rely on advertising to the same degree as commercial broadcasters, or at all; this allows public broadcasters to transmit programmes that are not commercially viable to the mass market, such as public affairs shows, radio and television documentaries, and educational programmes.

One of the principles of public broadcasting is to provide coverage of interests for which there are missing or small markets. Public broadcasting attempts to supply topics of social benefit that are otherwise not provided by commercial broadcasters. Typically, such underprovision is argued to exist when the benefits to viewers are relatively high in comparison to the benefits to advertisers from contacting viewers.^[6] This frequently is the case in undeveloped countries that normally have low benefits to advertising.^[6]

An alternative funding model proposed by Michael Slaby is to give every citizen credits they can use to pay qualified media sources for civic information and reporting.^[7]

Cultural policy

Additionally, public broadcasting may facilitate the implementation of a cultural policy (an industrial policy and investment policy for culture). Examples include:

• In Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is legally required to 'encourage and promote the musical, dramatic and other performing arts in Australia' and 'broadcasting programmes that contribute to a sense of national identity' with specific emphasis on regional and rural Australia'.^[8] Furthermore, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is intended to reflect the spirit and sense of multicultural richness and the unique international cultural values within Australian society.

See also

• List of public broadcasters by country
• Editorial independence
• Independent media
• International broadcasting
• Press freedom
• State media